Dive Review of Dive Friends Bonaire in
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Dive Friends Bonaire: "Two weeks of shorediving and PADI AOW", Sep, 2023, by Joel Horie, UT, US ( Sr. Contributor 24 reports with 18 Helpful votes). Report 12576 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	New Tourism Tax. No visa required from the US, but a flat rate Tourism Tax started in 2022. Be careful, as there are many non official websites that will process your fee AND add on additional charges. In 2023 it should be $75. [tourismtax.bonairegov.com link]. There are many official looking websites that will show on a Google search. You should confirm the real website with your accommodations provider or dive shop. You have to pay the tax each entry to Bonaire. Pay online and you receive an email QR code to present at customs. If you don’t pay in advance, there was a shaded area to the left of the customs line you could pay. They had a QR code link to the official website and free airport Wifi. You’ll need to have a Wifi or mobile capable device and a valid credit card(that works in Bonaire; ie you have travel enabled). At customs, present your passport and Tax QR code and answer the usual questions; why are you visiting, where are you staying and how long is your stay. We had airstairs front and rear for deplaning , so middle of the aircraft seating will probably be last in line for immigrations. At worst, you might have about a 10-15 wait, until you get into the shade in the immigration line. Airport Wifi is free and works well. Baggage claim is still relative crowded and not air conditioned. Small groups waiting together in the baggage claim area for the last piece of luggage really crowd things up. There was no bag inspection or scan, after collecting our checked luggage. Once you have your bags, exit the baggage claim area. There is a much better breeze in the main open air lobby and also a vending machine with ice cold soft drinks. We rented a 4 door truck from AB Car Rental. They pickup across the parking. Call them when you arrive. They have a local and WhatsApp numbers. Walk towards the big Avis building and they pickup on the roadway on the far side of the parking lot. Their office is on Kaya Industria, on the same road as the markets and liquor stores. The truck was new and had good A/C. It fit 4 adults comfortably. Manual transmission and rear wheel drive, but it had ground clearance like a 4x4. It was perfect for all the shore dive spots. We kept the keys and lunch money with us in a Dryfob. It worked great and never leaked. We left the truck unlocked and did not have any problems with theft at the dive sites. We usually just had sandals, towels, water and t shirts left in the truck, between dives. Even if you or friends are just snorkeling, wear booties! I saw a few people trying to get in the water barefoot and then use full foot fins, Most beaches/entries have coral rubble and even the sand beaches can have fire coral. Pay STINAPA nature fee online. Your dive operation will want the code when you sign in. If you want a tag as a souvenir, stop by the STINAPA office near Oil Slick Leap. All the dive sites in Slaagbai National Park were closed to scuba and were snorkel only, for Stoney Coral Disease control. We used Van den Tweel for groceries in town and and Zhung Kong on the west side of town. For bakery items, it’s best to check Van Den Tweel before late afternoon. The Bonaco gas station is very crowded on Saturdays, before most the the flights leave. The Rincon gas station is usually not too busy, as well as the Curial station north of town. Restaurants we enjoyed, Sebastian's(sunset dinner), Mezze, Umbrella, Rum Runners(open daily), Between2buns(we get sandwiches on the way to the airport, take out from Bobbejaan's and Döner Station. Luciano Gelato. Posada Par Mira in Rincon. Food Trucks, Cactus Blue and King Kong Burger. Restaurants are closed on varying days, but the big resorts will have restaurants open every day. We used Dive Friends for tanks and weights. We used their Hamlet or Sand Dollar locations on the north side. The Delfins Beach resort location is very handy for south side diving. They have showers and restrooms to use during your surface intervals.There were always plenty of tanks(Nitrox and Air) during operations hours. They also had rinse and sanitize tanks for gear. Remember to pick up extra tanks for night or early morning dives. Their retail store is very well stocked. We like them, as well as Carib Inn for dive gear. Three of us did our PADI AOW. Since were weren’t staying at a resort, we did our instruction with independent instructor Karin Schols, karinschols34 on Instagram. Very professional and upbeat. She tailored the dives to our schedule and offered us choices on the dive sites. We dove Salt Pier as much as we could. We saw the most sea life there. Saw turtles on the flats, schooling snappers under the far piers, Tarpon cruising the deeper slope beyond the pier. Hard corals, in general, were in pretty good shape, but you could see the Stoney Coral tissue disease in the “Red” designated areas. I use the Marine Traffic app or website to check on ships at the Salt Pier and to see if Cruise ships are in town. If you’re taking the lap through Rincon, Posada Paramira was good for lunch. We like The Rose Inn in Rincon, for lunch as well. Did not see mosquitos, but no seems were out in the evenings, if there was not much wind.
Websites	Dive Friends Bonaire
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Hawaii, Belize, Caymans, Socal, Bonaire, Roatan, Cabo Pulmo, Cozumel, Caicos
Closest Airport	BON	Getting There	Flew Delta SLC-ATL-BON. On return, there were no connecting flights on Saturdays out of Atlanta, to SLC. We had to spend the night. One warning, if you arrive ATL from international destinations, you must take a free bus to the domestic terminal, if you want to catch airport area hotel shuttles. NO hotel shuttles pickup at the International terminal. Lines for these buses on Saturday afternoon were long.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, surge, no currents
Water Temp	84-86°F / 29-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	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	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Dive Friends Bonaire in Bonaire

Dive Friends Bonaire: "Two weeks of shorediving and PADI AOW", Sep, 2023,

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 Dive Friends Bonaire in
Bonaire