Dive Review of Buddy Dive Resort in
Bonaire

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Buddy Dive Resort, Feb, 2012, by Richard Sziede, VA, US ( Reviewer 4 reports). Report 6486.
No photos available at this time
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	Bless me oh Dan, for it has been three years since my last dive. Something always preempted dive plans. Such a long layoff. Doubting my dive skills for another high adventure outing, we opted for a Dive Shop group trip to Buddy Dive on Bonaire. Tame and safe. All went well. Buddy Dive is well run. The dive shop and the car rental belong to Buddy Dive. (This latter is important. The captive car rental means they won't try the scratched bumper scam that sadly, one sees even at major car agencies.) John and Susie Wall, former owners of The Dive Shop in Fairfax VA, are now semi-retired running the photo shop at Buddy Dive. The close relation between shop and resort makes all smooth. Rental truck, buffet breakfast, 2-bedroom condo, 3 boat dives, unlimited air or Nitrox were all part of the package. Didn't opt for additional boat dives, because shore diving is the thing at Bonaire. As in most of the Caribbean, reefs have taken a beating from over use and/or global warming. They seem to be holding their own compared to my last visit 10 years ago, but are sadly diminished from the abundance of my first Bonaire trip, 20 years back. No more storms of Creole Wrasses, few big critters. Lion Fish abound. Thus there is a new wrinkle at Buddy Dive. A Lion Fish hunter course and rental spears. The mandate is kill, kill, kill. No limit. One even gets to wear gloves. Heavy gloves. One happy note. I saw a Yellow Tail eat a slain Lion Fish. One hopes that the effect will be to train a Lion Fish predator. I watched our Yellow Tail for several minutes after he ate the Lion Fish. He seemed to suffer no ill effects. Another wrinkle new to me. A florescent night dive. Not phosphorescent, florescent. You carry a blue/UV flashlight, and wear a yellow, polarizing filter over your mask. The flashlight is polarized. The filter attenuates the polarized light. The non-polarized florescence from the corals, jellyfish, and even fire worms comes through. Way cool light show! The dive boats are well-run if a tad crowded. The whole crew is friendly, capable, and quite trim. Wore bikinis like the one recently on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Don't know how they stayed on. Give extra props to the bar/restaurant at Buddy Dive. Food is quite good. That is unexpected for a captive beanery.
Websites	Buddy Dive Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Truk
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	80-81°F / 27-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	70-100 Ft/ 21-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
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	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire

Buddy Dive Resort, Feb, 2012,

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 Buddy Dive Resort in
Bonaire