Ron G.
Contributor
We just got back and I wanted to share a bit about our trip.
We used Telerin truck rental. I was a little nervous because there was a post last month from a very unhappy Telerin customer. He said his truck was in poor repair and unreliable. We were very happy with our truck. It was 3-4 years old and in very good condition. Ran very well. I would definitely use Telerin again because of their streamlined pick up and drop off process. They meet you when you exit the airport, they have all the paperwork ready to go. You just inspect your vehicle, sign and off you go. Returning it was even easier...you drop it off in the short-term parking lot (directly in front of the terminal), leave the keys in the ashtray, and you're done.
We stayed at Den Laman condos. They have about 20 units with about half of them ocean front. We'd reserved a one bedroom ocean front, which was exactly that. Great view. However, we noticed that the two bedroom units on the corner of the building had an even better view. We upgraded and moved two days later and really loved the new view. The first unit faced the water directly, but the second also had a northern view up the coast. It was neat to be able to watch the comings and goins at Buddy Dive (a couple hundred yards away) and Sand Dollar (right next door). Admittedly, it was an extravagance for the two of us to pay for a 2 bedroom apartment, but we just loved the expanded view. (There are two other 2-bedroom units that face south. We didn't look at the view from them, but I think the units on the north end have the best view, by far.)
We also liked Den Laman overall. The on-site manager, Amina, was very responsive to one or two minor problems we had. The apartments are only several years old and in great condition. The units are considerably nicer than a couple others we checked while we were down there. I suppose most folks would call DL a luxury condo. We'd definitely go back.
We used Bonaire Dive and Adventure as our dive op. It's a strange situation there. BD&A has a very nice facility. The dock is great, as is the gear room. They include Nitrox in the price of their air packages, which is a plus. They always had plenty of tanks available 24/7 on the dock and up at the parking lot area. Den Laman offers BD&A as their on-site dive op, which it is (on-site).
The strange thing is that Sand Dollar condos (which is right next door, separated from DL by the dive op, apparently has some sort of problem with BD&A). As a result, Sand Dollar customers are offered a dive package with another dive op: Dive Friends Bonaire. DFB has a much smaller set-up on the Sand Dollar grounds, but their facility is significantly inferior to BD&A. They "shop" is 75-100 yards from the water. If you want to do a shore dive on Bari Reef (right out front), you have to borrow their wagon and drag your tanks and equipment up to the shore. Then, you enter by walking down some stairs to a very small beach. You may not use the great BD&A dock. If you want to take a boat dive, you have to drive to another dock. I don't know the nature of the problems between SD and BD&A, but they must be major for SD to want to offer what something different. Having said that, Sand Dollar guests can choose to use BD&A, but my understanding is that the standard SD packages are with DFB.
The DFB air package was only $160, compared to $195 at BD&A, but BD&A included free nitrox, which most folks used.
We did get a hint of the problem SD has with BD&A. We had a couple minor issues that came up during the week and the owner of BD&A became very cranky very quickly. It was very off-putting, but not enough for us to opt for a lesser dive facility. The rest of the BD&A staff were great.
All in all, we were very happy with Den Laman, Telerin and the BD&A op.
Ron
We used Telerin truck rental. I was a little nervous because there was a post last month from a very unhappy Telerin customer. He said his truck was in poor repair and unreliable. We were very happy with our truck. It was 3-4 years old and in very good condition. Ran very well. I would definitely use Telerin again because of their streamlined pick up and drop off process. They meet you when you exit the airport, they have all the paperwork ready to go. You just inspect your vehicle, sign and off you go. Returning it was even easier...you drop it off in the short-term parking lot (directly in front of the terminal), leave the keys in the ashtray, and you're done.
We stayed at Den Laman condos. They have about 20 units with about half of them ocean front. We'd reserved a one bedroom ocean front, which was exactly that. Great view. However, we noticed that the two bedroom units on the corner of the building had an even better view. We upgraded and moved two days later and really loved the new view. The first unit faced the water directly, but the second also had a northern view up the coast. It was neat to be able to watch the comings and goins at Buddy Dive (a couple hundred yards away) and Sand Dollar (right next door). Admittedly, it was an extravagance for the two of us to pay for a 2 bedroom apartment, but we just loved the expanded view. (There are two other 2-bedroom units that face south. We didn't look at the view from them, but I think the units on the north end have the best view, by far.)
We also liked Den Laman overall. The on-site manager, Amina, was very responsive to one or two minor problems we had. The apartments are only several years old and in great condition. The units are considerably nicer than a couple others we checked while we were down there. I suppose most folks would call DL a luxury condo. We'd definitely go back.
We used Bonaire Dive and Adventure as our dive op. It's a strange situation there. BD&A has a very nice facility. The dock is great, as is the gear room. They include Nitrox in the price of their air packages, which is a plus. They always had plenty of tanks available 24/7 on the dock and up at the parking lot area. Den Laman offers BD&A as their on-site dive op, which it is (on-site).
The strange thing is that Sand Dollar condos (which is right next door, separated from DL by the dive op, apparently has some sort of problem with BD&A). As a result, Sand Dollar customers are offered a dive package with another dive op: Dive Friends Bonaire. DFB has a much smaller set-up on the Sand Dollar grounds, but their facility is significantly inferior to BD&A. They "shop" is 75-100 yards from the water. If you want to do a shore dive on Bari Reef (right out front), you have to borrow their wagon and drag your tanks and equipment up to the shore. Then, you enter by walking down some stairs to a very small beach. You may not use the great BD&A dock. If you want to take a boat dive, you have to drive to another dock. I don't know the nature of the problems between SD and BD&A, but they must be major for SD to want to offer what something different. Having said that, Sand Dollar guests can choose to use BD&A, but my understanding is that the standard SD packages are with DFB.
The DFB air package was only $160, compared to $195 at BD&A, but BD&A included free nitrox, which most folks used.
We did get a hint of the problem SD has with BD&A. We had a couple minor issues that came up during the week and the owner of BD&A became very cranky very quickly. It was very off-putting, but not enough for us to opt for a lesser dive facility. The rest of the BD&A staff were great.
All in all, we were very happy with Den Laman, Telerin and the BD&A op.
Ron