Divi Resorts?

[Fouremco]

My wife and I have stayed at Sandals resorts in St. Lucia and Jamaica on holidays that included diving and snorkeling, but weren't "dive holidays" per se. Now we want to plan a holiday that is definitely based on diving, and are considering both Bonaire and Cayman Brac. In reading up on the two, I see that Divi has a resort in both locations.

As I'm not at all familiar with Divi, other than having looked at their site and read a small number of posts here, I'm wondering if I could get some feedback from those that have stayed at either location. Your views of both the resorts (food, accommodation, service, etc.) and their dive operations.

On a related note, any comments on best routing or flight combinations from Ottawa (or Toronto or Montreal) to either island?

Thanks in advance...:11doh:

 

[herman]

You may want to go to the Bonaire board and ask about Divi on Bonaire. I know a lot of people there are very happy with the operation, I have never stayed there myself. As for food, it really does not matter on Bonaire if the resort has good food, there are dozens of great places to eat and except for breakfast, I would highly recommend you not eat most of your meals on any resort. All of the major resorts do have good restaurants but you miss a lot of other great places if you just stay on the resort.
www.bonairetalk.com

 

[Fouremco]

Thanks, Herman, great link.

 

[rjlwork]

Fouremco,
We are timeshare owners at Divi Bonaire. Having traveled last February to Cayman Brac on an exchange, I can tell you the two locations are very different. The accomodations are similar but Cayman Brac is very tiny and most of your meals will be at the resort. Boat diving is the norm.
In Bonaire, there are many excellent restaurants outside of the resort. Timeshare units are for rent with full kitchens for snacks or all your meals. There is also easy shore diving in addition to the boats. We love the Divi dive shop crew. It would probably be a good idea to do a few boat dives first to get used to the island. Then if you want to shore dive, rent a truck and go!
This May we're flying the Friday night route through Houston with Continental. Less trouble from the midwest and a whole extra day on the island (you land Saturday morning at 6:16 am. Good diving, wherever you end up! Judy

 

[Aeolus]

Hi there,

I can help a little with the info on the Brac location. I stayed with them a couple of years ago and was not overly impressed. The resort is OK, but needed a lot of work. They were in the middle of some remodeling, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt. The food was good, but not outstanding. The diving was good and the dive staff was excellent. The only problem about the dive operation was that it only included the two morning dives. Afternoon dives were extra as well as night dives. There was some shore diving right in front of the resort, but it was in a channel and there was a bit of traffic, so be careful and watch your depth and surfacing technique. The dive boats were in very good condition and all of the people associated with the dive boats were especially friendly and helpful. For those who want it, you almost do not need to touch your gear once on the boat. The pricing for the resort was a bit high, but everything on the island is. I would probably go back again if I could catch it on sale.

DSDO

 

[caymaniac]

My wife and I have stayed at Sandals resorts in St. Lucia and Jamaica on holidays that included diving and snorkeling, but weren't "dive holidays" per se. Now we want to plan a holiday that is definitely based on diving, and are considering both Bonaire and Cayman Brac. In reading up on the two, I see that Divi has a resort in both locations.

As I'm not at all familiar with Divi, other than having looked at their site and read a small number of posts here, I'm wondering if I could get some feedback from those that have stayed at either location. Your views of both the resorts (food, accommodation, service, etc.) and their dive operations.

On a related note, any comments on best routing or flight combinations from Ottawa (or Toronto or Montreal) to either island?

Thanks in advance...:11doh:

My View:
I have stayed at both the Divi Flamingo and the Divi Tiara more than once.

I like the fact that at the Divi F(Bonaire), you can shore dive right off the dock any time at the house reef. Bonaire has the easiest diving in the Carribean. There are plenty of restaurants/bars close by (within walking distance) and the Divi restaurants are nice (average) too. The town is within walking distance. Since Bonaire is bigger there is more area to explore. Recently Divi has painted the hotel potion, the condo portion needs help!

At the Divi T.(Brac), I like the way the divemasters treat you. You can barely touch your gear and they are helping you put it on-take it off-put it away. I like the quiet of the Brac. The condos are way nicer than the Divi F condos. It is easy to find a desserted beach with a vehicle. The food at the resort we've found to be very good, actually better than any of the other resorts or restaurants. You also can dive Little Cayman (my view is it is the best dive area in the Caribbean) for a surcharge. Recently Divi has painted the hotel portion and looks great, the condos are half way upgraded. The dive op is way more customer orientated, than Bonaire.

The downside: Divi T. not many other restaurants, shore diving is difficult-you must have a vehicle. So manly boat dives. There isn't much of a town, so, no shopping if you like that sort of thing.
Divi F. the dive masters (on our last trip they were rude) do not help you much. Every so often cruise ships arrive at Bonaire (POD people can get to me). Not much of a beach anywhere except near the Plaza (a nearby resort), which is very busy or, on the otherside of the Island there's a beach where there are kite surfers and wind surfers. Klein Bonaire used to be an excellent dive site, now half of it is trashed from hurricane surge. There is more to do things other than diving, like wind surfing, last time I rented a Hobie cat for a half day.

Overall: The Brac is a more intimate resort where you might get to know those you are diving with. Bonaire can be more fun for visiting town and going out to other restaurants. It depends on what you find you want out of a vacation to say I like one Island over the other. They are like a peach and an apple......which one do you like better?

Here are some pics from Bonaire and the Brac

 

[Damselfish]

My wife and I have stayed at Sandals resorts in St. Lucia and Jamaica on holidays that included diving and snorkeling, but weren't "dive holidays" per se. Now we want to plan a holiday that is definitely based on diving, and are considering both Bonaire and Cayman Brac. In reading up on the two, I see that Divi has a resort in both locations.

As I'm not at all familiar with Divi, other than having looked at their site and read a small number of posts here, I'm wondering if I could get some feedback from those that have stayed at either location. Your views of both the resorts (food, accommodation, service, etc.) and their dive operations.

Is there a particular reason you're looking at Divi, you have a timeshare or something like that? If not there are so many other places to stay that I would choose first, on Bonaire in particular, that you might want to check into. Cayman Brac certainly has other places too. They're just not part of well known chains.