Bonaire/Buddy Dive Review

[Beau640]

Just got back from Bonaire. What an amazing island and trip!

Bonaire:

There are so many threads on travel here I'll try to keep it short and answer some of the questions I had before I went.

I had no issues with crime at all, although I didn't see a strong police presence there. I think staying at a resort helped because I talked with some of the people I met there who are staying all summer in various houses, and they said they have had problems with break ins. I never felt unsafe walking around a night on the island. I followed the recommendations of not keeping anything in truck and keeping windows down/unlocked and never had an issue.

For food, I had breakfast included every day and I would essentially gorge myself on the breakfast buffet which would carry me throughout my day of diving and then I'd just have to fend for dinner. I did not buy groceries because food on the island was actually very very good. I couldn't resist trying a different restaurant every night. some of the freshest seafood I've ever had. In general on the island eating out costs about $25 a meal no matter where you eat. Everywhere seemed to have very similar prices.

I traveled alone. It was really easy to meet people on the island and I met multiple people I dove with all week as dive buddies.


Buddy Dive:

Loved it and would absolutely stay there again.

Tanks on their pier which was like 10 feet from my room were available 24/7 to dive their house reef. Their house reef was one of the best reefs I dove all week and is awesome to have it right there outside of your room. The drive through for tanks if you want to shore dive outside the resort was also very convenient. I never had an issue getting tanks or waiting on tanks. They have hundreds always filled, both nitrox and air.

Signing up for boat dives was very easy and they tend to have 3 going out a day, again leaving from the pier right outside your room. Crew is willing to take you anywhere you want to dive and people on the boat don't tend to have an opinion on where to go, so if there's somewhere specific you want to go you'll get to go there.

Divemasters were friendly and GUE trained. They have essentially all passed fundies and the shop on the resort is a GUE shop/training site. Technical dives and gear are readily available.

Room was better than I expected with a separate room functioning as a kitchen with fridge, stove, and all cooking utensils/pots/pans/plates/etc you would need.


Essentially Bonaire is the live aboard of shore diving. What a great experience and can't wait to go back.

 

[drrich2]

Glad you had a good time. People on the forum some years back often complained of 'post Bonaire depression' - that remorse your dive trip to Bonaire if over. Been years since I've been there because I've been exploring other places/types of diving, but I miss the shore-diving freedom of Bonaire badly.

Richard.

 

[Doctorfish]

Thanks for the review. My experience boat diving Buddy Dive last December was totally different. The sign up board was filled up right after it was opened so that getting on a boat was a hassle, especially a 2 tanker. The boats were crowded. We did not seem to have any say in destinations unless they were very close to the dock or on Klein. In the water the DMs herded the guests along. One at the front, one at the back, at their pace. No option to head out on our own.
We disliked the experience so much that we did not even use all the boat dives in the package.

I do however like the rooms, breakfast, trucks and price point for Buddy Dive, They have a guard at the front gate at night, safes in the rooms and locks on the dive lockers. In all the times I've stayed there, theft has not been an issue.

I've had different, better experiences boat diving there before and am glad you had a positive one last week.

 

[Lead_carrier]

We didn't get to go on a trip this year but a friend and his daughter are there now. I have talked to them and they have had trouble getting the dive shop to give them the amount of weight that they need. They were doing their reef (orientation) dive and needed more weight. When they went to the dive shop they were told that they had enough and should be able to dive with what they have. Apparently, it has happened a couple of different times. Has anyone else ran into this? It is a good thing that I didn't make this trip. If they started telling me how much weight I needed and refused my request I would probably be very ugly to them.

 

[Dogbowl]

We didn't get to go on a trip this year but a friend and his daughter are there now. I have talked to them and they have had trouble getting the dive shop to give them the amount of weight that they need. They were doing their reef (orientation) dive and needed more weight. When they went to the dive shop they were told that they had enough and should be able to dive with what they have. Apparently, it has happened a couple of different times. Has anyone else ran into this? It is a good thing that I didn't make this trip. If they started telling me how much weight I needed and refused my request I would probably be very ugly to them.

That indeed is very odd.

 

[Dogbowl]

Just got back from Bonaire. What an amazing island and trip!

Bonaire:

There are so many threads on travel here I'll try to keep it short and answer some of the questions I had before I went.

I had no issues with crime at all, although I didn't see a strong police presence there. I think staying at a resort helped because I talked with some of the people I met there who are staying all summer in various houses, and they said they have had problems with break ins. I never felt unsafe walking around a night on the island. I followed the recommendations of not keeping anything in truck and keeping windows down/unlocked and never had an issue.

For food, I had breakfast included every day and I would essentially gorge myself on the breakfast buffet which would carry me throughout my day of diving and then I'd just have to fend for dinner. I did not buy groceries because food on the island was actually very very good. I couldn't resist trying a different restaurant every night. some of the freshest seafood I've ever had. In general on the island eating out costs about $25 a meal no matter where you eat. Everywhere seemed to have very similar prices.

I traveled alone. It was really easy to meet people on the island and I met multiple people I dove with all week as dive buddies.


Buddy Dive:

Loved it and would absolutely stay there again.

Tanks on their pier which was like 10 feet from my room were available 24/7 to dive their house reef. Their house reef was one of the best reefs I dove all week and is awesome to have it right there outside of your room. The drive through for tanks if you want to shore dive outside the resort was also very convenient. I never had an issue getting tanks or waiting on tanks. They have hundreds always filled, both nitrox and air.

Signing up for boat dives was very easy and they tend to have 3 going out a day, again leaving from the pier right outside your room. Crew is willing to take you anywhere you want to dive and people on the boat don't tend to have an opinion on where to go, so if there's somewhere specific you want to go you'll get to go there.

Divemasters were friendly and GUE trained. They have essentially all passed fundies and the shop on the resort is a GUE shop/training site. Technical dives and gear are readily available.

Room was better than I expected with a separate room functioning as a kitchen with fridge, stove, and all cooking utensils/pots/pans/plates/etc you would need.


Essentially Bonaire is the live aboard of shore diving. What a great experience and can't wait to go back.

GUE trained DMs? That’s interesting!

 

[Doctorfish]

Lead Carrier, I've never had that problem. I've found the DMs at the dock and shop to be very friendly and helpful. It's possible they sized up your friends and thought they looked to be overweighted. Over the years, I've observed many divers with limited body fat and maybe a 3mm suit strap on 20+ lbs of weight and sink like stones.


Strange.

 

[Dogbowl]

double post

 

[Dogbowl]

Lead Carrier, I've never had that problem. I've found the DMs at the dock and shop to be very friendly and helpful. It's possible they sized up your friends and thought they looked to be overweighted. Over the years, I've observed many divers with limited body fat and maybe a 3mm suit strap on 20+ lbs of weight and sink like stones.


Strange.

You might be right that the friend and his daughter might not have needed that weight, although some people are hard to tell just buy looking at them. Most DMs tell me I need 8 lbs., no more, to descend. I tell them I need 14 lbs. They don't believe me until I cannot descend. Then they give me the extra 6 lbs. Some of us are deceiving.

 

[Kharon]

... they have had trouble getting the dive shop to give them the amount of weight that they need. ... Apparently, it has happened a couple of different times. Has anyone else ran into this? It is a good thing that I didn't make this trip. If they started telling me how much weight I needed and refused my request I would probably be very ugly to them.

The only time I had problems with getting the weight I needed was on Grand Cayman. I told them what I needed and they said they didn't have it -???. This after charging me for renting the weight. On Bonaire I always use Dive Friends. I have never had a problem with getting the weight I ask for and exchanging weight for different combinations if I need to.

... Most DMs tell me I need 8 lbs., no more, to descend. I tell them I need 14 lbs. They don't believe me until I cannot descend. Then they give me the extra 6 lbs. Some of us are deceiving.

It's really arrogant of anyone to tell another diver how much weight they need. Worse if they refuse to give you what you ask for untill you prove them wrong.