We are going to Curacao & Bonaire, any reccommenations on Dive Operator/Hotels

[Dyvingluvly]

Hi All,

I need information on dive operators/hotels in Bonaire. I will be diving there the week of Nov. 2nd - 15th. I've read some of the postings. What part of the island is the best to dive from? Thre will be only 2 of us diving in Bonaire.

I am an advance diver, so I am interested in wall and swim through diving. Thank you in advance to all that reply to this message.

 

[OH2OD]

We visited Bonaire with LDS group in 2004 and 2005.
Both trips we stayed at Plaza & dove with Toucan Diving.
Were very satisfied both trips.

 

[Dyvingluvly]

Thank you for the information. I will go on their websites.

 

[sasscuba]

Recommend Buddy Dive Resort on Bonaire.

 

[Dyvingluvly]

We will be flying into Curacao first, but leaving immediately for Bonaire, as our main trip will be on Curacao for 7 days. Only 5 days on Bonaire. What Inter-Island Flight did you use if any? I found Divi Divi Air & Dutch Antilles Express. Thanks for responding.

 

[sasscuba]

We will be flying into Curacao first, but leaving immediately for Bonaire, as our main trip will be on Curacao for 7 days. Only 5 days on Bonaire. What Inter-Island Flight did you use if any? I found Divi Divi Air & Dutch Antilles Express. Thanks for responding.

I fly AA.

 

[herman]

AA does not fly between the islands, Divi Divi and DAE are your only choices.
As for places to stay, there are many. Where depends mostly on what you need/want in a place. If you want upscale then Harbor Village or the Plaza are your better choices. If you want to be on the water but spend less Buddy Dive, Sand Dollar, Capt Dons and Eden Beach are several to look at. A new place Den Lamen is also on the water and worth a look. If being on the water is not way up on your "needs" list and a more modest place will do. Look at Golden Reef Inn. It's a couple of blocks off the water and nothing fancy but it is clean, safe and a good value. My personal choices are Buddy if I have a larger group going and GRI for 2. If I can get 2 or 3 couples in one condo the cost PPat Buddy comes down to a point that it's worth the extra money to be on the water. On the other hand if it's just a buddy and myself we stay at Golden Reef Inn. We can save nearly $500pp, being on the water is not worth that much to me.
As for dive shops, there are no bad ones on Bonaire, at least that I have heard about. I do have my favorites. If I am staying at Buddy, then I use the Buddy shop. They are a first class op and the staff are great. GRI and many other places use Wannadivebonaire. WDB is my other prefered shop. The owners are VERY customer oriented and go way out of their way to help the customer. Ya gotta love Bart and crew. I will dive with either of them. By the way, I think Liz at GRI will help arrange inter island air if you stay with her.
Where ever you stay, you will want a vehicle. Most places will include a truck in the package if you want one and you do. When compairing the cost of packages make sure what is included, you need to compair apples with apples. I would also suggest you NOT do any meal packages with the exception of breakfast. The resort restaurants are good but there are way too many great places to eat to be stuck at a resort.
As for what part of the island is best to dive, my preference is the nothern sites. The reef and dropoff are a little closer. On the other hand the double reefs of the southern end are good also. Heck dive them all.....at least that's my plan in a few days.

 

[Amazon]

If you like being spoiled...check out Deep Blue View. A short hop down the hill to the dive sites.

 

[dvrliz1]

Herman, excellent! Money is always a factor and it depends on what the individual wants to spend. If it's waterfront, you want, I have to recommend Eden Beach Resort. They have a great beach, Bongos and are relatively reasonable. One thing that when checking out resorts/hotels/b&b's etc on Bonaire is to ask what is included in their prices. Some are charging an energy surcharge, some, when renting vehicles do not including CDW insurance and taxes, etc. Ask if they have timers on their aircos as some people like the room to be cold and some places have automatic shutoffs when you leave the room. Also some places charge extra for use of aircos. Many people tend to be budget oriented and these costs can add up!

Liz

 

[ronrosa]

You might want to check if Habitat will give you a deal if you book both Curacao and Bonaire with them. I imagine they would kick in some kind of discount.