bonaire divi vacation diver trip report

[KeithG]

we recently returned from a 8 day trip to the divi. it was mostly the same, no shocking news (my 10th, divebuddy 11th to bonaire, most at the divi)

news:
divi is being rennovated. they are overhauling the south pool to add a swim up bar. they are also installing new interlocking brick path across the resort (why?). the grass area in front of the casino has been replaced with a very large sand kitty litter box. all trees were removed, umbrellas are being installed.

my impression is that all obvious work is aimed at serving cruise ship passengers. bonus was that cruise shippers were diverted to the plazza during construction...

good news:
(i claim) some work has been done on the tanks. our last trip 8 months ago had many tanks leaking air around the valve threads, BUT some brand new tanks were delivered during that trip. this time, no tanks leaking around valve threads AND all tanks had the last hydro stamp? hand circled with a black sharpie.

there was also some evidence of some rooms being over hauled. 500? block had 2 debris chutes.

the single level gear lockers in the dive orientation area have been replaced by full height dual lockers.

bad news:
we were there with a full house. 5 dive boats each morning, 3 each afternoon. cruise ships monday though thursday. 1 ship powered away and silted the dive site.

feel free to ask questions, i may remember more...

 

[Doctorfish]

Too bad.

We last stayed at Divi about 5 years ago and switched to Buddy's because of some of the issues you mentioned.

Cruise ships seemed to cause noise and a faint vibration on the house reef even when moored.
Silted reef

Cruise shippers staying at the resort during the day, essentially taking over the facilities.

Divi is certainly convenient to town, but IMO the house reef at Buddy's and Habitat is better and there is easy access to Bari Reef which is better still.

 

[KeithG]

Too bad.

We last stayed at Divi about 5 years ago and switched to Buddy's because of some of the issues you mentioned.

Cruise ships seemed to cause noise and a faint vibration on the house reef even when moored.
Silted reef

Cruise shippers staying at the resort during the day, essentially taking over the facilities.

Divi is certainly convenient to town, but IMO the house reef at Buddy's and Habitat is better and there is easy access to Bari Reef which is better still.

there were no cruise ship passengers at the divi (closed for repairs?) they were all directed to go to the plaza. maybe they will be allowed back once the repairs are completed?

we only noticed noise / silt from 1 of the cruise ships. no issues the rest of the week.

 

[drrich2]

Sounds like you've historically been a Divi fan. I've never stayed there; I know where it is. Out of curiosity, what makes you choose Divi over other options? Might be useful info. for people thinking about which dive resort to pick.

Richard.

 

[KeithG]

Sounds like you've historically been a Divi fan. I've never stayed there; I know where it is. Out of curiosity, what makes you choose Divi over other options? Might be useful info. for people thinking about which dive resort to pick.

Richard.

yes, we have used divi a lot. it has its good points and some not so good points (restaurants).

a large attraction is an ocean front room and the closeness to town so we can walk to supper. no need to rent a vehicle. the on dock secure gear lockers are also a large consideration, almost as easy as a liveaboard. this minimizes the amount of gear lugging i have to do. i am lazy. AND i am on vacation.

we originally started out at sand dollar, then did captn dons for a while. both are located too far away to walk to town, so we also rented a vehicle.

we finally gave up on dons due to surly dive op service and full boats. the signup system they used at the time meant that the morning boats filled up while we were doing our afternoon dive. the only way to get back on a morning boat was to sit out an afternoon dive and camp out at the signup board. things may have changed?

divi always provides enough boats at each time slot (they ran 5 boats in the morning this last trip) so you can always go when you want.

we only eat breakfast at divi as the food and service is barely adequate. we grab lunch fixins at the sunshine market (1 building away) and make a simple cold sandwich lunch in our room. easy and convenient. supper is in town, 5, 10 or 15 minute walks from our room, depending on which place we go to. walking allows us to safely enjoy some wine with supper.

the dive op is well run with lots of long term staff onboard. there are always lots of tanks on the dock so you can dive any time you want without making any special arrangements for "off hours" dives when the shop is closed. dock dives mean i only have to carry tanks about 20 feet and then jump in and immediately start my dive. it is a very low effort setup.

we like macro critters, so the dock dive works well. it provides sand shallows south of the dock, rubble shallows north of the dock and a gently sloping reef down to as deep as you need to go. we did it 13 times this last trip and did not manage to cover all of it. about 75 minutes each dive. we take the afternoon boat (60 minute dive limit) to get some site variation.

the resort is actually a collection of 3 different properties so there is multiple choices of room types available. the timeshares feature full kitchens. the rooms in the middle property appear to be minimal (i have not looked in one as they are too close to the restauraunt / bar and can be noisy at night). the south rooms we now use have a fridge and coffee maker and are ocean front, very quiet with private balcony.

 

[KeithG]

looks like the divi make over has been completed and now looks more modern.
things i have noticed so far include
- repaved all walkways with interlocking bricks
- huge kitty litter box between casino and the water with umbrellas and lounge chairs
- south pool totally revamped with a series of cabanas around the pool, no swim up bar as i conjectured earlier: some cabanas have a moat around them
- the buffet restaurant has been renamed "pureocean"
- new chairs and tables in both restaurants
- new lounge chairs everywhere
- pureocean restaurant has has a slight facelift, steps fixed, new cooler and hot plates for buffet, wind screen added to east wall
- our ocean room has a brand new washroom with shower instead of a tub
- a series a cabanas has been added beside (south of) the chibi chibi restaurant
- the south grounds has been re-landscaped and now features several astroturf greens
- the dive shop has had a slight facelift, new counters and layout, less cluttered, weights moved outside on the dock
- new railings in several places

 

[mmmbelows]

What's with all the boat diving???

 

[KeithG]

What's with all the boat diving???

low effort. my threshold for lugging a tank above water is about 10 feet.