Dive Review of Captain Don's Habitat in
Bonaire

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Captain Don's Habitat, Oct, 2011, by Mark Kimmey, NY, US ( Contributor 13 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 6295.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The good news is that the North American reservation agent for Captain Don’s Habitat – Maduro Travel – has gotten its stuff together since our last trip in 2005. This time everything went more than smooth with them, and I can now recommend them to others. We were also pleased that Captain Don’s is still a well-run operation. Rooms were comfortable and clean, and hot water was plentiful. Unfortunately, our unit lacked an overhead fan on its porch, which would have helped a lot: October is apparently mosquito season and without a fan to keep the little buggers at bay we did not enjoy the porch as much as we would have liked. The restaurant (“Rum Runners”) served good food at reasonable prices. The entire staff was pleasant and helpful, especially the dive staff. Most important, the latter were very accommodating, to the point where on one boat excursion where we were the only two divers that showed up, they took us out anyway. We had fewer problems with maintenance this trip, though we had learned to travel with our own tank checker and spare o-rings. Several tanks leaked air, but not nearly as bad as in 2005. There is a tank checker tied to a post at the fill station, but it’s been dropped so many times that it consistently read 500 pounds over what was actually in the tank. Diving conditions were good: visibility was usually within expectations and currents were mild. The reefs are in relatively good condition with only a little algae here and there, and minimal bleaching. Lionfish are taking over, however: during one dive on the north side of Karpata we counted 10. Divemasters are trying to spear them, but it’s an upstream fight. Town Pier is still closed to diving. The situation at the Salt Pier is a little less clear. According to Cargill’s office, the Harbor Master calls the shots on diving there. They also told us they were recommending the Harbor Master not permit diving because they were “preparing to repair” damage to the Pier, but Captain Don’s divemasters told us they’ve been saying that for months. Supposedly the Harbor Master issues permits that allow guided dives, and that’s how we made a night trip this time. However, we also saw people making what appeared to be unguided day dives there, so we’re not sure if this is just a scam, or what. In any case, if there are prohibitions, they do not appear to be enforced. The bad news is that Bonaire has a crime problem. When picking up one of the ubiquitous compact pickups, the rental car companies will warn you not to leave valuables in your car and to not lock your doors. They will also push you to take the extra CDW insurance, but you should be aware that it doesn’t cover glass. Apparently they know that thieves will break vehicle glass to take whatever’s inside. We got hit while diving “The Invisibles” south of Salt Pier, as did the truck parked next to us. We did not have valuables in the cab, but that didn’t stop the thieves from taking our (resort) beach towels, shirts, hats and prescription glasses (seriously, my prescription glasses?). We tried to laugh it off, but were a little unhappy when Captain Don’s charged us $20 for each of the towels because we didn’t file a police report. The police station is marked on the map from the rental company, but who is going to drive into town in their wetsuit to report a couple of stolen towels? Our guess is that since most thefts are low value they are frequently unreported, which means that the police are not involved in solving the problem. I’m pretty sure the resorts understand the problem, but until they put pressure on the police nothing is going to happen. Talking with the divemasters led us to understand that theft is a problem across the island, and it’s not limited to tourists. We’ll go back to Bonaire eventually, but I’m going to want reassurances that they’ve got the crime under control before I start making reservations. One other thing to be aware of, and a reason to take the CDW option from the rental company: your credit card may not cover TRUCKS under any sort of rental car insurance they offer. Our truck was hit in the parking lot the night before we were to fly home, but we had declined the CDW believing that our credit card would cover any damage. We were charged $365 for a small ding in the rear fender when we returned the vehicle, and when we got home MasterCard told us they wouldn’t cover it because it was a TRUCK.
Websites	Captain Don's Habitat
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	New York, Hawaii, California, Kwajalein, Florida, Grenada, Bonaire, Grand Cayman, Belize, Mexico
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	81-85°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-70 Ft/ 9-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	1 or 2
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	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Captain Don's Habitat in Bonaire

Captain Don's Habitat, Oct, 2011,

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 Captain Don's Habitat in
Bonaire