Trip Report Solo Diver at Dive Hut

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drrich2

Contributor
Messages
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Location
Southwestern Kentucky
# of dives
500 - 999
Hi:

I recently traveled alone to Bonaire the week of Saturday 8-25-12 through Sat. 9-1-12, and in planning ran into the high costs of a solo stay at a resort. I've been to Bonaire 5 times prior; 4 at Eden Beach Resort with a group (Parrot Island Divers out of Nashville) - there's been construction & changes there since I stayed with them - and once at Buddy Dive (Dec. 2011) with my wife, buddy and brother-in-law.

I usually budget a Bonaire trip this way, per person, when going with others:

1.) Around $1,100 for a one stop (in Atlanta) Delta flight round trip (Nashville to Atlanta to Bonaire & back).

2.) Around $900 for the hotel/rental truck/unlimited shore diving with nitrox package.

3.) Eating out is extra, and one tank of gas for the week at inflated prices (I think it was $77.90 or so this time).

I quickly found out going alone could add a few to several hundred dollars.

I've read about Dive Hut online and favorably as what seems to be about the lowest good budget option for a pre-configured 'package deal.' It's on a suburban block not all that far from Eden Beach Resort, not water front, but not a long drive.

They have 3 levels of accommodation. Had I gone with my wife, for example, the cheapest, the hotel room, would've been $550 apiece. For me as a solo diver, it was $885. I opted for the $154 upcharge to get a truck with automatic transmission since I can't drive stick & thought my dive buddy (going to medical school on Bonaire with a week off) might not be available, but he was, so he drove all week.

So, what do you get for $885 (paid in cash up front; you can use a credit card, but there's a % additional charge I chose to save)?

It's basically like a bedroom from another resort's apartment, with a pair of twin beds stuck together to make a double, a little wooden shelf beside the bed, a t.v. with cable of some sort (which I never turned on) on the wall with a small shelf, a mini-fridge (which kept my Coke Zero real cold), an A.C. unit (took awhile to chill the room, but could get it cold), a small hall-like dining area (thin the handle on the Big Dipper constellation for what bedroom + dining area look like) with a small round wooden table & 2 chairs. The dining area was 2 shelves and a bar for clothes hangers. There's a bathroom; no medicine cabinet, so my med.s & what not went on the sink & the back of the commode. Water was rather lukish; not hot, not too chilly, okay for showering. Sitting on the john my knees sometimes touched the wall in front of me (I'm a fairly big guy), but I was fine).

There was one 3-pronged outlet (for the fridge); I put a surge suppressor on it to give me more outlets. Wireless internet preformed decently for the island & the iPhone 4 and 1'rst gen. iPad logged on with no problems (no password hassles) - compare to Buddy Dive where service was restricted to single device!

Toilet paper is provided but not replenished, so pick yourself up some at the super market. Ditto get yourself a bowl (for fruit cocktail) and a bit of silverware with your groceries (I ate PB&J sandwiches for breakfast, some fruit, etc...). They provide fresh bed linen (& presumably clean the room) once per week (apparently that's right before you come in). You get fresh towel, wash cloth and rug twice a week. They ask that you turn off the A.C. when out to help keep costs down, and try to be conservative with water.

There are some artistic decorations; a photo over the bed & a craft on the dining area wall, plus in the bathroom a big piece of driftwood in front of the light bulb.

There's a stair well to the roof; you can walk around up there & see the area & take pictures (I was in a 2 story building, so it's not real high up, but decently).

Across the street out front is the locked gear room, behind which was 2 rinse tanks. You can drop off tanks were. You can get fresh air & nitrox tanks (I didn't see an analyzer, though) if there are any; sometimes there were no nitrox tanks when we came out mid.-morning, but Eden Beach Resort now was a drive through setup so getting tanks from WannaDive there is not the parking nightmare it used to be.

I'll post some photos (I'm a slob, so don't let my mess impact your consideration). First, I'll answer a few probable questions:

1.) Was I content with the Dive Hut stay and package? Yes.

2.) Would I seriously consider them for a solo stay again? Yes.

3.) Were the people there friendly? I'm not very approachable and social, but yes, people were friendly, and tried to make sure I was taken care of. If you buddy up with people readily, I think you'll like them.

4.) Would I stay in such small accommodations with a buddy? A low maintenance buddy like my friend Wallob, who's efficient and has a small 'foot print?' Sure. Someone higher maintenance, with a larger 'foot print' and who can be irritable and a bit demanding (like my wife)? No.

5.) Did I miss a lot of diving, staying at a non-ocean front property? Wallob & I got in 22 dives for the week, with no night dives and not rushing outselves. We hit a lot of sites we hadn't before. Granted, diving & eating were about all we did, but I think it went well.

6.) What did I get at Buddy Dive for more money? They picked me up from & returned me to the airport, truck rental was on-grounds from them, accommodations were much larger, breakfast buffet was included, house reef was quite nice, and if I ever boat dove in Bonaire, it would've been a short walk with no drive. Grounds were quite nice (the one day we walked around quite a bit & actually viewed them at length).

I enjoyed Dive Hut and recommend it on the condition that their offering is the right kind of product to meet your needs. I'd recommend Buddy Dive for the same reasons, given it's a different product for somewhat different needs. I'm not sure what all's changed at Eden Beach Resort, so I'm not up on them right now (but the onsite dive shop, WannaDive, which Dive Hut and Windsock Resort also use, is a fine one).

Some photos from the stay:

Dive Hut front, from across the road:

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My Room (#5):

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View from my front door:

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View from my front door, looking to the right:

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The bar out front. They had a BBQ buffet one night, $15 per person, which was really good.

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Atop the roof:

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Views from the roof:

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Gear Room (white building on right, nearest the truck) & Rinse Tanks across the street:

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Pics of my room:

Entrance/Dining area:

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T.V. System:

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Bedroom:

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Bathroom:

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Art in Room:

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---------- Post Merged at 03:39 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 03:33 PM ----------

A couple of follow up points:

1.) Dive Hut's Website.

2.) Their 3 Levels of Accommodations. (Remember that I stayed in the cheapest, which had a mini-fridge, but no kitchenette -basically no cooking equipment, but you can get that at Dive Hut in other accommodations).

Keep in mind that I'm only reporting on one type of their accommodations, the cheapest! They have more to offer than what I used.

Richard.
 
Last edited:
Scary looking driftwood above the sink. Hopefully it's securely attached to the wall.
 
Minor Adjustment: I just reviewed my e-mails, and the hotel room, dive & drive package at Dive Hut was $885, not $875 (the forum let me fix it in the original post). Sorry about the error.

I just pulled up Buddy Dive's rates PDF, and for Summer/Fall 14-Apr-12 till 21-Dec-12, their cheapest solo option is 1 person in a hotel room for $1,505. Now, deduct $129 for shore diving only, no boat dives, and you come out to $1,376. If you like to eat well, figure breakfast buffet is worth maybe $10/day (could be more), and let's knock that down to $1,300.

$1,300 - $885 = $415 difference for a solo diver staying in a 'hotel room,' once boat dives & breakfast buffet are taken out of the picture.

For that, you get the convenient use of the house reef, nice grounds with a pool (which I didn't use), and they pick you up from and drop you off at the airport, so arrival & departure are a bit easier, and a room safe. From Buddy Dive's webpage on accommodation options:

Our air conditioned hotel rooms are equipped with table size fridge, cable TV, telephone, bathroom/shower and a balcony.

All apartments, studios and hotel rooms have a room safe, with no extra charge, to store valuables.

But I was much happier with Dive Hut's internet service (since I had 2 devices to use; when I was in unit 514 at Buddy Dive, in-room signal was awful, and I mostly sat out of the balcony (which was nice) being eaten by mosquitoes (not so nice) to use the internet.

Richard.

P.S.: I'm not strongly pushing, or opposing, options for people since I don't know what you may or may not be after for your trip. When I was considering Dive Hut, I found mentions of it on Scuba Board, but not a more extensive write-up with a breakdown of pro.s & con.s like this, so I took notes while I was there & after getting home posted this review in case there's someone I can help.
 
Great trip report and comparative analysis Richard. Thanks for sharing! I've been curious about Wannadive ever since Bart & Bob left Buddy Dive to start it in 2000.

For what it's worth, here's another possibility for a low-cost single diver trip:
$340 truck rental from Telerin. Includes CDW and you pickup/return the truck in short-term parking right at the airport. Search this forum for "Telerin" or "Poppy" and you'll see rave reviews. I'm not sure if they have trucks with automatic transmissions.
$490 low season rate for a well appointed apartment at Happy Holiday Homes in Belnem. We stayed here for 3 weeks in 2010 and were very happy.
$150 for unlimited shore dives with Buddy Dive. You can pickup/return tanks at any BD location, including Belmar Apartments just down the street from HHH.

Total is ~$980 for a week.

For the extra $100 advantages over your Wannadive package include:
- Easy pickup and return of rental truck. Rental trucks are unmarked (i.e. no signs or logos etc.)
- Apartments with full kitchens, full size refrigerator, and well appointed bathrooms and furnishings. Not fancy, but has everything you need.
- Apartments are fully screened for protection mosquitoes (I'm not sure about Dive Hut.)
- Personal rinse tubs at each apartment. Just simple plastic laundry tubs, but they work great and you can use fresh water whenever you want.
- Room safe in each apartment. IMHO this is just for peace of mind, as these apartments are in a small residential complex and the hosts/owners live on site an patrol the property regularly.

I'm not knocking Wannadive, as they have a great reputation and history of happy guests. I'm just offering suggestions from the "what would I do?" perspective. Any trip to Bonaire is a good trip. :goingdown:
 
Richard,

Would have been a good time to learn to drive a stick when it isn't your clutch.:D

Did you check out the Bonaire Fun apts. I'd like to stay in them our next trip but we need a third. Last trip we stayed in one of the Huts one bedroom apts. That was a good deal. A little bit roomier than what you encountered.
 
I didn't check out Bonaire Fun Apartments. I believe this is their website. Before my trip, I did check around a bit online, varied places I'd heard of, but Dive Hut seemed to edge out others on price, and was a known name brand with a good reputation and affiliated with a highly reputable local dive shop (WannaDive). It wouldn't have cost a lot to upgrade to a unit with a kitchen. I don't cook unless you count microwaves, so far me, worth saving the money.

WWGuy:

- Easy pickup and return of rental truck. Rental trucks are unmarked (i.e. no signs or logos etc.)

If memory serves our rental truck was via Island Car Rentals, near the airport, and that went pretty smoothly. After we dropped it off, he gave us a ride over to the airport (not far, but appreciated).

Richard.
 
I stayed @ Dive Hut last year, and I think Richard's report and description are good and thorough.

When I stayed there Jan 2011, it was still owned by the Wannadive people, and they had had some insane special going where the hotelroom came out to something like $29/nt. I was also a solo traveler, and arranged my vehicle and diving (Dive Friends. Their Yellow Submarine location is literally a 2-3 min walk away) separately.

On my most recent trip I tried Bonairefun apts, which is located right across the street from Dive Hut (and shares the same gear room/building and rinse tank as Dive Hut seen in Richard's pics), and is run by the same people who now own Dive Hut. As a solo traveller, I'd feel comfortable in either place. The studio I think was ~$10/nt more than Dive Hut, but slightly more spacious and larger cooking/kitchen. I think if I'd share expenses with another person I'd spend more to be on the water.
 
Dive Hut, Tropicana and Bonaire Fun are all owned by Roland and Irene. Irene gave us a little tour of Bonaire Fun when we stayed at the Hut. I was curious if you did the same thing, Richard. And what you thought. Looked very inviting to me.
 
I didn't really socialize or tour anywhere. My main dive buddy is living on Bonaire going to medical school and had the week for a break, so we hung out, caught up and dove a lot. Thanks for pointing out they may show the other property, and its location; good to know.

Maybe on a future trip.

Richard.
 
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