Dive Review of Buddy Dive Resort in
Bonaire

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Buddy Dive Resort: "First trip to Bonaire - not disappointed", Nov, 2019, by Phil Hamilton, MA, US ( Sr. Reviewer 8 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 11348.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I had avoided Bonaire for 2 reasons, my wife wasn't interested in diving there and since I fractured my heel a few years ago, I'm not comfortable walking over loose rocky terrain, let alone with scuba gear. So when a dive buddy who wanted to visit Bonaire to rack up some hours on his rebreather suggested I come along and he would carry my tanks to the water, it seemed an opportunity not to be missed. The diving did not disappoint, in 20+ years of diving, these were the best reefs that I've seen in the Caribbean. Despite the almost constant 86 degree water, there was little evidence of coral bleaching at the reefs we dived, and there was a welcome diversity of fish species and numbers of fish. Large tarpon could be found at Buddy's reef and the wreck of the Hilma Hooker; however, the only barracuda I saw were relatively small. Although not common, large grouper were seen on several dives, and large individuals of parrot fish and angel fish species could be found at almost every site visited. One of the more challenging entries was Karpata but very well worth the effort. Although many divers do 4-5 dives a day, with my buddy diving a rebreather and me diving twin 80s as sidemount, we averaged almost 90 minutes a dive, so 2 dives a day was fine. Given that most of the interesting stuff is between 20 and 60 feet, we tended to follow the reef at about 45-50 feet outbound and about 30 feet on the return, with a longish (10+ minutes) deco at 20 feet or less. Buddy's may not be the most ritzy dive resort but they have a formula that works well given the number of repeat divers we encountered. Our package included the rental truck and package for drive-through tank pick-up and drop-off. We never had any problems getting tanks, the fills were consistently 3200 psi, and on any one day the nitrox % of the tanks would all be very close to each other (they aim for 32% but tell you that it can be from 30%-34%, so always analyze the tanks). One word to the wise, although DIN and yoke fittings are advertised, the drive through tanks are all yoke, so make sure you have adapters if you routinely dive with a DIN regulator. The suite we had was clean and comfortable with plenty of space to deal with gear and cameras. Breakfasts were good and the evening meals in the Ingredients restaurant were excellent. The open air restaurant was being refurbished (the old structure was demolished while we were there). The temporary restaurant under a tent left something to be desired; the food was mediocre to OK but the service left a lot to be desired. Hopefully the new restaurant will be up to the standard of neighboring dive resorts.
Websites	Buddy Dive Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Galapagos, Indonesia, Maldives, Caribbean, Sea of Cortez, Roatan, Utilla, Belize, Costa Rica, Curacao, Cozumel, Australia, California, New England, Fla keys, Philipines
Closest Airport	Flamingo International Airport	Getting There	American Airlines via Miami. Outbound no problem; however, inbound always leave plenty of time for a connection. It took me over 2 hours to clear immigration and customs, I had only about 20 minutes to spare before my connecting flight started to board.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, dry	Seas	surge
Water Temp	82-86°F / 28-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-80 Ft/ 15-24 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	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire

Buddy Dive Resort: "First trip to Bonaire - not disappointed", Nov, 2019,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Buddy Dive Resort in
Bonaire