Instant Reader Report
on Buddy Dive / [same] in
Bonaire / [N/A] on
2002/06
by
Gary DeBarba , CT, USA
Report Number 020902195723942

 Curacao, Bahamas, Cayman, Bermuda, Hawaii, St. Thomas, Turks & Caicos 

Dive Conditions

Deepest dive first; 130 ft. max  

Boats had rinse tanks and there was a rinse tank on shore, but no photo
developing or repair services on site.  

Overall Rating

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.




 

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