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Dive Review of Dive Friends Bonaire/Djambo in
Bonaire

Dive Friends Bonaire/Djambo, Jan, 2013,

by Faithe Evans, TX, US (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 6837.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling 5 stars
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments The good: Djambo has become our home on Bonaire. We get up each morning and turn off the bedroom a/c and open up a complete thru island breeze, a bit stronger this time of year. We always opt for an upstairs, one of 5 - 1 bedroom apartments so that we have an open front to the pool/common area and a door to the bedroom that locks to the outside. Go online and see their accommodations. They also have 2 nice 2 bedroom 1 bath apartments for families or 2 couples. These also have a nice terrace. We can't say enough good things about the owners of Djambo, 2 couples, Martin & Ilse and Dick and Liselotte (Lisa). They live there and take excellent care of everything. Any issue brought to their attention is resolved quickly and thoroughly and they are very appreciative of the notice. Free wi-fi in the front area of the apartments, all, in fact, I'm sitting here writing this now!
We get a stay-drive-dive package with Djambo which includes the apartment, a truck with bottle rack and all our air/nitrox all for a single price and a good one, I might add. The apartments are quiet and clean. The rinse tanks are clean and ready every day and the dive gear storage area is very secure and clean. Each apartment receives keys for not only the apartment but the front gate and gear storage area lock upon arrival. Come and go as you please. No, it's not ocean front or have a restaurant but there is a nice little open bar each evening open till about 8 so that you can gather and share the diving stories of the day then walk to town's many good restaurants or dive to ones a bit farther.
Reef life is excellent in Bonaire, fish, corals, sponges, macros everywhere! Some great wide angles should you get a shot of the manta grazing the area or a huge baitball being herded by a few jacks and other feeders. Turtles are seen quite often on just about any site you choose and are very photogenic if you have camera available to you.
Only down side to traveling to Bonaire is airline service. If you want to go other than on Saturday and return on Saturday you are taking big chances. DAE has about the poorest service in the skies. Don't even think about flying them. Most of the time they will sell you a ticket but we were told they don't really service Bonaire anymore. I witnessed this when I went to the airport to buy a different airlines return ticket which also required an extra night stay (not necessarily a bad thing). DAE had left a load of passengers stranded on Bonaire with no attempt of supplying service to these folks that had connections to make to their destinations. I really feared for the life of the poor ticket clerk. A couple of security personnel came over to the screaming crowd but I left before any blood was shed. I was informed that to stay with the major carriers is best. United is on my BAD list since their merger with my beloved Continental. They have jacked up the prices to about 300-500 per seat above Delta and I try to avoid American at all costs. United limits its flights to just the busy season so if you want to go during the slow season you have to choose a different airline. Not happy about this at all.
Websites Dive Friends Bonaire   Djambo

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving St. Thomas, Cozumel, Maui, Belize, Palau, Yap, Galapagos
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather windy Seas surge, currents, no currents
Water Temp 81-83°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions All shore dives. No dive master.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 4 stars
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 N/A
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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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