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Dive Review of Captain Don's Habitat in
Bonaire

Captain Don's Habitat, Jun, 2014,

by Frank Hall, IN, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 23 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 7626.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food N/A
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments It's been a couple of years since we'd been to Bonaire and many years since we've stayed at Captain Don's. There's a lot more traffic and the diving isn't what it used to be, but that's pretty much the case everywhere.
We stayed in one of the Upper Level Junior Suites and it was really nice. However, if you don't already know, Junior Suites do not have full kitchens. There is a coffee pot, microwave, small refrigerator and a few utensils and a couple of plates, bowls, cups and glasses and that is it. We eat all our meals in the room, so it was a bit challenging at times, but do-able. Housekeeping kept every thing ship-shape.

We dove all week at Captain Don's and never got bored. We used to race all over the island going from site to site, but really there is so much to see on Captain Don's reef, we just stayed there. Gearing up and diving at the house reef is very easy. The only "issue" we had was the limited number of 63 cu ft tanks. We were told if we couldn't locate one that the staff would find one for us. Still, they could use a few more. Don't forget to take a lock for your dive locker. I had a high pressure hose that had to be replaced. I was suprised to find out that Captain Don's doesn't stock hoses. Had to go to Buddies. Captain Don's charges for Nitrox unlike other places we've stayed on Bonaire. If you like to do a lot of shore diving, you have to use a two wheel dolly to cart your tanks back and forth from the parking lot. No drive up fill station.

The upper part of the reef is rubble, but once you get to about 25 feet it improves greatly. We saw at least 3 tarpons that hung around all week. There are numerous tropical and small critters. We saw a frog fish, eagle ray and several scorpion fish. Saw the biggest sharp tailed eel I have ever seen. It was in some kind of territorial dispute with a scorpion fish. The good news, only saw 3 lionfish all week. The bad news, we saw 3 lionfish.

We highly recommend you stop in at Bon Photo (on site)and talk to Zsuzsanna she is very knowledgable and a great help for any photo issues.

If you have an early morning flight, choose your car rental company carefully. Most don't open until 6:00am (Budget open at 5:00). If you rent from one of the late ones it means you have to check in at the airport first and then go back to the car rental agency to return the car. Just another hassle for an already busy morning.
Websites Captain Don's Habitat   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Roatan, Little Cayman, Grand Cayman, Bahamas, Belize, Turks & Caicos
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas calm
Water Temp 81-81°F / 27-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 2
Water Visibility 70-85 Ft/ 21-26 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions None
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments Didn't take any boat dives, at the dock there was a separate rinse take for cameras and that was it. There is excellent photographic help at Bon Photo, the photo shop on site. We had some camera housing issues and they fixed our probem at no charge. I even took a camera maintenance class from them.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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