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Dive Review of Divi Flamingo in
Bonaire

Divi Flamingo, Apr, 2007,

by Rick Tavan, CA, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 5 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 3572.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 2 stars
Service and Attitude 2 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 2 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Good: Interesting shore diving right off the pier at the resort and elsewhere all over the island. Excellent dive pier with lockers, rinse tanks, air, jump-in and stairs to walk out all nicely arranged, available 24x7 once you have been briefed. Nitrox available on request.
Good: Restaurants in town ranged from good to excellent. Best was Capriccio, a true Italian with outstanding food and welcoming proprietors who once had worked at one of our favorite restaurants in Italy. That one dinner made our week. Si mangia bene e puo parlare italiano.
Bad: Very little variation among sites we visited on daily boat trips. Many were shore divable without a boat. All good, none great, all pretty much the same.
Bad: With the exception of the photo operation, resort staff ranged from indifferent to hostile. Treated visitors as suspects to be avoided and persecuted, not as guests or even customers. Particularly awful were front desk and dive shop desk (except dive shop proprietor who was courteous).
Bad: Resort food was mediocre, service slow.
Bad: Some rooms were seriously mold-infested; room changes resisted strongly by desk staff despite good, empty rooms being available once we insisted.
Bad: The mandatory pre-diving briefing is not disclosed very well prior to arrival. The timing is such that many divers miss a day or even two days of diving. Check this out carefully with your operator before booking travel. This is likely the reason so many arriving flights are red-eyes. Some actually get you in in time for a briefing and then the only reason to miss dives is fatigue. Non-red-eye flights arrive after the once-daily briefing and the briefing is after departure of the morning boats. Consider a shore-diving only plan; the boats are an unnecessary expense except to go to Klein Bonaire.
Bad: The transfer via Montego Bay, Jamaica was a nightmare. We were bumped from our flight and Air Jamaica was very hostile about rescheduling and compensation. Lots of lies. What you get varies wildly depending on how well you negotiate. DON'T FLY AIR JAMAICA to Bonaire or anywhere else.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Little Cayman, Saba, Cabo, Cozumel, Hawaii, Monterey, Channel Islands
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 80-81°F / 27-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 40-50 Ft/ 12-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Encouraged 1 hour limit on boat dives; legal depth limit 120' as I recall; legally mandated briefing before first dive regardless of experience and former visits to the island
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments Good photo shop at resort including the only friendly staff at resort. We weren't photographing ourselves but they supported those who were. They also provided the typical custom/canned trip videos.
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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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