General questions before first trip to Bonaire.

[Johnmpcny]

They have a pretty large grocery and kind of a warehouse store near airport end of town. Lots of other places for batteries. I did not look at the cost.

 

[Sorrows]

Another good thing about Buddy's--which does sound ideal for your stated requirements--is the house reef. Great for night dives. Lots of tarpon and mutton snappers looking for a meal. And another good thing about Bonaire is that it's quite reliable weather-wise; unlike Cayman, Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, etc. you can nearly always dive and you don't have to worry about the boats not going out.

 

[FIST]

Is there a resort layout of buddy's anywhere? I'm trying to figure which rooms (studio,apartment,hotel, etc) have ocean view.

 

[drrich2]

Here's a link with an overhead 'from the ocean' view of Buddy's; might give you a rough idea of what some rooms might offer.

On, on the cultural issues thing; at restaurants, servers often don't bring the check for a long time, unless you ask for it. Apparently the idea is it would be rude to rush you. I've got an American frame of reference; if I've eaten, I want to pay up and haul out. Service tends to run on 'island time' anyway (slow), so it can grate on your nerves waiting for the check if you assume they'll bring it out unprompted.

And you're likely to find free refills of soda at restaurants aren't the rule. Buy your soda at the grocery store and drink up at your room; plan on water when you eat out, since that's often free. Either that, or a higher bill.

Richard.

 

[FIST]

Good culture tip

 

[tursiops]

Not completely current, but the building numbers have not changed. This is not the total answer to your question, but it might help. Buildings 1-4 are 3-floor buildings, called ground, 1 and 2. Access to the second (i.e., top floor) gets you to a "hotel room," or the whole thing can be opened up to be a 3BR apartment (2 BR on the top floor, one on the 1st (middle floor) plus a LR/kitchen). Buildings 1-4 are the "old side," the original Buddy Dive, although everything has been refurbished. Buildings 5-7 are the "new side," the old Lions Dive resort; they ahve also been refurbished. All of 5-7 are just two story buildings, and an apartment is all on one floor. there are two BRs in those apartments, but can be configured with doors so you have a 2BR apartment with LR/kitchen, or a one BR apt with an adjacent (locked door in between) one BR studio. There is some variation in all of what I've just said. Functionally, the biggest difference I see is that the A/C on the old side is only in the BRs, but is also in the LR on the new side. As to ocean view, many do, some don't. Your best bet is buildings 1 and 4, middle or top floor, and the building 707-708/714-715. I've stayed in 503-506/513-514 a lot.....and frankly do not remember if there is an ocean view or not!

 

[Doctorfish]

FYI, when I have requested a specific room or area at Buddy Dive, they have said they will try but no promises.
They have been reasonably accommodating with this sort of request but not 100%.

I generally prefer the Lion Dive side, 2nd floor, as close to the ocean as possible.
This puts you close to the dive shop and fresh water pool as well.

In the restaurants, Amstel and Polar beer seem to be about the same price as soft drinks.

 

[Sorrows]

We stayed in the newer section last time we were there, 2nd floor, near Lion's Den but not so close to the dive shop. I prefer the older section; the bathrooms in our apartment were just so weird--large, nowhere to hang anything, no counter space, and horrific lighting!

Dinner at Buddy's looks good, but it never is, IMHO. Lunch is rather expensive and they charge for refills.

 

[boat sju]

On, on the cultural issues thing; at restaurants, servers often don't bring the check for a long time, unless you ask for it. Apparently the idea is it would be rude to rush you.

Glad you mentioned this Richard. Somehow we didn't realize this until after our third trip and it almost became an issue one night. Us being typical Americans (or maybe Engineers - patience is not one of our virtues) We sat at a restaurant a long time becoming more and more convinced that the server was ignoring us on purpose. Fortunately we kept our tempers in check and didn't embarrass ourselves. I felt like an idiot when I realized later what had happened.

 

[skynscuba]

Lots of dood info in this thread! We are also booked for our first trip to Bonaire ( just a few days away now). We are laying it out and weighing it up, which is always fun. I was wondering on the battery situation on the island. AAA's and C's for 7 divers adds up to a lot of weight. If the prices are reasonable i would prefer to save the weight and buy batteries onsite. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks

I took two chargers and NIMH batteries, enough (i.e. two sets for each item)
to support a number of flashlights, two photo strobes, one personal locator strobe.
Islands like this already have quite a trash problem, and would rather
that you not be leaving items that officially need special treatment. With over 20
dives in a week, including dusk and night dives, I would have had a mountain
of throw-aways.