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Sorry about the tardiness of this review. I will try to do better for the trip we just returned from on Oct 12. There have been changes in the management of Den Laman since this visit in April.
This was my wife’s and my third trip to Bonaire in the last year and a half and sixth overall. We have stayed at Den Laman and dived with Dive Friends the last three visits (see December 2017 and August 2018)
Reservations: We made all reservations but air travel through Den Laman, accommodations, truck rental (Avis), and diving. Reservations worked flawlessly. We got an older, somewhat beat up truck this visit compared to the last two, but it worked fine, including the air conditioning. Airport pick up and drop off of the truck worked easily. We made our airline reservations directly with American Airlines.
Travel: The American Airlines flight from Miami to Bonaire has made our trip to Bonaire much easier and reliable. On the first 4 trips, though December 2017, we flew from Philadelphia to Aruba and took a local flight to Bonaire. We did not have good luck with Bonaire Exel or Insel Air. On American, we flew from Philadelphia to Miami, and then on to Bonaire. All 4 flights were on time and trouble free. Arrival in mid-afternoon made check in to Den Laman, check in with Dive Friends, and grocery shopping all very easy. Unlike some others we have no problem with the Miami airport and have found it pleasant and efficient. The Admiral’s Club at D30 has been relatively recently renovated and is quite nice. On the way back from Bonaire, you pass through immigration, pick up and then recheck bags for your domestic flight. Immigration was quite busy when we went through, we had no wait at Global Entry. Leaving Flamingo Airport on Saturday afternoon was very busy with a significant wait at immigration and security and a crowded waiting area. American flies to Bonaire 4 days per week, we will likely try to fly on an alternative day for our next visit.
Accommodations: On our last two visits, we stayed in the 2nd floor, one bedroom, ocean front Parrotfish. On this visit we stayed next door in the Yellowtail Snapper room. This is an identical, mirror image condo with full kitchen, living/dining room, bedroom with queen bed, bathroom, and very nice balcony terrace overlooking the Caribbean and gorgeous sunsets. We prepared all of our own meals on this visit. There are split air conditioners in the bedroom and living/dining room that worked perfectly. Housekeeping is every other day.
Diving: We used Dive Friends at Sand Dollar/Den Laman and had access to the nice gear storage unit and to the private pier, with tanks and direct access to Bari Reef. As repeaters, our marine park orientation was quick and easy. The yearly marine park fee has increased from $25 to $45, payment is now accepted by credit card, at least at this location. Dive Friends now charges $20/week for nitrox, for us, that ended up at less than $1/cylinder, easily worth it. Tanks were well filled to an average of almost 3100 psi (2910-3336) and all had 31-32% nitrox. Dive Friends boats leave for 2 tank trips to Klein Bonaire or northern sites not accessible from shore, every morning. They also offer 1 tank trips some afternoons. We dived off the Dushi Diver and Pascal this trip, both 33 foot twin outboards, taking a maximum of 12 divers. Their Island Hopper, the Pelican, was out of commission on this trip.
The water temperature on this trip was the lowest that I remember at 79 degrees, a couple of 80s. We’ve always dived in just our 3 mm full suits though I always have our hooded vests with us, just in case. We got cold on our 3rd dive of the first day and wore our hooded vests for the duration and were fine. If I would have known about the water temperature before leaving, I probably would have taken our 5 mm wetsuits. There was little current except for one afternoon at Bari Reef, when there was a brisk south current. This made the outbound leg quite a workout, and the return, a fast express. Visibility seemed a bit down, maybe 60 +/- 20 feet or so.
So, on this visit, I did 44 dives, 20 boat dives and 24 shore dives. It’s interesting how the sea life differs to some degree on various visits. Not many Tiger Grouper on this visit but many Tarpon, including roving gangs of up to a dozen. There was a beautiful pair of yellow Frogfish at Mi Dushi, a brown seahorse at Carl’s Hill and gorgeous orange seahorse at Small Wall. Spotted and Goldentail Morays were everywhere, as were Sharptail Eels and their entourages. There were only few Green Morays, but some were very large and free swimming. I saw my first Chain Moray in Bonaire on this visit. There were fewer turtles than on some visits, but we saw Green and Hawksbills on several occasions. There were more Southern Rays than I have previously noticed and we saw more squadrons of Reef Squid than usual. My wife and several other divers saw a couple of Reef Sharks at South Bay, I am yet to see other than a Nurse Shark off Bonaire. The Staghorn coral at Hands Off was dazzling. Of course, all the usual reef fish were present in large numbers. There were more beautiful Bluespotted Cornetfish than usual, some very long.
This was a wonderful, relaxing trip to Bonaire with some really great diving. We will be returning to Bonaire for our seventh time very soon, and will be staying at Den Laman and diving with Dive Friends.
This was my wife’s and my third trip to Bonaire in the last year and a half and sixth overall. We have stayed at Den Laman and dived with Dive Friends the last three visits (see December 2017 and August 2018)
Reservations: We made all reservations but air travel through Den Laman, accommodations, truck rental (Avis), and diving. Reservations worked flawlessly. We got an older, somewhat beat up truck this visit compared to the last two, but it worked fine, including the air conditioning. Airport pick up and drop off of the truck worked easily. We made our airline reservations directly with American Airlines.
Travel: The American Airlines flight from Miami to Bonaire has made our trip to Bonaire much easier and reliable. On the first 4 trips, though December 2017, we flew from Philadelphia to Aruba and took a local flight to Bonaire. We did not have good luck with Bonaire Exel or Insel Air. On American, we flew from Philadelphia to Miami, and then on to Bonaire. All 4 flights were on time and trouble free. Arrival in mid-afternoon made check in to Den Laman, check in with Dive Friends, and grocery shopping all very easy. Unlike some others we have no problem with the Miami airport and have found it pleasant and efficient. The Admiral’s Club at D30 has been relatively recently renovated and is quite nice. On the way back from Bonaire, you pass through immigration, pick up and then recheck bags for your domestic flight. Immigration was quite busy when we went through, we had no wait at Global Entry. Leaving Flamingo Airport on Saturday afternoon was very busy with a significant wait at immigration and security and a crowded waiting area. American flies to Bonaire 4 days per week, we will likely try to fly on an alternative day for our next visit.
Accommodations: On our last two visits, we stayed in the 2nd floor, one bedroom, ocean front Parrotfish. On this visit we stayed next door in the Yellowtail Snapper room. This is an identical, mirror image condo with full kitchen, living/dining room, bedroom with queen bed, bathroom, and very nice balcony terrace overlooking the Caribbean and gorgeous sunsets. We prepared all of our own meals on this visit. There are split air conditioners in the bedroom and living/dining room that worked perfectly. Housekeeping is every other day.
Diving: We used Dive Friends at Sand Dollar/Den Laman and had access to the nice gear storage unit and to the private pier, with tanks and direct access to Bari Reef. As repeaters, our marine park orientation was quick and easy. The yearly marine park fee has increased from $25 to $45, payment is now accepted by credit card, at least at this location. Dive Friends now charges $20/week for nitrox, for us, that ended up at less than $1/cylinder, easily worth it. Tanks were well filled to an average of almost 3100 psi (2910-3336) and all had 31-32% nitrox. Dive Friends boats leave for 2 tank trips to Klein Bonaire or northern sites not accessible from shore, every morning. They also offer 1 tank trips some afternoons. We dived off the Dushi Diver and Pascal this trip, both 33 foot twin outboards, taking a maximum of 12 divers. Their Island Hopper, the Pelican, was out of commission on this trip.
The water temperature on this trip was the lowest that I remember at 79 degrees, a couple of 80s. We’ve always dived in just our 3 mm full suits though I always have our hooded vests with us, just in case. We got cold on our 3rd dive of the first day and wore our hooded vests for the duration and were fine. If I would have known about the water temperature before leaving, I probably would have taken our 5 mm wetsuits. There was little current except for one afternoon at Bari Reef, when there was a brisk south current. This made the outbound leg quite a workout, and the return, a fast express. Visibility seemed a bit down, maybe 60 +/- 20 feet or so.
So, on this visit, I did 44 dives, 20 boat dives and 24 shore dives. It’s interesting how the sea life differs to some degree on various visits. Not many Tiger Grouper on this visit but many Tarpon, including roving gangs of up to a dozen. There was a beautiful pair of yellow Frogfish at Mi Dushi, a brown seahorse at Carl’s Hill and gorgeous orange seahorse at Small Wall. Spotted and Goldentail Morays were everywhere, as were Sharptail Eels and their entourages. There were only few Green Morays, but some were very large and free swimming. I saw my first Chain Moray in Bonaire on this visit. There were fewer turtles than on some visits, but we saw Green and Hawksbills on several occasions. There were more Southern Rays than I have previously noticed and we saw more squadrons of Reef Squid than usual. My wife and several other divers saw a couple of Reef Sharks at South Bay, I am yet to see other than a Nurse Shark off Bonaire. The Staghorn coral at Hands Off was dazzling. Of course, all the usual reef fish were present in large numbers. There were more beautiful Bluespotted Cornetfish than usual, some very long.
This was a wonderful, relaxing trip to Bonaire with some really great diving. We will be returning to Bonaire for our seventh time very soon, and will be staying at Den Laman and diving with Dive Friends.
