midwestdiver
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I have to agree with some of the above. I've stayed at Buddys twice now and have loved it both times. Can't beat the druve-thru air fills!
Bonaire
- Thread starter strdive
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Hi,
The first week of Feb 2003, I went with a group of 10 friends some old and some new. We went to Buddy's. This is my second time to Bonaire. The first time was before hurricane Lenny. I would have to say the many of the reefs looked quite damaged compared to diving there prior to Hurricane Lenny but Bonaire is still an excellent place to go on a trip. The reefs are very much alive with fish and life but many coral heads are damaged. That did not make these bad dives, just different than how I remember Bonaire. Some reefs especially on Klein Bonaire were still pristine.
Buddy's resort makes diving easy. If you dive the house reef, it's a matter of walking down to the dock which could be as little as 100 to 200 ft stroll. Down there, they store your dive gear in a locker. Grab a tank from the tank area, set up your gear and jump in. Diving here is on your own schedule and around the clock. There is a lot of life at the dock and plenty on the house reef right there. The reef is about a 50 to 75 feet from the dock and holds plenty of life. They have two really nice boats but the third one does look a little small but I was never on that one. I only saw that used for very small private groups when the other boats were not available. If you want to shore dive around the island their drive through pick up station makes this real easy. I was lazy and did all of the boat dives offered plus and dived the house reef a lot more than venturing out. I believe you can add five boat dives for $100. I did venture out a few times to shore dive in other areas. I would say I did 3 to 5 dives a day but chose to dive at the resort to make life easier. Some in my group wanted more diversity but I felt I could always find different life or different areas at the resort. I like to move real slow under water and I find lots of life. I find that a reef has lots to offer. Dont miss the giant 6 to 8 foot tarpons that escort you on night dives at the house reef. Most people need to become better observers. I have over 175 dives under my belt and more than half are done in the north east in New York. It is not easy diving in New York so I had a different attitude while I was on vacation. Besides, someone volunteered us to cook lunch and dinner for all 10 people during our trip for the whole trip but, thats a whole story in itself. I needed to be close to get the meals prepared during the surface intervals! All of my best photographs from this trip came from the house reef. Others in my group made use of buddy's pick up truck and dived many of the other sites. When you come out of the water the rise tank is right at the dock. You can rinse yourself and your gear and hang it up in the locker until your next dive. You do not have to lug your gear around.
We always had an interest in the Plaza so we took a ride there. They have very nice grounds and the resort is beautiful, but I parked the pickup and started walking and walking and walking. Where was the entry to the water? I bumped into a couple and they were said going diving. They were lugging their gear too. It was a hike to the entry point even without lugging my gear. Some rooms are close to the entry point but far from the parking lot. Since I did not stay there this is only my observation. I would like to know in case I plan on going back. Some insight to this would be appreciated. Does the Plaza have lockers to store your gear that is near to the beach entry point and the boat dock. Are there parking areas close to the room? What do you need to do if you plan on diving outside of the resort? How does their operation work?
The only problem we had which we never had in the past was a couple of mosquitoes would find their way into the bedroom during the day and attack us at night until they were hunted down.
I would like to add that my I bought a digital photo setup for just this trip and got excellent pictures within my second dive. I can post some pictures. The housing is for sale and is in excellent shape. I would like to get $260 for it. Its a PT-015 for the Olympus c5050 and I got excellent results and its a great product. It was the only one available for me before my trip so I purchased it. This housing is rated for 130 feet but I want one that works in the deeper waters around New York so Im willing to part with it.
Email me with the subject Bonaire question at ahplee@aol.com for any other info.
If you have any questions about use of this camera post a question?
Enjoy your trip we had a great time.
The first week of Feb 2003, I went with a group of 10 friends some old and some new. We went to Buddy's. This is my second time to Bonaire. The first time was before hurricane Lenny. I would have to say the many of the reefs looked quite damaged compared to diving there prior to Hurricane Lenny but Bonaire is still an excellent place to go on a trip. The reefs are very much alive with fish and life but many coral heads are damaged. That did not make these bad dives, just different than how I remember Bonaire. Some reefs especially on Klein Bonaire were still pristine.
Buddy's resort makes diving easy. If you dive the house reef, it's a matter of walking down to the dock which could be as little as 100 to 200 ft stroll. Down there, they store your dive gear in a locker. Grab a tank from the tank area, set up your gear and jump in. Diving here is on your own schedule and around the clock. There is a lot of life at the dock and plenty on the house reef right there. The reef is about a 50 to 75 feet from the dock and holds plenty of life. They have two really nice boats but the third one does look a little small but I was never on that one. I only saw that used for very small private groups when the other boats were not available. If you want to shore dive around the island their drive through pick up station makes this real easy. I was lazy and did all of the boat dives offered plus and dived the house reef a lot more than venturing out. I believe you can add five boat dives for $100. I did venture out a few times to shore dive in other areas. I would say I did 3 to 5 dives a day but chose to dive at the resort to make life easier. Some in my group wanted more diversity but I felt I could always find different life or different areas at the resort. I like to move real slow under water and I find lots of life. I find that a reef has lots to offer. Dont miss the giant 6 to 8 foot tarpons that escort you on night dives at the house reef. Most people need to become better observers. I have over 175 dives under my belt and more than half are done in the north east in New York. It is not easy diving in New York so I had a different attitude while I was on vacation. Besides, someone volunteered us to cook lunch and dinner for all 10 people during our trip for the whole trip but, thats a whole story in itself. I needed to be close to get the meals prepared during the surface intervals! All of my best photographs from this trip came from the house reef. Others in my group made use of buddy's pick up truck and dived many of the other sites. When you come out of the water the rise tank is right at the dock. You can rinse yourself and your gear and hang it up in the locker until your next dive. You do not have to lug your gear around.
We always had an interest in the Plaza so we took a ride there. They have very nice grounds and the resort is beautiful, but I parked the pickup and started walking and walking and walking. Where was the entry to the water? I bumped into a couple and they were said going diving. They were lugging their gear too. It was a hike to the entry point even without lugging my gear. Some rooms are close to the entry point but far from the parking lot. Since I did not stay there this is only my observation. I would like to know in case I plan on going back. Some insight to this would be appreciated. Does the Plaza have lockers to store your gear that is near to the beach entry point and the boat dock. Are there parking areas close to the room? What do you need to do if you plan on diving outside of the resort? How does their operation work?
The only problem we had which we never had in the past was a couple of mosquitoes would find their way into the bedroom during the day and attack us at night until they were hunted down.
I would like to add that my I bought a digital photo setup for just this trip and got excellent pictures within my second dive. I can post some pictures. The housing is for sale and is in excellent shape. I would like to get $260 for it. Its a PT-015 for the Olympus c5050 and I got excellent results and its a great product. It was the only one available for me before my trip so I purchased it. This housing is rated for 130 feet but I want one that works in the deeper waters around New York so Im willing to part with it.
Email me with the subject Bonaire question at ahplee@aol.com for any other info.
If you have any questions about use of this camera post a question?
Enjoy your trip we had a great time.
bridgenet
Contributor
My wife and I were at the Plaza last September with Natasha's group. There are two entry points for shore diving. The closest is near the pool, kind of the mid point of the resort. They keep a bunch of tanks here and you can gear up, then walk across the beach to dive. This spot isn't far from the rooms, depending where your room is. The second location is at the far end of the resort by one of the restaurants (possibly the one you are speaking of. They keep a bunch of tanks on the dock. This works out given the size of the resort and how dispersed rooms may be.
Your right the walk from the dive shop to the water is a pain. Lockers are provided. We typically did our shore dives and took the equipment back to our rooms for rinsing. Then in the morning took it to the boats at the other side of the resort. Stored it in the lockers if we weren't shore diving. Also the dive shop will typically give you a short ride to the shore if you ask. We didn't mind the hike or probably just didn't want to wait. Walk wasn't that bad but was a walk. Rooms are much closer, hence leaving equipment there in our case many times.
There are no parking areas real close to the rooms that I can remember, at least for the most part. Our room was probably one of the closests, maybe 100 yds? With regards to diving off site, no problem. You can rent a pickup and go do shore diving. Just back the truck up to the dive shop and load up on tanks.
We did love the Plaza and dive shop was awesome!
Kev
Your right the walk from the dive shop to the water is a pain. Lockers are provided. We typically did our shore dives and took the equipment back to our rooms for rinsing. Then in the morning took it to the boats at the other side of the resort. Stored it in the lockers if we weren't shore diving. Also the dive shop will typically give you a short ride to the shore if you ask. We didn't mind the hike or probably just didn't want to wait. Walk wasn't that bad but was a walk. Rooms are much closer, hence leaving equipment there in our case many times.
There are no parking areas real close to the rooms that I can remember, at least for the most part. Our room was probably one of the closests, maybe 100 yds? With regards to diving off site, no problem. You can rent a pickup and go do shore diving. Just back the truck up to the dive shop and load up on tanks.
We did love the Plaza and dive shop was awesome!
Kev
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