Shore Dive at Belmar?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Doctorfish

Contributor
Messages
2,014
Reaction score
1,768
Location
Canada
# of dives
2500 - 4999
I am starting to plan a week of diving on Bonaire in the spring and was thinking about Belmar as an alternative to our usual ( Buddy Dive ).
Anyone have any experience with the house reef there as well as how often they offer boat dives from that location.

Thanks for your help
 
I haven't stayed at the Belmar in the past five years or so, but we used to love the shore dive, especially for night dives--very convenient and never crowded. Buddy's dock and shore dive site, in contrast, can be a bit crowded at night. The tarpon were present. There is a bit of a swim out over the sand to the dropoff that always felt to me like it was longer than similar swims at, say, Buddy's, but maybe that was just because I was anxious to get out/in. I am not aware of boat dives from the Belmar.
 
The Belmar faces more open ocean and is less protected than Buddy Dive - I enjoyed staying there more than I did at Buddy Dive. - YMMV

No place to eat on site at the Belmar. No really good place to store your gear that I remember - we placed ours on towels in the hallway.

There is a place to eat across the street but we never ate there - when we tried to but no one would assist us. It looked like they were having some kind of gathering for locals and we clearly were not welcome.
 
We have dived with Belmar two times when we stayed at a condo a couple blocks away. The shore dive is a decent dive but I prefer the reef at Buddy Dive since I think there is more fish up there. But the Belmar site will definitely be less crowded both day or night. As previously said Tarpon are there at night. I do like the low key less crowded nature of the op there compared with Buddy Dive. The first time (Sep 2012) they offered three boat dives during the week which were much better than the boat dives out of Buddy Dive since they only had 6-8 people max. The second time (Nov 2015) they didn't offer any boat dives out of Belmar. Chrissie used to be the manager, I think she still is. Email her (chrissie.wootton@belmar-bonaire.com) and she can tell you if there is likely to be any boat dives the week you are there. Depends on season and demand I believe. You can use either Belmar or Buddy Dive if you sign up at Belmar. If you sign up at Buddy Dive you can pick up tanks at Belmar but are not supposed to use the dock I believe.

We are going back in December this year and staying at a house north of Buddy Dive but we are still thinking of signing up at Belmar just because we always liked Chrissie and the staff and like the low key orientation, both times just 4 of us.
 
I've always heard the dive there was the end of the Corporal Meiss dive site - one that's hard to find on most site listings. There used to be a couple huge purple sponges pretty much straight out in about 60' but I'm not sure they're there now since one of the hurricanes some years ago. It's a good dive, we did it twice when we didn't feel like going anywhere else. It wouldn't make my top 20 list though.

You do get a pass to use Buddy's drive-thru if staying at Belmar. I almost think Belmar is even easier though - the parking lot is 20-100' from the dive shop and you can even park temporarily by the gate for tanks - it's streetside and 20' from the main road south. The whole dive shop area is at the south end of the property near to the office - nothing is much of a walk.

If you have a ground floor unit at Belmar - there's a locking dive closet outside your back door. Tile floor and pole for hanging suits. The truck is parked maybe 40' away. Your patio door opens on a west facing area, 20' away is the pool then just past that steps down to the dive dock. It's a very compressed property.

The upstairs units have semi-secure lockers by the dive shop but you may want to bring a lock. I haven't been there since Buddy took over but prior to that your condo key got you into the public areas of the shop 24/7 for tanks, Nitrox Analyzer and suit hangers/rinse tank. There's also another tank on the dive dock. And I read they stage tanks there now also for guests.

I liked it because no one ever used the pool at night and it wasn't the worst house reef we'd dove. Buddy's etc. and the other north sites will be fishier most likely. Bachelors Beach is walking distance also but drive over with gear.

As mentioned there's no food there. We ate breakfast once at Hotel Roomer a few blocks away but it was average.

So everything food is a drive - at least to the Plaza Resort or south end of town. There's a Courtyard by Marriott being built now on the east side of the lagoons by the airport so they might have an option for meals by the time you go. Everything else till you get to the Plaza is condos or houses - but you might as well drive another 1/2 mile around the turn into south Kralendijk from there. We're talking under 10 mins. total drive time - just around the lagoons and past the airport. Belmar is in North Belnem so not much of a drive to town. Fairly close to Van Der Tweel or Warehouse Foods also from the south.
 
Last edited:
For those that have stayed at the Belmar, do you happen to remember if they have normal coffee makers? We have a travel one but won't take it if we know there is one there. (This is important!)
 
For those that have stayed at the Belmar, do you happen to remember if they have normal coffee makers? We have a travel one but won't take it if we know there is one there. (This is important!)

I have stayed in Belmar units twice, and both units certainly did. Coffee is vital!
 
Do they still use the Nepresso machines at Belmar? What size pods? Can you request a regular coffee maker for your unit?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

Back
Top Bottom