Protondecay123
Contributor
I posted this review on the Undercurrent Members Review as well. It was one "Incredible Vacation"
After hearing so much about the quality of SCUBA diving Bonaire, we had to give it a go. The wives don't dive, so we booked Delfins Beach Resort at Punt Vierkant just south of BIA. There has been a lot of criticism of the place on online reviews and it does have it's quirks. But it does have some really great benefits for those who do not dive. My traveling started in the 1980's via Uncle Sam's Navy about the Caribbean, North Atlantic, North Sea, the Med and Red Sea over a 4 year time period on a guided missile destroyer. So adapting to the "European way" of vacationing was not terribly problematic for me. Having wives who don't dive had us looking outside the usual dive resorts for a nice beach, pool side bar, hammocks, etc. Perusing for hours looking at photos on this site and various resort websites, we decided on Delfins. And ultimately we were quite happy with our choice. We would go back there again with non-diving significant others. The beach at the resort and layout of the beach chairs, piers and tiki bar is certainly one of the best, if not the best on the island. We went by Eden Beach Resort and Harbor Village, which were much more packed like a sardine can. While we were checking in to Delfins, they gave us a small glass of sparkling wine ( champagne or asti?) to take the edge off of the travel. Also my wife and I had dinner one night at the Brass Boer which was one of our most incredible dining experiences ever. Yes, the portions were small compared to the usual in the USA. Yes, it was very expensive. Three glasses of champagne, "The Meter" ceviche, Cod, Dutch Shrimp, Special Coconut and deconstructed Apple pie with an expresso and Americano was over $250 with tip. But the dining experience was simply put, one of the finest dining experiences of our life on our 24th Wedding Anniversary.
Our room had a one bedroom oceanfront which was quirky. The doors do not lock behind you. The bathroom does NOT have an exhaust fan. The Shower is small with no door. So you have to use the Squeegee to dry out the bathroom floor from the spay after your shower. But, the room does have a kitchenette where you can cook if you like, if you can find the directions to the electric stove top (which we couldn't, but we weren't interested in cooking anything other than a cup of coffee). The coffee is indeed $5/4packets. Each packet was good for about 1 cup. To make one cup you had run the coffee maker three times. But, The coffee was very good European style darker type roast. The morning breakfast buffet at the Brass Boer is typical Dutch and $23. But you can eat all you like. The restaurant does accommodate dietary restrictions as we had group members with lactose and gluten sensitivities. The service at the restaurant is okay, better than some of the restaurants we ate at on Kralendijk (It Rains Fishes for example). There is no service at the poolside. You must go to the Tiki Bar for drinks. The Dutch staff are somewhat less friendly in general than the locals, but were never rude nor inappropriate. We had none of the reported problems with housekeeping. Our housekeeper was excellent. We did initially have a problem with hot water that was corrected the first day. The water is not as hot as you would expect for the US but was more than adequate for a shower.
We used AB Dive and Drive package for 7 days with full coverage, no deductible insurance with nitrox, which after taxes was $670.98 total. The dive package included weights. They are only open 0800-1700 and only have 1 location on Kaya Industrial across from Lucky Supermarket and just south of Van Den Twell. However they will let you take pretty much as many tanks as you like. One evening we took 6 for the two of us. We came with all of our own gear except weights and tanks which worked out perfectly for their package deal. Gasoline (Yellow handle) was $1.39/litre. The Truck was a Chinese brand " Grand Tiger" that was a little bit of a beater, but ran fine and had good AC. After burning a little over half a tank for the week, it cost $65 to fill it up before returning it. AB Dive picked us up at the airport and drove us back very promptly on the return. Great service overall. Free nitrox upgrade as long as your certified. If you aren't the course was $127. No deductible full coverage on your truck. A good value for sure. No complaints. Would definitely use them again.
The great diving at Bonaire is rightfully heralded. Though, there was much more dead coral, particularly around "Front Porch", "The Lake" and "The Cliff" (closer to town) than expected. The reef at Margate Bay, LaDania's Leap and Karpata was in much better shape. We did the drift dive from LaDania's Leap to Karpata, which was the highlight for me. We offloaded the gear at LaDania's Leap and flipped a coin ( I won!) on who was driving the truck up to Karpata. Then Geared up and headed down the trail to the jump off point. We did "The Leap" and I was a little too negative without mask and fins on. I want a redo on that entry. I think I'm going to Giant Stride it with the fins on with positive buoyancy next time. We saw juvenile Green Turtles every day. Green, Goldentail and Spotted Morays. Yellowhead Jawfish, Anemone with Peterson Cleaning Shrimp, Mantis Shrimp, Small Schools of Reef Squid, etc.
So in summary, Delfins is not for everyone. If you are going with dive buddies, there are better places for you to stay. But if you have a romantic interest that doesn't dive, it's highly recommended. Given, that you can accept it's somewhat quirky nature and unapologetically Dutch manner of business. AB Dive is a great operation and highly recommended.
After hearing so much about the quality of SCUBA diving Bonaire, we had to give it a go. The wives don't dive, so we booked Delfins Beach Resort at Punt Vierkant just south of BIA. There has been a lot of criticism of the place on online reviews and it does have it's quirks. But it does have some really great benefits for those who do not dive. My traveling started in the 1980's via Uncle Sam's Navy about the Caribbean, North Atlantic, North Sea, the Med and Red Sea over a 4 year time period on a guided missile destroyer. So adapting to the "European way" of vacationing was not terribly problematic for me. Having wives who don't dive had us looking outside the usual dive resorts for a nice beach, pool side bar, hammocks, etc. Perusing for hours looking at photos on this site and various resort websites, we decided on Delfins. And ultimately we were quite happy with our choice. We would go back there again with non-diving significant others. The beach at the resort and layout of the beach chairs, piers and tiki bar is certainly one of the best, if not the best on the island. We went by Eden Beach Resort and Harbor Village, which were much more packed like a sardine can. While we were checking in to Delfins, they gave us a small glass of sparkling wine ( champagne or asti?) to take the edge off of the travel. Also my wife and I had dinner one night at the Brass Boer which was one of our most incredible dining experiences ever. Yes, the portions were small compared to the usual in the USA. Yes, it was very expensive. Three glasses of champagne, "The Meter" ceviche, Cod, Dutch Shrimp, Special Coconut and deconstructed Apple pie with an expresso and Americano was over $250 with tip. But the dining experience was simply put, one of the finest dining experiences of our life on our 24th Wedding Anniversary.
Our room had a one bedroom oceanfront which was quirky. The doors do not lock behind you. The bathroom does NOT have an exhaust fan. The Shower is small with no door. So you have to use the Squeegee to dry out the bathroom floor from the spay after your shower. But, the room does have a kitchenette where you can cook if you like, if you can find the directions to the electric stove top (which we couldn't, but we weren't interested in cooking anything other than a cup of coffee). The coffee is indeed $5/4packets. Each packet was good for about 1 cup. To make one cup you had run the coffee maker three times. But, The coffee was very good European style darker type roast. The morning breakfast buffet at the Brass Boer is typical Dutch and $23. But you can eat all you like. The restaurant does accommodate dietary restrictions as we had group members with lactose and gluten sensitivities. The service at the restaurant is okay, better than some of the restaurants we ate at on Kralendijk (It Rains Fishes for example). There is no service at the poolside. You must go to the Tiki Bar for drinks. The Dutch staff are somewhat less friendly in general than the locals, but were never rude nor inappropriate. We had none of the reported problems with housekeeping. Our housekeeper was excellent. We did initially have a problem with hot water that was corrected the first day. The water is not as hot as you would expect for the US but was more than adequate for a shower.
We used AB Dive and Drive package for 7 days with full coverage, no deductible insurance with nitrox, which after taxes was $670.98 total. The dive package included weights. They are only open 0800-1700 and only have 1 location on Kaya Industrial across from Lucky Supermarket and just south of Van Den Twell. However they will let you take pretty much as many tanks as you like. One evening we took 6 for the two of us. We came with all of our own gear except weights and tanks which worked out perfectly for their package deal. Gasoline (Yellow handle) was $1.39/litre. The Truck was a Chinese brand " Grand Tiger" that was a little bit of a beater, but ran fine and had good AC. After burning a little over half a tank for the week, it cost $65 to fill it up before returning it. AB Dive picked us up at the airport and drove us back very promptly on the return. Great service overall. Free nitrox upgrade as long as your certified. If you aren't the course was $127. No deductible full coverage on your truck. A good value for sure. No complaints. Would definitely use them again.
The great diving at Bonaire is rightfully heralded. Though, there was much more dead coral, particularly around "Front Porch", "The Lake" and "The Cliff" (closer to town) than expected. The reef at Margate Bay, LaDania's Leap and Karpata was in much better shape. We did the drift dive from LaDania's Leap to Karpata, which was the highlight for me. We offloaded the gear at LaDania's Leap and flipped a coin ( I won!) on who was driving the truck up to Karpata. Then Geared up and headed down the trail to the jump off point. We did "The Leap" and I was a little too negative without mask and fins on. I want a redo on that entry. I think I'm going to Giant Stride it with the fins on with positive buoyancy next time. We saw juvenile Green Turtles every day. Green, Goldentail and Spotted Morays. Yellowhead Jawfish, Anemone with Peterson Cleaning Shrimp, Mantis Shrimp, Small Schools of Reef Squid, etc.
So in summary, Delfins is not for everyone. If you are going with dive buddies, there are better places for you to stay. But if you have a romantic interest that doesn't dive, it's highly recommended. Given, that you can accept it's somewhat quirky nature and unapologetically Dutch manner of business. AB Dive is a great operation and highly recommended.
