We completed our first trip to Bonaire Nov.14 - Nov. 21. Took the 630 flight from JAX and the 0945 Delta flight from ATL. Weather was good, no issues with aircraft or the airports. Long line at passport control in Bonaire but they handled it well; we only waited about 10 minutes. Baggage claim was probably more like 20 minutes, but it seemed like they only had one cart to shuttle luggage from the aircraft. Not a big deal. Buddy Dive met us (and probably 100 other people) at the airport and after a little confusion we were on our way. Check-in was a little slow as there were several large groups on our flight but the desk staff handled it as efficiently as possible. They really should have had more staff to handle the process but those who were working were on the ball. (Quick sidebar- one of the groups was from "Loves Park Scuba"- we could tell by their matching shirts; many of which were worn through the week. Ick! Many of their members were the most rude and pushy people around. I get that they are just customers of the shop but it seriously gave the shop a bad name. Get it together guys....don't be the ***hole Americans we all get stereotyped with.) We bought the full insurance for our truck and were handed a beater, which I thought was odd. She grew on us though and we named her Wilhelmina by the next day 
. Since it was just the two of us, we rented a studio for the week which ended up being a little small but was suitable. Anyway, after check-in we headed to Zhung Kong to grab a few supplies then had dinner and drinks at Blennies. (Buddy's "pool bar" restaurant).
The next day was the orientation and checkout dive. The orientation was ok, but again there were probably 70-80 people doing it at the same time so we were split into groups and could not hear everything that was said. Afterwards, we headed down to the dock to do our checkout dive. As I was fine tuning my wife's weight, I grabbed what apparently was the last weight block they had. Umm what? Yeah, they ran out of weight. Amateur hour. Some people didn't even get to do their dive. Not sure how that played out as apparently we were "lucky" and went on ahead with our dives. That night was the much celebrated "Creature Feature" at the pool bar which is advertised as describing a lot of the reef life of Bonaire. It was a half hour slideshow put on by the "Photo Doctor" at the camera rental station. It turned out to be 15 minutes of how to take a picture (we are not photographers), 5 minutes of reef life and ten minutes of infomercial on the services of the camera department. I don't necessarily regret going, but it was disappointing.
Anyhoo, speaking of the diving here are the dive sites we did:
Buddy's Reef (three times)
Bachelor's Beach
Windsock Beach
Hilma Hooker
Salt Pier
Oil Slick Leap
1000 Steps
Bari Reef
Of these, our favorite dive was probably Oil Slick. Yes we did the leap! For marine life and ease of entry and exit Bari was probably the nicest reef. We used the entry just south of Den Laman. I'm sure I'll get lots of grumbling but our least favorite (by far) was the Salt Pier. Yuck! Lots of junk all over the bottom, all covered with some greenish looking silt. It didn't help that the winds were out of the southeast the first part of the week and the surge was pretty bad. Visibility varied from the 40-90 foot range, and water temps were a constant 82 all week. I was quite comfortable in my 3mm. We followed the protocol of taking nothing of value with us to any of the sites: flip flops, a shirt, cooler with sandwiches and water, and a copy of BSDME. Left the windows down and doors unlocked; never had a problem. In fact, after reading multiple cautions here we were surprised at how many people did NOT leave their windows down. There were some sites where we were the ONLY ones who did. Interestingly enough, during at least half of our excursions we saw either the Police or Customs (Douane) drive through the site. Clipped our room and truck key to a pocket in my boardshorts which were always under my wetsuit.
Buddy Dive
Despite my bellyaching above, I give them 4/5 stars. The staff was really great, from the cleaning crew to the dive guys. Augusto is a trip and a half; he thinks he's quite the comedian lol. We were expecting basic, a little rustic, but clean, and that's exactly what we got. The room was great, and we loved having the pool outside our patio. For those familiar with the property, we were in building 600. It was nice being a little set back from the restaurant and dive operation though we didn't have any kind of real view (not that it was a priority for us). The kitchenette while tiny, was well appointed with cookware, utensils, and modern appliances. My only real complaint was the water heater. I swear it was only 5 gallons! Between the two of us, we could only take a five minute shower. Yeah I get the whole energy and water conservation thing but really? 2 1/2 minutes to take a shower doesn't cut it. We conserve water as it is by taking one together! We did not do any boat dives so I can't speak to that aspect of the dive operation. The drive thru fill station was meh. There were plenty of tanks to go around (I used 80s, my wife, 63s) but they really need to fill them more slowly. Pulled a few that were 2000-2200 psi. I would literally need to go to the back of the stack and pull ones that weren't hot. Several also had bad O-rings. The integrated gauge/O2 analyzers were nice. Housekeeping was just right. Exchanged towels as necessary, made the beds every day, changed the sheets once (maybe twice, I don't remember), swept up, etc. Did a good job but nothing too fussy, which we didn't expect or need. Wifi- it was just a little spotty at times, but we had no real problems whatsoever accessing it most anywhere on the property, including our room. This was one complaint about Buddy that had stuck out with us but we were very pleased with its quality and speed. Maybe they've recently upgraded it.
Restaurants/Food
Blennies- This is Buddy's "pool bar" restaurant. We ate here twice (three times if you include the Friday BBQ). Prices were a tad steep but nothing to complain about. Service was quick and friendly. (We did not get a chance to eat at Ingridients, which is their "upscale" restaurant. Lots of people on SB have said its pretty good and it certainly smelled that way. Something to save for next trip)
Buddy's Breakfast Buffet- This was a truly great feature to have. A little Dutch, a little American, and as much as you wanted. We would eat our money's worth at breakfast and just snack during the afternoon, saving our next big meal for dinner. It was a great routine.
Rum Runners @ Capt Don's- Did the Monday night BBQ, which despite not having a whole pig was almost as good as Buddy's. We also did a fresh fish pizza calzone to go one night. Will definitely go back. We loved the decor of the resort; reminded us of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" :mickey:
Between 2 Buns- Yes! As good as it was cracked up to be. Only ate there once but its a must do for next time.
Cuba Compagnie- This was our one "fancy" night out and we weren't disappointed. Mojitos, wahoo ceviche, entrees, dessert and coffee for the two of us was just over $90. It's in a gorgeous location right off Wilhelmina Park with a lot of outside patio-style seating. Reservations recommended!
Spice Club (Eden Beach)- Drinks only but a cool vibe. One of the places we got to hear some live music. Sat in a covered beach bed next to the ocean and an an open fire. What's not to love about that?
Kite City Food Truck- Funny story...so we get ready and get in for our dive at Windsock. As we're heading back up the reef through the sand flats I was hungry and thinking about lunch. We surface to check our landmark and..."I don't remember THAT being there!" It was like an oasis in the desert! They had parked within 50 feet of our truck while we were on our dive and the breeze was wafting the smell over to us while bobbing on the surface. We each had a fresh octopus wrap and a chill SI in their bean bag chairs.
Airport pastiches- They were so-so. We had some at breakfast one morning at Buddy's that were much better.
An overall comment about our experience with service: we did not experience the molasses-slow "island time" service that many people warn you about. Everywhere was relaxed, but friendly and efficient. You do certainly get the impression they don't want to rush you, which I greatly appreciate. Overall the experience was just as good or better than anything in the US. When a waitress puts her hand on your shoulder and calls you "dushi" you're doing it right
Zhung Kong- Small and a little dirty but convenient for those staying in Hato. Staff spoke no English whatsoever (at least the three that were there when we shopped). Good liquor selection and prices.
Van Den Tweel- Clean, modern grocery store. Lots of fresh baked goods and meats. We actually bought some premarinated kabobs and cooked them at our condo for dinner one night. Good selection of Dutch chocolate which somehow made its way home with us :bandit:
Departure was quite an experience. We were loaded onto a school bus and left Buddy at 12:30. Our flight was at 3:50. The airline check-in line was over an hour. We sat on a bench for about half of that waiting for it to subside. Our plane was a half hour late getting in, ergo we were roughly a half hour late getting back to Atlanta. By the time we had waited in three (four?) lines to get back into the main terminal at Atlanta, we had missed our connection. The last flight to JAX was leaving one hour from then, but was full. The Delta agent noticed it was our birthday (yes, wife and I have the same birthday) so she booked us on the 10pm flight in first class! Yay!
Miscellaneous
The Driving
Pretty easy for the most part, we only got lost twice and that wasn't for very long. Driving is a little chaotic, with close to no road markings, sparse street signs, and lots of roundabouts (Rotonde!). We saw some people drive fast and assertively, but never saw any kind of road rage like we see at home. Maybe we weren't there long enough, I don't know. I have to say though that we have some dirt roads at home that are in better shape than some of the paved roads in Bonaire. It made our week driving Wilhelmina more interesting!
The Environment
Heat and mosquitoes? Really? Yeah it's a little toasty if you stay in the sun for too long but there is always a breeze, and coupled with shade its quite tolerable even in the middle of the day. The nights were close to perfect. Everyone complaining about heat and bugs must be from Minnesota. My wife even teased one of the locals at Buddy telling him their mosquitoes are amateurs. "They're small and slow!" We brought two small pump sprays of DEET and never opened them.
The People
I initially got the impression they were standoffish and a little rude. Once I spent some time interacting, I came to the conclusion that most are very friendly, but only if you are to them. I think they don't always quite know what to think of us. Have there maybe just been too many rude tourists that they don't bother trying unless you do? Have too many foreigners looked down on them as a local servant class that they decide not to interact? I hope not, because by and large, they seem to be genuine and kind people. I look forward to meeting more of them on our next trip.
. Since it was just the two of us, we rented a studio for the week which ended up being a little small but was suitable. Anyway, after check-in we headed to Zhung Kong to grab a few supplies then had dinner and drinks at Blennies. (Buddy's "pool bar" restaurant). The next day was the orientation and checkout dive. The orientation was ok, but again there were probably 70-80 people doing it at the same time so we were split into groups and could not hear everything that was said. Afterwards, we headed down to the dock to do our checkout dive. As I was fine tuning my wife's weight, I grabbed what apparently was the last weight block they had. Umm what? Yeah, they ran out of weight. Amateur hour. Some people didn't even get to do their dive. Not sure how that played out as apparently we were "lucky" and went on ahead with our dives. That night was the much celebrated "Creature Feature" at the pool bar which is advertised as describing a lot of the reef life of Bonaire. It was a half hour slideshow put on by the "Photo Doctor" at the camera rental station. It turned out to be 15 minutes of how to take a picture (we are not photographers), 5 minutes of reef life and ten minutes of infomercial on the services of the camera department. I don't necessarily regret going, but it was disappointing.
Anyhoo, speaking of the diving here are the dive sites we did:
Buddy's Reef (three times)
Bachelor's Beach
Windsock Beach
Hilma Hooker
Salt Pier
Oil Slick Leap
1000 Steps
Bari Reef
Of these, our favorite dive was probably Oil Slick. Yes we did the leap! For marine life and ease of entry and exit Bari was probably the nicest reef. We used the entry just south of Den Laman. I'm sure I'll get lots of grumbling but our least favorite (by far) was the Salt Pier. Yuck! Lots of junk all over the bottom, all covered with some greenish looking silt. It didn't help that the winds were out of the southeast the first part of the week and the surge was pretty bad. Visibility varied from the 40-90 foot range, and water temps were a constant 82 all week. I was quite comfortable in my 3mm. We followed the protocol of taking nothing of value with us to any of the sites: flip flops, a shirt, cooler with sandwiches and water, and a copy of BSDME. Left the windows down and doors unlocked; never had a problem. In fact, after reading multiple cautions here we were surprised at how many people did NOT leave their windows down. There were some sites where we were the ONLY ones who did. Interestingly enough, during at least half of our excursions we saw either the Police or Customs (Douane) drive through the site. Clipped our room and truck key to a pocket in my boardshorts which were always under my wetsuit.
Buddy Dive
Despite my bellyaching above, I give them 4/5 stars. The staff was really great, from the cleaning crew to the dive guys. Augusto is a trip and a half; he thinks he's quite the comedian lol. We were expecting basic, a little rustic, but clean, and that's exactly what we got. The room was great, and we loved having the pool outside our patio. For those familiar with the property, we were in building 600. It was nice being a little set back from the restaurant and dive operation though we didn't have any kind of real view (not that it was a priority for us). The kitchenette while tiny, was well appointed with cookware, utensils, and modern appliances. My only real complaint was the water heater. I swear it was only 5 gallons! Between the two of us, we could only take a five minute shower. Yeah I get the whole energy and water conservation thing but really? 2 1/2 minutes to take a shower doesn't cut it. We conserve water as it is by taking one together! We did not do any boat dives so I can't speak to that aspect of the dive operation. The drive thru fill station was meh. There were plenty of tanks to go around (I used 80s, my wife, 63s) but they really need to fill them more slowly. Pulled a few that were 2000-2200 psi. I would literally need to go to the back of the stack and pull ones that weren't hot. Several also had bad O-rings. The integrated gauge/O2 analyzers were nice. Housekeeping was just right. Exchanged towels as necessary, made the beds every day, changed the sheets once (maybe twice, I don't remember), swept up, etc. Did a good job but nothing too fussy, which we didn't expect or need. Wifi- it was just a little spotty at times, but we had no real problems whatsoever accessing it most anywhere on the property, including our room. This was one complaint about Buddy that had stuck out with us but we were very pleased with its quality and speed. Maybe they've recently upgraded it.
Restaurants/Food
Blennies- This is Buddy's "pool bar" restaurant. We ate here twice (three times if you include the Friday BBQ). Prices were a tad steep but nothing to complain about. Service was quick and friendly. (We did not get a chance to eat at Ingridients, which is their "upscale" restaurant. Lots of people on SB have said its pretty good and it certainly smelled that way. Something to save for next trip)
Buddy's Breakfast Buffet- This was a truly great feature to have. A little Dutch, a little American, and as much as you wanted. We would eat our money's worth at breakfast and just snack during the afternoon, saving our next big meal for dinner. It was a great routine.
Rum Runners @ Capt Don's- Did the Monday night BBQ, which despite not having a whole pig was almost as good as Buddy's. We also did a fresh fish pizza calzone to go one night. Will definitely go back. We loved the decor of the resort; reminded us of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" :mickey:
Between 2 Buns- Yes! As good as it was cracked up to be. Only ate there once but its a must do for next time.
Cuba Compagnie- This was our one "fancy" night out and we weren't disappointed. Mojitos, wahoo ceviche, entrees, dessert and coffee for the two of us was just over $90. It's in a gorgeous location right off Wilhelmina Park with a lot of outside patio-style seating. Reservations recommended!
Spice Club (Eden Beach)- Drinks only but a cool vibe. One of the places we got to hear some live music. Sat in a covered beach bed next to the ocean and an an open fire. What's not to love about that?
Kite City Food Truck- Funny story...so we get ready and get in for our dive at Windsock. As we're heading back up the reef through the sand flats I was hungry and thinking about lunch. We surface to check our landmark and..."I don't remember THAT being there!" It was like an oasis in the desert! They had parked within 50 feet of our truck while we were on our dive and the breeze was wafting the smell over to us while bobbing on the surface. We each had a fresh octopus wrap and a chill SI in their bean bag chairs.
Airport pastiches- They were so-so. We had some at breakfast one morning at Buddy's that were much better.
An overall comment about our experience with service: we did not experience the molasses-slow "island time" service that many people warn you about. Everywhere was relaxed, but friendly and efficient. You do certainly get the impression they don't want to rush you, which I greatly appreciate. Overall the experience was just as good or better than anything in the US. When a waitress puts her hand on your shoulder and calls you "dushi" you're doing it right
Zhung Kong- Small and a little dirty but convenient for those staying in Hato. Staff spoke no English whatsoever (at least the three that were there when we shopped). Good liquor selection and prices.
Van Den Tweel- Clean, modern grocery store. Lots of fresh baked goods and meats. We actually bought some premarinated kabobs and cooked them at our condo for dinner one night. Good selection of Dutch chocolate which somehow made its way home with us :bandit:
Departure was quite an experience. We were loaded onto a school bus and left Buddy at 12:30. Our flight was at 3:50. The airline check-in line was over an hour. We sat on a bench for about half of that waiting for it to subside. Our plane was a half hour late getting in, ergo we were roughly a half hour late getting back to Atlanta. By the time we had waited in three (four?) lines to get back into the main terminal at Atlanta, we had missed our connection. The last flight to JAX was leaving one hour from then, but was full. The Delta agent noticed it was our birthday (yes, wife and I have the same birthday) so she booked us on the 10pm flight in first class! Yay!
Miscellaneous
The Driving
Pretty easy for the most part, we only got lost twice and that wasn't for very long. Driving is a little chaotic, with close to no road markings, sparse street signs, and lots of roundabouts (Rotonde!). We saw some people drive fast and assertively, but never saw any kind of road rage like we see at home. Maybe we weren't there long enough, I don't know. I have to say though that we have some dirt roads at home that are in better shape than some of the paved roads in Bonaire. It made our week driving Wilhelmina more interesting!
The Environment
Heat and mosquitoes? Really? Yeah it's a little toasty if you stay in the sun for too long but there is always a breeze, and coupled with shade its quite tolerable even in the middle of the day. The nights were close to perfect. Everyone complaining about heat and bugs must be from Minnesota. My wife even teased one of the locals at Buddy telling him their mosquitoes are amateurs. "They're small and slow!" We brought two small pump sprays of DEET and never opened them.
The People
I initially got the impression they were standoffish and a little rude. Once I spent some time interacting, I came to the conclusion that most are very friendly, but only if you are to them. I think they don't always quite know what to think of us. Have there maybe just been too many rude tourists that they don't bother trying unless you do? Have too many foreigners looked down on them as a local servant class that they decide not to interact? I hope not, because by and large, they seem to be genuine and kind people. I look forward to meeting more of them on our next trip.
