Dive Review of Buddy Dive in
Bonaire

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Buddy Dive, Jun, 2002, by Gary DeBarba, CT, USA . Report 136.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Our only problem of the trip was getting to Bonaire. Although I had used Maduro Dive Travel successfully before, they were initially unwilling to book us on any airline other than Air Jamaica. After I called Bonaire Tourism, Maduro was willing to book our flights on American Airlines with a Dutch Caribbean Airlines connection between Curacao and Bonaire. Our group was split between Connecticut and Chicago and the Chicago contingent was booked on flights with only a 45-minute plane change in Miami. Although AA knew that members of our party were in the Miami Terminal on their way to our gate, they were unwilling to hold the plane. The Chicago group missed the flight by less than 10 minutes. American chose to put them up in Miami overnight and fly them to Bonaire on their own flight the next day rather than on another airline the same day. This resulted in the loss of one day of diving for all four people. Buddy Dive resort was clean and modern and the staff was very friendly and accommodating. We rented a 3-bedroom, 3-bath condo which was very clean and comfortable, with working a/c and plenty of hot water. Breakfasts were good – eggs, pancakes, French toast, bacon, omelets, cereal, juices and fruits every day. The lunches were very good, with a wide selection of salads, burgers and sandwiches. We did not eat at Buddy for dinner, due to the large number of great restaurants on the island. (Don’t miss Richard’s – we went twice, and it is superb.) The diving was very good. There was not as much hurricane damage as we expected. The dive boats would try to accommodate divers’ requests for dive sites, but for the most part they tried to stay around Klein Bonaire. I frequently requested sights around Karpata or 1,000 Steps, but was usually told it was too rough or other boats were already there. I was never totally disappointed, as some of the Klein sites were outstanding. We booked for 11 boat dives with the idea of taking the morning 2-tank boat. This boat ran only 2 of the 6 days we were there. The other days it either didn’t run or was booked by a private group. We were still able to take the two separate single-dive boats each day, leaving time for shore diving in the afternoon. The beach diving was standard Bonaire diving – easy access and most spots were very good with little hurricane damage. The dive staff was very friendly and accommodating. They were even able to fill our requests for turtles, seahorses and a frog fish. The tipping situation was very low-key, and the staff was very happy to receive even contributions of beer and wine! Our entire group had a great time and we look forward to returning to Buddy Dive in the future.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Curacao, Bahamas, Cayman, Bermuda, Hawaii, St. Thomas, Turks & Caicos
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, dry	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	78-81°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Deepest dive first; 130 ft. max
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
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
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Boats had rinse tanks and there was a rinse tank on shore, but no photo developing or repair services on site.

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Dive Review of Buddy Dive in Bonaire

Buddy Dive, Jun, 2002,

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 in
Bonaire