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Bonaire trip report (Oct 25-28...Buddy Dive sux)
- Thread starter SBP Studios
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Thanks for the update and review.
Did you get a chance to check out Harbour Village?
Caribbean vacations | Bonaire vacations | harbourvillage.com
Did you get a chance to check out Harbour Village?
Caribbean vacations | Bonaire vacations | harbourvillage.com
helimvee
Contributor
Rooms and restaurants on Bonaire are just like the reefs. If you have a bad experience or you don't like the view - go somewhere else and it will be better.
Glad you enjoyed your visit, in spite of your experience at Buddy Dive.
Glad you enjoyed your visit, in spite of your experience at Buddy Dive.
OP
SBP Studios
Contributor
scubaren
Contributor
I stayed at Captain Don's years ago. I went with a local group. The place was great and I had an excellent time.
driftwood
Contributor
Me too. The bumper was falling off and the floor was rusted out when I got it, so even though I drove it through Washington Slagbaai park, up dirt road hills and through ditches, there was no way to tell if it was damaged any more than when I got it.
In fact, it was such a beater that even if I managed to total it, the whole thing wasn't worth much more than my deductible.
As for buddy dive in general, I've been there a few times and the only thing I can say with certainty is that they're unpredictable. Once I got a room that was probably the nicest place I've ever stayed anywhere, and another time I got one that was such a mold-pit that I my sinuses were clogged for days and I almost couldn't dive.
Since they won't guarantee a specific room when you make reservations, I've stopped going there.
Terry
Buddy's is made up of two different resorts. The older side is the Lions Dive and the newer side is Buddy's. Night and day difference between the two sides. Buddy's is consistently pretty good and Lion's is hugely variable regarding room quality. Lions' used to be a time share resort and they still have to honor that commitment. They will honor it, but not much motivation to keep some of the rooms up.
Nice to hear that the truck rental operation is still as screwed up as it was both times we have been there.
Good advice about Buudy's refusal to guarantee specific rooms. There are a lot of other places to stay on the island.
Love under water Bonaire, wouldn't give you two cents for the place above water.
DiverVince
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SBP..There are many GREAT places to stay on Bonaire. Look around. You can start by examining the places on this site which break them down according to price; deluxe, superior or budget. Your pick. Enjoy your next trip!
Info Bonaire - Deluxe Accommodations over $150 - Hotel, Resort, Condo, and Apartment Listings on Bonaire
Info Bonaire - Deluxe Accommodations over $150 - Hotel, Resort, Condo, and Apartment Listings on Bonaire
OP
SBP Studios
Contributor
thanks for the tips for next time!
I have another tip for people thinking about going. Try to get a direct flight!!
I have another tip for people thinking about going. Try to get a direct flight!!
robint
Contributor
Bonaire diving is awesome! Glad you enjoyed it and plan to go back. It doesn't get much better or easier anywhere. 
Sorry you had such a bad experience at Buddy Dive. We had a great time there.
They do let you charge meals at the smaller poolside restaurant during the day(lunch, snacks) but I know the Lion's Den is a separate establishment so we never tried to charge there, just paid cash.
Our truck rental was fine and the resort was full the week we were there, though we weren't able to pick it up first thing in the morning as it wasn't ready yet. We were able to get in after lunch the first day so no biggy.
We found the dive op staff, dive shop and DMs were some of the best we have dealt with anywhere and always friendly and helpful. MamaLou who runs the dive shop gave out hugs to everyone who came in the shop! During the daytime there was always a DM or two on the dock and as soon as we came up the steps one of them came over and helped me out of my gear and took away my tank for me. I have never had that happen before! Maybe the time of year was a factor - we were there in early June and as I said the resort was full so maybe the staff was a bit more on their toes.
We did feel the front desk staff was a bit annoying, it seemed like they didn't communicate well with each other and not trained well enough, but we were told that there is a high turnover rate of hotel staff on Bonaire so we accepted that as status quo. No biggy, when we didn't get an answer to our question, we just waited an hour and went back up front and asked someone else. (We learned this trick by going to Cozumel over and over where hotel employees at all hotels are awful and most of them just lie to you rather than tell you they don't know the answer to a question. They just want you to go away so they tell you anthing.)
When we go back to Bonaire, we will probably stay at Buddy Dive again mainly because we like the shore diving there. Being able to do a dawn dive before breakfast was fantastic and also being able to do a night dive then still go out to dinner made our trip.
robin
Sorry you had such a bad experience at Buddy Dive. We had a great time there.
They do let you charge meals at the smaller poolside restaurant during the day(lunch, snacks) but I know the Lion's Den is a separate establishment so we never tried to charge there, just paid cash.
Our truck rental was fine and the resort was full the week we were there, though we weren't able to pick it up first thing in the morning as it wasn't ready yet. We were able to get in after lunch the first day so no biggy.
We found the dive op staff, dive shop and DMs were some of the best we have dealt with anywhere and always friendly and helpful. MamaLou who runs the dive shop gave out hugs to everyone who came in the shop! During the daytime there was always a DM or two on the dock and as soon as we came up the steps one of them came over and helped me out of my gear and took away my tank for me. I have never had that happen before! Maybe the time of year was a factor - we were there in early June and as I said the resort was full so maybe the staff was a bit more on their toes.
We did feel the front desk staff was a bit annoying, it seemed like they didn't communicate well with each other and not trained well enough, but we were told that there is a high turnover rate of hotel staff on Bonaire so we accepted that as status quo. No biggy, when we didn't get an answer to our question, we just waited an hour and went back up front and asked someone else.
(We learned this trick by going to Cozumel over and over where hotel employees at all hotels are awful and most of them just lie to you rather than tell you they don't know the answer to a question. They just want you to go away so they tell you anthing.)When we go back to Bonaire, we will probably stay at Buddy Dive again mainly because we like the shore diving there. Being able to do a dawn dive before breakfast was fantastic and also being able to do a night dive then still go out to dinner made our trip.
robin
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