Dive Review of Belmar Bonaire in
Bonaire

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Belmar Bonaire: "Possibly the Healthiest Reefs in the Caribbean", Feb, 2022, by Bethany Kolb, NM, US ( 1 report with 2 Helpful votes). Report 11865 has 2 Helpful votes.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We went to Bonaire with a small group of seven (five divers + one on-island certification) to celebrate our niece’s PhD in Marine Ecology. I selected Belmar based on other Reader Reports and could not have been happier. We had a three bedroom/two story condo (5 people) with a second story veranda large enough for evening dining, lounging and gear drying. Speaking of gear drying, there were wetsuit hangers, sturdy poles to hang them on, a drying rack for clothes, sundries and another for botties. Clearly this property knows its customer. The kitchen was well stocked with dishes, etc. It took a minute to understand the European appliances – thank goodness for Google. There was an option to stock some groceries, beer, wine and liquor making it easy to start relaxing after a long journey. Grocery stores are a short drive away and well stocked. The front desk staff was helpful and housekeeping came through a couple times a week to refresh towels and tidy up, one sheet change mid-week. A digital butler service was helpful for finding a fish market and fresh produce market. The diving services are provided by Buddy’s Dive Resort with four dedicated on-site Dive Masters; Flavia, Douwe, Richard and Jason. Interestingly, Richard and Jason are both members of The Great Resignation, with long careers behind them outside the dive industry. The diving week started with an orientation to their facilities; locked gear storage, rinse tanks on the dock and near the gear storage, tank storage locations (roadside and dockside) as well as the boat dive logistics and schedule. They requested that all divers do their own checkout dive on the house reef, Sarah’s Smile, prior to the first boat dives. On Sunday afternoon the boat dives were in the afternoon, other days were in the morning. We purchased daily 2-tank valet boat dives for six days. Most of the dives were off Klein Bonaire (option to dive Bonaire proper when we were the only group on the boat) where the reefs were universally in good shape with large numbers of tropical fish and macro subjects for the photographers in our group. Buddy’s has clearly perfected their guiding services – “I’m going to swim against any current for 27 min or until someone is at half a tank. Then I’ll turn, and swim back to the boat a bit shallower on the reef with a goal of being back to the boat at ~ 45 min. All divers to the surface at 60 min.” They were not overly directive about depth as long as you had a buddy with you. Our boat, Any Buddy, was spacious for six divers, got cozy at eight. Overall, a pretty standard day dive boat. The crew setup and changed tanks which minimized crowding. Of course, Bonaire is known for shore diving opportunities and our group did several shore dives. Our package included a cruck with a tank rack in the bed. I have to say, as a diver of a certain age, shore dives have become less appealing over the years but still rewarding despite the extra effort. We were in Bonaire for the full moon and a guided night dive on the house reef to see the phosphorescing ostracods received high marks. The house reef also had a sea horse or two if you know where to look and an octopus that is frequently seen during the day. One member of our group did their Open Water certification on the trip. He completed his course work online prior to the trip and then did pool work and checkout dives at the resort. His instructor, Charli, an 18-year-old from Iowa, was excellent. She is wise beyond her years, a talented teacher and thorough instructor. In addition to diving, we enjoyed the Donkey Sanctuary, birding with Susan from Bonaire Bird Tours and a horseback ride/swim with Horse Ranch Bonaire. We chose to eat most of our meals in thanks in part to the fresh fish offered at Zarapin fish market (get there by 4 pm). Sebastian’s and Brass Boer offered outstanding special occasion dining (reservations are a must). The Dash Kitchen food truck, open Saturday and Sunday offers donuts for the early birds and biscuit sandwiches through early afternoon. Bobbejan’s BBQ was great for take-out and responded perfectly to, “We would like a variety of BBQ to serve seven.” According to the newly minted marine ecologist, snorkeling in the Lac Bay sea grass beds is really fun for people who are looking for something different! Mangrove jellyfish (with photosynthetic algae) were abundant and easy to see in shallow water, as were lots of fish. Visibility is variable and rash guards are advised due to hydroids.
Websites	Belmar Bonaire
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Belize, Raja Ampat, Hawaii, Grand and Little Cayman, Cozumel, Roatan, Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, Bonaire, Saba
Closest Airport	Bonaire Flamingo International	Getting There	ABQ-Houston-Bonaire (overnight Houston on outbound)
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	27-27°C / 81-81°F	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	20-40 M / 66-131 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	60 min on boat dives
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Fresh water rinse tanks on the boat and at the house reef dock. Missed the town pier opportunities of days gone by, but Klein Bonaire is still one of the best macro sites in the Caribbean.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Belmar Bonaire in Bonaire

Belmar Bonaire: "Possibly the Healthiest Reefs in the Caribbean", Feb, 2022,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Belmar Bonaire in
Bonaire