Instant Reader Report
on Photo Tours / Hamlet Oasis in
Bonaire / [N/A] on
2003/10
by
Bob & Carolyn Smith , MA, USA
Report Number 031103200748144

 New England, Bahamas, Red Sea, Florida  

Dive Conditions

Stay within recreational limits, start back at 1500 psi, surface with no
less than 500 psi.  No gloves, don't touch anything on the reef.  

[None]  

Overall Rating

This was our fifth trip to Bonaire, and it was delightful, as usual. The
diving was superb. We made 25 dives over 8 days.  We spoke to some marine
biologists who are studying the status of corals throughout the Caribbean.
 They claim Bonaire is by far the healthiest reef in this part of the
world.   We did not see any turtles, green moray eels or eagle rays on
this trip, although others did.

We stayed at Hamlet Oasis in a 2-bedroom villa, which is actually a
one-bedroom apartment with an adjoining studio.  It is clean and quiet,
with a pool on site.  The bedrooms are air-conditioned, and the buildings
are situated so the breeze moves straight through the living room. 
Management was friendly and accommodating.  The kitchen lacks an oven,
which we did not expect, but we managed to cook meals planned for the oven
on top of the stove.

We always dive with Photo Tours, and are never disappointed.  The rates
are reasonable, the service always friendly.  They have a shop next to
Hamlet Oasis, one downtown, and one close to the airport at Caribbean
Court.  They also operate the Pink Bus, which is a real asset to those
diving the south part of the island (the bus is located at one particular
dive site each day, and offers refreshments, items for basic repairs, and
a place to store things if needed).

As usual, we had to be careful regarding petty theft while diving.  While
shore diving, we brought nothing with us that we would not want stolen,
and left the windows down.  Thievery is a real problem on the island, and
although the dive operators are up in arms about it, the police are not
cooperative.  There was a suspicious, obviously local, car and driver
parked partially concealed near divers at the Hilma Hooker site.  One
member of our party marched over to it and took down the license plate
number on a dive slate.  The car was gone when we surfaced from the dive. 
We became friendly with a woman who had gas siphoned from her truck every
night, since she was the only one in the neighborhood without a locking
gas cap.
Although the theft problem is disturbing, we cannot stay away from
Bonaire.

 

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