My wife and I returned yesterday afternoon from our week long stay at Buddy Dive (May 9th to 18th). Before I get ionto my review of the trip, I want to thank Herman, Luis H, Jim, Scott, Allen, Brian and the rest of the crew who welcomed us into their group for the week. What a fantasic bunch of folks! I hope to dive with them again in the not so distant future.
Hopefully, my review will be of help to anyone who is planning their first trip to Bonaire. This was my 2nd trip to Bonaire and my second stay at Buddy Dive. No complaints here. The diving is as convienent as it could be. The resort staff were always availabe and very pleasant and helpful. The dive guides took the time to ensure everyone enjoyed the dives to the fullest. Keep in mind that Buddy Dive is not a luxury resort by any means. However, if you are looking for a place that is very comfortable and clean and offers excellent diving opportunities, Buddy Dive won't dissapoint you.
We had breakfast every morning at the resort. The breakfasts are excellent. Just don't leave your plate unguarded are you'll come back to find several seagulls enjoying it. Lunches were often a quick sandwich or two in our apartment. We made a run to Van der Tweels grocery and stocked up on fixings. My wife, who is german, loves Van der Tweels. We went out for our evening meals.
Restaurants:
Pasa Bon Pizza - Excellent pizza especially if you prefer a thinner crust. I tried the lionfish pizza which was very tasty.
El Fogon Latino - A true "hole in the wall". It is a Columbian restaurant which has excellent seafood as well as some typical columbian dishes. Try the plantains with different sauces as an appitizer.
Rib Factory - Living in Texas, I didn't expect to eat ribs in Bonaire but these ribs were the best I have ever had, bar none. The casual dining area is on the second fooor across the street from the waterfront. They also offer seafood, burgers, tenderloin which all looked good.
Eddy's - Near Buddy Dive (walking distance). Offers a diverse menu. Their seafood is delicious. For the truly hardcore island enthusiast, they also have goat stew.
Gio's Ice Cream Parlor - Located in the downtown shopping area, Gio's serves fantastic european style ice cream. A great rest spot.
Between 2 Buns - Also near Buddy Dive. Great sandwiches.
Ok, about the diving. I made 18 dives during the week. 10 were boat dives. My deepest dive was to 119 ft on Buddy reef. My shallowest dive was 35 ft (my last dive, 24 hrs before I flew). Water temps ranged between 73 (at 119 ft) and 81. I wore a 2 mil shorty with hardsole booties and was very comfortable all week. Viz was between 80 to 100 ft.
Dive Sites:
Northwest Reefs - Karpata (my favorite because of the spectacular topography)
House Reefs - Buddy Reef, Scientifico, Machaca, Cliff, Small Wall, Petries Pillar, Bari Reef
Drift dived from Buddy Reef to Bari Reef. Also dove from Buddy Reef to Cliff and drifted back. Both very nice dives.
Klein Bonaire - No Name Beach, Nearest Point, Carl's Hill, Monte"s Divi, Leonora's Reef.
It is very easy to be overwhelmed because of the number of dive sites available. If you want to dive each site, better plan on "several" trips. I didn't make the number of shore dives that I did on my first trip in 2009. However, I made more boat dives. The older I get, the lazier I have become. I made several solo dives from Buddy's pier. It is not frowned upon in any way. Buddy Dive limits the boat dives to 60 minutes, maximum of 100 ft depth. You do not need to have an "assigned" buddy. Because of the visability, divers can spread out a bit and not crowd each other. The last 10 minutes or so are spent in the shallows (15 to 18 ft) where you can send time looking for squid, octopus, and the macro critters while offgassing.
Critters: The usual suspects included green morays, spotted morays, sharptail eels, french angelfish, tarpon, barracuda, squid (23 in one school), flounder, parrotfish, two sitings of seahorses, one black and one very orange and very pregnant. We found only one octopus this trip. Obviously missing were the rays. We saw none this trip. The staghorn coral is coming back and can be found on many of the sites.
Well, that is about it. I hope the review will provide some useful info.
Hopefully, my review will be of help to anyone who is planning their first trip to Bonaire. This was my 2nd trip to Bonaire and my second stay at Buddy Dive. No complaints here. The diving is as convienent as it could be. The resort staff were always availabe and very pleasant and helpful. The dive guides took the time to ensure everyone enjoyed the dives to the fullest. Keep in mind that Buddy Dive is not a luxury resort by any means. However, if you are looking for a place that is very comfortable and clean and offers excellent diving opportunities, Buddy Dive won't dissapoint you.
We had breakfast every morning at the resort. The breakfasts are excellent. Just don't leave your plate unguarded are you'll come back to find several seagulls enjoying it. Lunches were often a quick sandwich or two in our apartment. We made a run to Van der Tweels grocery and stocked up on fixings. My wife, who is german, loves Van der Tweels. We went out for our evening meals.
Restaurants:
Pasa Bon Pizza - Excellent pizza especially if you prefer a thinner crust. I tried the lionfish pizza which was very tasty.
El Fogon Latino - A true "hole in the wall". It is a Columbian restaurant which has excellent seafood as well as some typical columbian dishes. Try the plantains with different sauces as an appitizer.
Rib Factory - Living in Texas, I didn't expect to eat ribs in Bonaire but these ribs were the best I have ever had, bar none. The casual dining area is on the second fooor across the street from the waterfront. They also offer seafood, burgers, tenderloin which all looked good.
Eddy's - Near Buddy Dive (walking distance). Offers a diverse menu. Their seafood is delicious. For the truly hardcore island enthusiast, they also have goat stew.
Gio's Ice Cream Parlor - Located in the downtown shopping area, Gio's serves fantastic european style ice cream. A great rest spot.
Between 2 Buns - Also near Buddy Dive. Great sandwiches.
Ok, about the diving. I made 18 dives during the week. 10 were boat dives. My deepest dive was to 119 ft on Buddy reef. My shallowest dive was 35 ft (my last dive, 24 hrs before I flew). Water temps ranged between 73 (at 119 ft) and 81. I wore a 2 mil shorty with hardsole booties and was very comfortable all week. Viz was between 80 to 100 ft.
Dive Sites:
Northwest Reefs - Karpata (my favorite because of the spectacular topography)
House Reefs - Buddy Reef, Scientifico, Machaca, Cliff, Small Wall, Petries Pillar, Bari Reef
Drift dived from Buddy Reef to Bari Reef. Also dove from Buddy Reef to Cliff and drifted back. Both very nice dives.
Klein Bonaire - No Name Beach, Nearest Point, Carl's Hill, Monte"s Divi, Leonora's Reef.
It is very easy to be overwhelmed because of the number of dive sites available. If you want to dive each site, better plan on "several" trips. I didn't make the number of shore dives that I did on my first trip in 2009. However, I made more boat dives. The older I get, the lazier I have become. I made several solo dives from Buddy's pier. It is not frowned upon in any way. Buddy Dive limits the boat dives to 60 minutes, maximum of 100 ft depth. You do not need to have an "assigned" buddy. Because of the visability, divers can spread out a bit and not crowd each other. The last 10 minutes or so are spent in the shallows (15 to 18 ft) where you can send time looking for squid, octopus, and the macro critters while offgassing.
Critters: The usual suspects included green morays, spotted morays, sharptail eels, french angelfish, tarpon, barracuda, squid (23 in one school), flounder, parrotfish, two sitings of seahorses, one black and one very orange and very pregnant. We found only one octopus this trip. Obviously missing were the rays. We saw none this trip. The staghorn coral is coming back and can be found on many of the sites.
Well, that is about it. I hope the review will provide some useful info.
