Dive operator on Bonaire?

[caniac]

OK - I've booked the room and a truck - now I need to pick a dive operator for my October trip to Bonaire. It will be my first time diving Nitrox and I am wondering how the procedures on the island work for analyzing O2 and who people have had good experiences with. I will be staying in the Hamlet Oasis area and am also interested in taking the PADI night dive specialty while I'm there. So what are your opinions?

Thanks!

 

[lsorenson]

I have used both Buddy Dive and Wanna Dive for tanks... I was pretty disappointed with Wanna dive as almost every o-ring leaked and two drop off points always seemed to be low on tanks. There are a couple of other issues we ran into using Wanna but I really don't want to hash them out here again...

That being said, we said the next trip we take to Bonaire, were using Buddy's dive package... I believe it cost just a tad bit more but I also understand there is another tank provider on the island, I just don't know who it is.

Using Nitrox, you will find all stations at Buddy or Wanna equipped with analyzers so you can check yourself. All tanks will be labeled with mix on a piece of tape but you still need to check and record on the clipboard they provide...

As far as these PADI specialty classes... well, I let someone else comment on those... If this is your first time to Bonaire and you are traveling by yourself or a buddy, I would suggest finding someone to show you the ropes... Its easy diving and easy to get around but for the first few dives you may want to tag along with a group if you can find one.

How many dives do you have? I am assuming very few... Where are you in NC...? You can give me a call and I will try and give you the low-down... as I am over here in Hickory...

lee

 

[Tom Smedley]

I have used both Buddy and Wannadive. I have come to enjoy the less crowded and personable staff at Wannadive. Buddy has a larger fleet for boat dives but they are crowded sometimes. Budy offers the drive through tank swap but Wannadive has three locations to get tanks - Eden Beach, Sorobon, and Windsock. No matter which provider you use take a dozen or so spare o rings and a pick. All the tanks are used heavily and refilled quickly.

 

[jimw]

We were at Habitat last week, next to Hamlet Oasis. There is a dive shop on site, I forget which one. It's in a metal container looking bldg at the north of the place. I noticed that the gate leading to it was locked once when we walked by going to the Chinese Grocery. They have metal steps down to a shore entry for a nice divesite named Cliff. Habitat also services some divers from Hamlet. Buddy's will require driving and are close. If you want to do some boat dives and shore, maybe Habitat would work well. Buddy's too would be possible for boats and shore and tank pickup is way easy, much easier than Habitat now is. So, pick Buddy's if you plan only shore dives.

 

[VinoBambinos]

We stayed at Buddys in July and loved their drive-thru service, even though we carry a good supply of o-rings we had very few that actually needed to be changed...far different from our previous two stays at another location that was so bad we were almost tempted to change the o-ring before even hooking up the regs to save time (and frustration).

We have already reserved dive packages for January with Belmar (staying in a condo nearby) which will allow us to get tanks at both Belmar & Buddys, which could save us some driving time. They offer the same deal at Caribbean Club. However if you book directly with Buddys you will not be able to swap at the other two locations.

BTW, by mid-week on our first visit to Boanire our dive club had nicknamed me "O-ring Dave" as I had become quite proficient at changing them

 

[herman]

I have used both Buddy and Wannadive and will use both again. Both have great staffs.
Dive Friends is the on site op at HO, all in all it might be easier to use use. Never dove with them but I also have never heard anything bad either. Welcome to Dive Friends Bonaire
Bad orings are a part of shore diving life, carry a few and a pick.

 

[DiverVince]

We've always used Buddy Dive on our many trips to the island and have never had any problems.

 

[TheWizard]

Do the Bonaire crooks usually steal your O-ring maintenance kit from your truck when you are U/W?

 

[Sirto]

Dive Friends is the on site op at HO, all in all it might be easier to use use. Never dove with them but I also have never heard anything bad either.

Herman is correct. They also have three other locations where you can get tanks. We've used them several times in years past and they were very good but on our trip this year the tanks were frequently under pressure (2200 -2700 psi) and were only around 30% O2. I'd ask around on this board to see if these problems have been resolved before using them.

Another choice is Bonaire Dive and Adventures.

Check with the hotel since they sometimes offer a discount coupon for several of the dive operators,

 

[sffrenchman]

Just came back last week and we used Wannadive. They have several locations and we were getting our tanks from the Eden's and Windsock's locations. When we were leaving they were just receiving a large number of brand new tanks. They have O2 analyzers at the sites and rinse tanks. You can go drop/pick-up tanks at anytime, even when they are closed. They will let you know how to get the keys. They let us take more than 2 tanks per person but it was the low season. They use a membrane system for Nitrox and the the Nitrox was between 29 and 32%. I was very happy with them.