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Dive Review of Divi Flamingo in
Bonaire

Divi Flamingo: "Easy diving, great location, iffy food", Mar, 2017,

by Ken, ON, CA (Contributor Contributor 15 reports with 15 Helpful votes). Report 9509 has 3 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 2 stars Food 1 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 3 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Once again a repeat visit for us. The only real difference was we were late to book and so ended up in one of the more expensive timeshare suites. Bonus was the room was much closer to the dive dock.

Bad news: The renos have been completed. Unfortunately the spruced up parts of the resort seemed to highlight the untouched shabby parts. And the new stuff is running downhill quickly. The new bathrooms were needed, but ours already had lots of dark mould stains in the shower. The rest of the suite appeared original and was a little shabby with drawers that very falling apart. The house cleaning service was questionable as we were missed one day. Close inspection of the corners of the room revealed clumps of dust bunnies, the closest below the air conditioner was dirty and mouldy (so we did not use it).

Storing our gear on the dive dock makes dock dives very easy. This is why we return to Divi. Easy diving with a well run dive operation.

Good news: No more issues with tank leaks. All of our tanks were over 3000psi. We did not have any oring issues either, but there was a stack of them left out on the dive dock just in case you needed one.
The boats ran on time - often leaving 10 to 15 minutes early if all the divers were on board.

There was a boat captain and a guide on every boat dive. The guides were definitely focused on tips - I mean making sure the club trip divers had fun. The afternoon dives were supposed to be a max of 60 feet and 60 minutes long. Neither of these were respected. I am okay with that, but found it a bit frustrating to end our dive at 60 minutes and then have others stay down for another 15 minutes.

We had fewer cruise ships in this time - only 3. One of the cruise ships made some very loud engine noises all day it was docked. They could be felt and heard as far away as windsock (by the airport). None of the other cruise ships made any noise while docked.

As always the food was barely okay. We do the breakfast buffet and they have a serious bird problem. I never take the top plate and always get fresh cutlery as you have no idea how many birds have tromped around on things. We walk to restaurants for supper: Capriccio, At Sea, Sebastian's and La Cantina are all very good.


Websites Divi Flamingo   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Multiple Caribbean, Hawaii, PNG
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy Seas calm
Water Temp 78-°F / 26-°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-80 Ft/ 15-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Morning boat dives are 2 tanks, 45 minutes each with a 30 minute SI. Afternoon boat dive is 60 minutes.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments 3 clearly marked camera rinse tanks on the dock along with a fresh water hose. No compressed air.

2 camera tanks on each boat along with flat storage areas.

Crew handled cameras gently.
Was this report helpful to you?
Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Greg Bruce in WA, US at Mar 15, 2017 17:18 EST  
Thanks for taking the time to share your report! Next time you are in Bonaire, you might want to consider staying at Den Laman Condominiums. You will get all of the benefits you enjoy at Divi and none of the negatives (in my opinion). My only complaint with staying there in the past was with the associated dive operator-- however, that has since changed and much for the better now that Dive Friends runs things. All the best!
By Michael L Lewis in TN, US at Mar 16, 2017 17:04 EST  
Question: what is current situation with petty theft. We have avoided going back to Bonaire because of it. We would like to return if it's improved.
By Greg Bruce in WA, US at Mar 16, 2017 17:12 EST  
My feeling is that it is not significant enough to keep me away. We do have the practice of leaving the car windows down and nothing in the car except spare tanks in the back of the truck, which no one will steal. While diving, we take cash, credit card/debit card, ID and car key and put them in a waterproof holder that goes into the BC pocket. Keep windows down and to demonstrate that there is nothing of value and prevent anyone from breaking a window to see if there is something of value. No problems so far. Will be back again in August.
By Michael Hellums in OR, US at Mar 17, 2017 04:28 EST  
I would like to report that on our last trip to Bonaire we took all the recommended precautions against theft mentioned above, yet we left our apartment one day to find our rental truck windows broken and steering column smashed in, making the truck undriveable. This happened overnight while parked inside a gated apartment complex, just across the street from Sand Dollar Condos. Another apartment dweller had his vehicle stolen outright. Major hassle, loss of dive time filing police reports (who were indifferent) and getting a replacement truck, plus $500 out of pocket, even with insurance. We won't be back to Bonaire any time soon.
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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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