Bonaire - Buddy's Dive Resort Trip Report

[CLEAR BLUE]

One final note - that while the Hurricane was clearly a cause of some destruction - my eyes told me the truest story Bonaire. As we traveled around diving the shore entries (yellow stones,) we came across a number of divers underwater. I was appalled at the number of divers I saw (literally) crawling on the reef, kicking it, sitting on it etc... mostly bad mannered photographers. This is clearly also part of the destruction.

!

We've been to Bonaire and LOVE it there. But we also saw divers laying on the coral to take pictures and this was extremely disturbing!

 

[driftin' by]

Bubbletrubble, you need to be more specific about how you're getting this price. All things equal, there is also about a $200 difference between peak and off season. Additionally, the pp price goes down exponentially with more people you can get in a unit whether it's 3,4 or 5 bedrooms. I can take a tent down and and it'd only cost me $136 to rent tanks!

 

[driftwood]

Did you take any pictures of the horrible room you stayed in? Perhaps if folks started posting real photos of the actual rooms (and room numbers) Buddy's would update them a bit faster. At the very least, it would help folks know which rooms they should stay away from, and which rooms to request.

FYI, we don't stay at Buddy's and were glad we didn't after spending a bit of time there on our trip last year. Just too big for us, we prefer something a bit smaller with rooms right on the ocean.

Right now I wish I had taken some good photos, but I guess I was suppressing the bad feelings to keep the vacation upbeat.

What I can do is give you the exact location of our roach hole. When you look at the sub on the Lion's Dive side of the resort, it is the upstairs 2br unit immediately to the right. If they give you the key to that room, simply turn around and head back for the main desk.

To be on the safe side, just request a room on the Buddy's side of the resort. If enough of us start doing that, management will get the message and then things may change.

 

[DiveMaven]

I do not know how it is less expensive than Buddys...for 2 people in a unit at den laman its $1199.pp for a drive/dive package no breakfasts..
At Buddys its $1129.pp for same 2 people unit. for dive/dive package and includes buffet breakfast..If you have as many as 5 you can get a 3 bedroom unit for $931.pp or with 6 you can get it down to $850.pp-ask for 2 pickup trucks instead of 1 van and Buddys usually accomodates you if vehicle available.
buddys has 2 restaurants onnsite (1 owned by kirk,who also owns the one at den laman) icecream/small grocery almost as close as den laman and rental cars on site not at airport so no line to wait in to get truck.

I'm not quite sure where you get your prices but the prices I see on the websites for summer (low season when we're going) dive/drive/stay (shore diving only) packages are (for 2 people):

Den Laman- Studio $651 1-bedroom (oceanfront) $936
Buddy- Studio $935 1-bedroom (not oceanfront) $1012

For us: we're not big breakfast eaters so the breakfast part at Buddy's is a waste of money, we want to be oceanfront, we like the intimacy and newness of Den Laman, like the securty features of Den Laman, prefer the smallness of Den Laman vs. the largeness of Buddy, and fail to see the "superiority" of the drive thru tank area vs. backing your truck up to the tank room and loading.

These are simply OUR preferences and feelings. You clearly feel differently and prefer Buddy's, which is totally your right.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

FWIW, and I have only been to Den Laman, I loved it for the precise reasons that Divemaven cited. I would deifinitely stay there again.

 

[oly5050user]

I'm not quite sure where you get your prices but the prices I see on the websites for summer (low season when we're going) dive/drive/stay (shore diving only) packages are (for 2 people):

Den Laman- Studio $651 1-bedroom (oceanfront) $936
Buddy- Studio $935 1-bedroom (not oceanfront) $1012

For us: we're not big breakfast eaters so the breakfast part at Buddy's is a waste of money, we want to be oceanfront, we like the intimacy and newness of Den Laman, like the securty features of Den Laman, prefer the smallness of Den Laman vs. the largeness of Buddy, and fail to see the "superiority" of the drive thru tank area vs. backing your truck up to the tank room and loading.

These are simply OUR preferences and feelings. You clearly feel differently and prefer Buddy's, which is totally your right.

prices I quoted are the stay/drive/dives package that includes 6 boat dives..if you do not want the boat dives its is $117. less-there is the difference.To pay less than $20.to go on a boat is no big deal..someone else does the driving and carrying ..being that breakfast is included at Buddys the price between the 2 resorts is almost identical for us who utilize the 2 and 3 bedroom units.then..the whole property at both resorts are on the ocean,there is no street to cross..

 

[oly5050user]

@oly5050user: Holy cow! If those numbers are accurate, that's really expensive. I've done Bonaire twice and, once we got onto the island, we paid $400 - $500pp for one week accommodations, unlimited nitrox diving package, and truck rental. Does Buddy's offer something else as part of that package?

where are you staying for that price?
We have been on island 20+ times..air/shore dive package at most dive facilities are in the $135.range for unlimited air-add another $120 for 6 boat dives and you are now up to $252.
Rental vehicle with insurance add another $200.-$300...
that does not leave much for a room anywhere..
I have paid the prices you quoted to stay on Bonaire,used to cost $640. for a week and that included airfare--oh I forgot it was back in the early 70's..

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Bubbletrubble, you need to be more specific about how you're getting this price. All things equal, there is also about a $200 difference between peak and off season. Additionally, the pp price goes down exponentially with more people you can get in a unit whether it's 3,4 or 5 bedrooms. I can take a tent down and and it'd only cost me $136 to rent tanks!

@driftin' by:
When I go to Bonaire, I leave my camping gear at home.

Some people just like the convenience of an all-inclusive resort. They say that they don't want the hassle of piecing together hotel/diving/truck rental for their vacation. I don't mind doing the extra work...especially if it saves me $500. I'm still a student, so penny-pinching is a necessity.

If you think that Buddy's or any of the other all-inclusives is a "good deal," I'd say you haven't been looking very hard. If you want to do a cheaper vacation on Bonaire, there will be trade-offs. You won't have a really nice view of the water from your hotel/apartment window. You won't have breakfast included. You won't have a pool on the premises. All of this is OK with me. I'm not there to eat overpriced food or sunbathe by the pool. We can do that here in San Diego. I think the local cuisine (goat stew) is over-rated, so I tend to go grocery shopping at the supermarkets. I can highly recommend El Fagon Latino if it's still in business -- tasty food at reasonable prices. Bear in mind that my $400-500pp quote did not include food. The diving package I mentioned did not include any boat dives. I enjoy Bonaire shore diving so much that I see no need to deal with the restrictions of boat diving. In 2 trips to the island, I've only done one boat dive outing to Klein Bonaire. I was annoyed by a diver who attempted to set some sort of speed record...by himself. He was unfamiliar with the dive site, paid no attention to navigation, and was clueless when it came to gas management. The DM was not happy about having to chase him down to 100fsw. The diver blew through his AL80 in 20 minutes, and the rest of us had to follow the DM back to the boat a lot earlier than we wanted. It was almost comical how that guy was zooming around and flailing about under water. I like choosing when and where I dive. For me, that's the charm of Bonaire. 70-80 minute dives are the norm. I tend to move very slowly over the reef taking photos of macro-life. My circle of dive buddies is very comfortable with the logistics of shore diving. We do it quite frequently here in Southern California with more challenging surf and visibility conditions...not to mention far more exposure protection. I prefer setting up my own gear and don't like anyone else messing with my reg/BCD before I go dive. I don't mind lugging tanks the 15 foot distance between the truck and where the tanks are stored. I prefer self-service over full service.

Golden Reef Inn has Stay/Dive/Drive packages for a little more than $100pp/night during peak period. That's much less than Buddy's, and they aren't that far away from the water.

If you purchase your accommodations, diving, and truck rental separately you can realize even more savings.
I've used Dive Friends Bonaire/Yellow Submarine twice now. They were charging $125pp for unlimited nitrox on my last trip a little over a year ago, but their prices have gone up a little since then. An added perk is that they have multiple drop-off/pickup points for their tanks north and south of Kraljendijk.
There are hotel rooms that go for less than $100/night/couple during the peak period of the year. You can save a lot more by finding a 2 bedroom apartment and sharing it with 3 other people. Our last trip, we found a couple of 2 bedroom apartments to house 8 people. Each apartment unit had a kitchenette. There was ample space for everyone and a secure closet to lock dive gear overnight. I recall spending about $40pp/night.
For truck rental, you can decline the CDW insurance if you have an Amex card and enroll in a special auto rental program. A one-week truck rental split 4 ways is very reasonably priced. Including gas, we spent about $65pp for the week, if I'm not mistaken.
Of course, per person costs increase if you travel with an odd number of divers, but it still won't even remotely approach Buddy's prices.

To those who like the service, accommodations, and convenience at Buddy's, that's great. Enjoy your time there. I'll see you when I dive the Buddy reef. It's a nice site, and fortunately Buddy's grants free access to non-guests.

I'm really not making this up. It can be done with a little bit of effort. I'm sure other ScubaBoarders will back me up on this. It's really tough to beat the vacation cost/dive value on Bonaire.

Hope you find this info helpful. Have fun and dive safe.

 

[driftin' by]

Does Buddy's offer something else as part of that package?

No disbelief, just needed some perspective.

Looks like you just answered your question above... there are indeed trade offs between the two. If you perceive value of having a pool, onsite dive op, on-site restaurants, house reef steps away, being on the water, ocean view and breakfast than that's the difference in price. I'm curious now how much that is going to cost me.

First, you have to compare apples to apples and take into consideration the time value of money (ie. inflation) Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last time you were there was around xmas 2007. The price for Buddy's quoted above is for the current peak period. Buddy's site shows an $88pp price increase (~10%) from last year's off-peak price to this year's on their 4 person, 2-bedroom package. It's only fair to then assume that their peak price would then be $88pp less for the same time period you're comparing to.

Also, the price for BDR quoted above was for 2 people staying in a 1 bedroom apartment. You benefited from having 4 people in a 2 bedroom. 4 people in a 2 bedroom at BDR would be $987pp for 7 nights. Subtract for inflation and you're at $899 which seems about right when we were looking at booking this trip last year.

Whether it's worth it or not is another discussion but the breakfast plan at BDR is valued at $15pp per day. Over 8 days thats $120 bringing the adjusted for inflation price of just room, air and truck to $779. Finally we've got to get rid to that pesky CDW at $10.50 a day bringing BDR price down to $705.

So the difference between your $470pp week and an adjusted week at BDR is $235pp. A sizable amount indeed however I do value the pool, onsite dive op, on-site restaurants, house reef steps away, being on the water with an ocean view all for the extra $235 on top of letting our daughter stay for free which we saw many other resort/hotels charging anywhere from half to the full non-diver, per person rate.

Wait. I never complained about what I was paying so I'm not sure why I bothered with this response.

Thanks for the pointers and recommendation of El Fagon Latino. I will be looking for some cheap eats as I don't value over-priced and exquisite food while on a dive vacation. I can do the gourmet thing here in Houston.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Looks like you just answered your question above... there are indeed trade offs between the two. If you perceive value of having a pool, onsite dive op, on-site restaurants, house reef steps away, being on the water, ocean view and breakfast than that's the difference in price.

I was actually wondering if I was missing anything else. I don't know. Perhaps Buddy's throws a weekly party for guests and discounts alcohol/bar tabs significantly. Maybe that would add value for some people.

Wait. I never complained about what I was paying so I'm not sure why I bothered with this response.

Perhaps your hard work will help other ScubaBoarders with their Bonaire trip planning.

Thanks for the nice breakdown of Buddy's pricing. I completely agree with you on the importance of apples-to-apples comparison. Yes, you're correct, I did not factor in inflation since my last trip in December 2007. Others will have to judge whether the price difference is worth it.

I don't see myself every paying soooo much for an oceanview room, but then again I live on a hill less than a mile from the water in San Diego. We have nice sunsets here, too.

Does BDR permit foregoing the CDW insurance in favor of one's own credit card rental car insurance? I'd be surprised if they did.

It's nice that BDR doesn't charge extra for your daughter. That's a huge plus. For your family, the savings for staying elsewhere may have been as much as $235pp x 2 people = $470...possibly less if they charged for your daughter.

A few more tips:

• Bring some granola bars from home to snack on in-between dives. I noticed that snack food was pricey on the island.
• If you're a fan of gouda and edam, you'll love the cheese there.
• Take along powdered Gatorade to "spice" up surface interval hydration.

Have a wonderful time on the island!