2000 Chapbook

A diver's island par excellence, with easy diving that's especially well suited to beginning divers or those returning to the water after a long dry spell. Bonaire boasts superb year-round weather, with lows around 74° at night and daytime highs around 89°. Expect some rain from October­January, but, since Bonaire lies outside the hurricane belt, dives are rarely canceled. There's arid cactus-covered terrain topside; on the leeward side, expect calm seas, little or no current, and water temperatures in the low 80s most of the time.... The dive industry here's thoroughly organized with many excellent operators and lots of places to rent tanks or book boat dives. Although the island's been heavily dived the last two decades, its unusual coral formations remain in good condition with a wide range of tropicals, excellent guides to point out unique critters (although there are few sharks or pelagics), and shore diving in front of every hotel.... Savvy divers rent a vehicle to shore-dive the island (reserve these ahead of time, or you may be out of luck, and don't leave valuables in your car).... The best shore dives include Thousand Steps, Ol' Blue, La Dania's Leap, and Karpata. The southern end of the island is often rough, but worth diving when conditions are favorable.... Avoid meal plans to take advantage of the many restaurants within walking distance of each hotel (and so you don't get stuck if your hotel chef is on leave). There's plenty of overnight film processing, good gear rental, and repair facilities.... Everyone speaks English....

Bonaire Caribbean Club, March 1999, Vivian Williams, La Grange, KY. Vis: 50-80 ft. Delayed flights, missing luggage, no hot water at most resorts until sunshine warms it up, people indifferent at times, diving not to our liking, much prefer Cozumel or Cayman Islands. Put on standby status even though we confirmed flight 3 days in advance. One lady's seat on take off was in bathroom. ALM pathetic operation! (Bonaire Caribbean Club; Phone: 599-7-7901 Fax: 599-7-7900; e-mail info@bonairecaribbeanclub.com; www.bonairecaribbeanclub.com)

Buddy Dive, September 1998, Robin Mitchell, Aptos, CA. Water: 82-84 degrees, Vis: 70-100 ft. 1,000 steps, Salt Pier and Pink Beach amazing. 3 turtles, 3 huge lobsters, free swimming giant green moray, frogfish, barracuda, stingrays, spotted eagle ray. Beautiful sunny weather. Resort nice and comfortable. 1 bedroom apartment with cozy bed, A/C and convenient kitchen. Buffet breakfast plentiful. Happy Hour prices better than in U.S. Laid back attitude. Strong Dutch influence but English wide spoken. Truck with package and drive through air fills were the best. Reasonably priced. Buddy Dive personal, convenient and picturesque. Only negatives: luggage delayed 2 days and boats sometimes crowded. Bring gear and extra clothes in carryon bags. (Ph: 011-599-7-5080; fax: 011-599-7-8647, e-mail: buddydive@bonaire.net, Website: www.buddydive.com)

Buddy Dive, September 1998, Carole Ott & Frank Hall, Floyds Knobs, IN. Water: 82-83 degrees, Vis: 60-70 ft. Fourth trip to Bonaire, second to Buddy's. Had a sewer gas odor arising from the bathroom the entire week that no amount of spraying could diminish. Diving wasn't as good as previous years, especially hard to find were small critters. Waves and chop caused the dive operation to cancel boat dives one day. The prearranged cab to the airport never showed for our 6 AM pickup, and no one was in the office that early. We grabbed the first employee who pulled into the parking lot and paid him to take us to the airport. Buddy's has a lot going for it, friendly employees, drive up tank service, and the inclusion of a rental vehicle in the room, but seems to have slipped since last year.

Buddy Dive, November 1998, Alison T. Stenger. Second trip, even better! Although the resort has grown, they have added staff, a great restaurant, and made diving easier. Some condos have 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Kitchens fully equipped, air conditioner quiet, and our faulty refrigerator was replaced right away. Condos are spotless, rental trucks new and clean, and ease of registration, rentals, and check-out reflect a company that cares. Drive-through tank filling station is fast and efficient. Drop off used tanks, and pick up filled ones. Lots of 63's and 50's, for those who prefer smaller tanks. Lockers for shore dives. Tanks and personal storage areas by the dock for boat dives. Ample rinse tanks. Knowledgeable divers aren't treated as idiots, and beginners are not ignored. Dive staff is available to lead dives, arrange trips, and show divers little-known sites; happy to let you go off and dive your own profiles. Help identify mystery fish! Found 2 unidentifiable, even after 15 years of diving! My birthday our condo was fully decorated with Happy Birthday pennants and balloons and complimentary drink vouchers in our room. Two days later we went to the bar to celebrate "the" birthday, and were joined by the staff and nearly every guest at the hotel! Diving perfect for all divers and photographers. Larger fish than before, our favorite snook and tarpon still in residence. Coral was bleached, but mostly beautiful and alive. Only downside: insect population. Lack of screens reduced the otherwise beautiful condos to a combat zone of man vs. insect. Not a problem last February.

Buddy Dive, January 1999, Teresa & Danny Appleby, Bowling Green, KY. Vis: 100-125 ft. Water: 72-78 degrees. Sunny, windy. Water: choppy. All shore diving which was fantastic, corals beautiful, lots of fish. Long layover in Miami. At airport you can go to top of hotel and for $8 you can use facilities, pool, spa and fitness room. Lounge and restaurant up here.

Buddy Dive, March 1999, Barbara Cordaro (jcordaro@concentric.net), Martinez, GA. Vis: 50-80 ft. Water: 76-78 degrees. Restriction: 130 ft. Buddy's efficient but boats are more crowded than previous years. 8-14 divers/boat. Buddy's Reef very good for night dive. Reefs in good shape, no big fish but filefish, spotted drums, many lobster, parrotfish, balloon fish, angelfish, morays, spotted eels, two seahorses, frogfish, flamingo tongues. Shore diving easy with Buddy's drive thru tank station, load up and take off for spectacular dives at Karpata, Playa Frans & Washington-Slagbaai.

Buddy Dive, April 1999, John & Sandra Quick, East Grand Rapids, MI. Water 82 degrees, Vis: 75+ ft. Fourth visit to Bonaire, first to Buddy Dive. Easy diving, water calm and warm. Macro heaven! Nice restaurants. Shore diving the easiest, best anywhere. Washington-Slagbaai Park is nice trip for your last, non-diving day parrots, flamingos, and wild donkeys. Desert topography. Resort and dive operation good. Tank holders on the boat inadequate. Tanks fell over more than once. Disconcerting to come up to an empty dive boat (divemaster still in the water). One bedroom suite was basic/nice. Bathroom too small. Shower only. No room to wash gear. Waterfront but no beach. Nice pool and bar. Topless sunbathing by European clientele.

Buddy Dive, May 1999, Chris Cozzi (CDCozziCPA@aol.com), Rohnert Park, CA. Vis: 75-100 ft. Water: 80-82 degrees. Boat didn't have rinse tank or camera table, but was a short ride (10-15 min. ) to sites. 1 tank dives and back to resort. Good drive through air station made for easy shore diving. Tanks available up to 5PM and after if you set them in the locked area; at the beach had until 6 PM or later if you set them aside. 27 dives during week, most 45-60 minutes. Sites nice. Red Slave had the roughest entry, a crashing 2 ft surf only turtle we saw, eels and lots of corals and sponges and fish. Town Pier night dive very good. Restaurant at the resort OK, however, they had a NO Wet Stuff policy and stopped serving dinner at 8:30 PM. For a DIVE resort, where people get wet and stay ready to dive and dive at night, this policy is silly. They did serve a "diver's special" dinner in the pool bar, but caused the bartenderess a lot of walking. Two story suites only had air conditioning in the bed rooms. Tile floors were slippery when damp. Deadly when wet. Shore diving was easy. Reefs were in OK condition. But not much that caused a gasp. Habitat Curaçao had more luxurious reef. Cozumel more majestic formations.

Buddy Dive/BonnVillas/Island Rentals, June 1999, Gary Lemme (caver@citicom.com), Holiday, FL. Vis: 60-100 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Island Rentals was great. BonnVillas very nice, quiet area close to everything, more reasonable than resorts. Not on the water but like having your own apartment on Bonaire. Brought meats in cooler from home, purchased groceries and ice at grocery, used cooler for drinks and sandwiches. Drove around, shore diving every day. Great trip. Just wish they had walls. Booked via Internet.

Buddy Dive, June 1999, Jim & Lanette Forck (forckja@worldnet.att.net), Peoria, IL. Vis: 30-60 ft. Water: 84-86. Dive restrictions: None. Drive and dive pkg. Had a nice rental van. Roomy enough for 4 of us and equipment. Drove everywhere to dive. Buddy's is fantastic. Maid service every day. Apartments very nice. 3 bedroom, 3 bath for the 4 of us. Divemasters recommended good shore dive areas. Did all shore dives and they were all entertaining. We flew out of St. Louis on TWA. The agent only booked our bags to Curaçao. Luckily an ALM agent caught this in Miami and went to the plane to tag our bags! On return we arrived 2 hours before our flight. ALM had only 1 girl checking in almost 200 people. The plane took off 1.5 hours late and we missed our connection in Miami.

Buddy Dive, August 1999, Tim Barden, Holland, PA. Most people in our group flew Air Aruba with no problems. They tried to ticket a few pieces of luggage only to Aruba, but we corrected them. The others used ALM: Delays, broken planes and lost baggage. Resort half full. Great resort, lot of new construction, comfortable rooms, fairly new vans and trucks, good restaurant (keep your table size under 6 or service might be slow true of most restaurants we visited) and well-run dive shop. Drive through tank loading station; Nitrox no problem. Staff arranged special events and boat trips. A woman showed signs of DCS (it was not). They told her to have someone drive her to the hospital (none of the staff volunteered), which she did. I thought giving oxygen ASAP was standard operating procedure. Theft problem worse than expected. Forewarned, we dove first day leaving the vans open with only sandals & T-shirts inside, no problem. We discovered it was only because the understaffed beach patrol was on the south side where we were diving so thieves worked the north areas. Vans at 1000 Steps lost everything, down to their sweaty T-shirts! After that, we dove in shifts with someone posted at all times in the van. During one shift, I saw three 'suspicious types' (1 or 2 people, small truck, no dive gear) drive slowly past the parking area peering in each truck. Maybe authorities will take the theft problem seriously when they lose other tourist business as they've lost mine. Diving terrific! Reefs in good shape, fine diversity of fish life. No one saw a single lobster (except a slipper lobster), crab or large Nassau grouper. Pod of dolphins (50+) surfed our wake for 45 minutes while we circled. Lot of fire coral near shore and scorpion fish inhabit shallows. Road between Witch's Hut & Karpata is 1-Way 'nother. Only way back is on long, slow dirt road or looping over to the east side of the island. Plan your dives accordingly. Salt Pier has incredible diversity. Go deep to see larger critters. Hilma Hookera neat wreck dive with sharks, large tarpon & snooks. Great night or dawn diving on Buddy's Reef. Charlie the tarpon hangs by your shoulder, uses your fight to scare up an easy meal, makes his strike. Trips to Klein Bonaire have the best chance to see turtles. 1000 Steps & Nukove in the north, great dives. The walls are more shear than in the south (which are 45 degrees). Northern entrances are more tricky. Occasional chilly thermocline at some southern sites. Most restaurants good, if pricey. Favorites: Bali's (15-course Indonesian), Mona Lisa (intimate) and Green Parrot (nice atmosphere). Buddy Dive fine too, The natives call wild goats 'dushi' (delicious). Not for me. Gimnut in Belize and iguana in Curaçao were okay but the goat stew in Bonaire is too gamey.

Captain Don's Habitat, January 1999, Mike and Marge Stidham, Camano Island, WA. Vis: 50-80 ft. Water: 78-79 degrees. Sunny. Water: calm. Accommodations great: nice covered patio facing the pool and ocean and very private. Food and service was better. Excellent buffet breakfast included. Ate at Richard's twice which we thoroughly enjoyed; Mona Lisa's had the best waitress, Donna, and a remarkable chef who fixed the best dinners. Dive staff friendly, diving enjoyable, lots of tropical fish, beautiful corals and sponges. Most of the time there were only 10 on the boat. More bugs than in 1992. (Ph: 800-327-6709 or 011-599-7-8290, Fax: 011-599-7-7346 or 305-438-4220, Website: www.bonaire.org/habitat)

Captain Don's Habitat, March 1999, Arthur & Kathy Zurch, San Jose, CA. Water: 72-75 degrees, Vis: 50-150ft. Rained every day for a week! Diving among best in Caribbean, from tiny seahorses to a large school of dolphin down 90 feet on a wreck. Dive operation very good, well equipped and safe, but resort not up to par with the better all-inclusives.

Captain Don's Habitat, April 1999, Bill Miramontez, Castro Valley, CA. Vis: 60-80 ft. Water: 79-82 degrees. Restrictions: None. Recommend second dive be 60 ft. Good dive operation. Checkout dive and briefing for those who have not been on the island before. Excellent boats set up for easy exits and entrances. Divemasters friendly and helpful but ask - they are laid back. Three one tank trips. Figure out when they put out sign-up board for the next day, otherwise you miss the good trips as the boats fill early. Lockers for gear storage; bring a lock. Upstairs room in the villas; small with just enough room for the bed, nice balcony. Jr. Suites nicer, bigger, and closer to everything. Our villa was the only one with solar heating; in the morning you got cold water. In the afternoon, when you want a cool shower, the shower was hot. Enjoyed breakfast buffet; most meals satisfactory. Excellent dinner at Richards. ALM lost other passengers' and my luggage. I had to go to airport to pick up my bag, as they didn't know when they could deliver once they found it. Captain Don's provided free rentals for those who lost their luggage. Rented car from Island Rentals excellent service.

Captain Don's Habitat, April 1999, Pam Winslow, Sikeston, MO. Water: 78-80 degrees, Vis: 50-75 ft. Dive your own limit and computer. Restaurant service slow. Good orientation prior to first dive. Staff left you alone unless you asked for help. If you asked they did all they could to help you. Easiest diving I've ever done.

Captain Don's Habitat, May 1999, Greg Wandelt, Milford, OH. Vis: 75-100 ft, Water: 83-85 degrees. Divers pretty much left alone to do what they want. Little assistance with your gear except climbing in and out of the boat. Every dive you must move your gear off the boat and into crowded lockers. Accommodations great.

Captain Don's Habitat, June 1999, Gary DeBarba, Southington, CT. Vis: 80-100 ft. Water: 82 degrees. Villa deluxe suite, accommodations excellent. Buffet breakfast good. Don't miss Richard's for dinner. Boats built for diving but lack sufficient safe areas for cameras. Boats depart 3 times a day and it is possible to make all 3 trips. Divemasters laid back and allow you to dive your own profile. Reefs: most very good, some just so-so. Hire a divemaster to take you to town pier after the boat crowds have left. Our group of five plus Gaggy had the entire pier to ourselves. Groups were allowed preferential treatment to sign up for boats prior to the schedules being posted for the common folk. This meant that the boats to the more popular sites were heavily booked or crowded prior to being posted.

Captain Don's Habitat, July 1999, Ronald L. Bailey (rlbailey@rbnet.com), Roanoke, VA. Vis: 70-100 ft. Water: 80-82 degrees. Improvements since last trip 6 years ago: better food, expanding dive shop, newer boats and refinished dive locker area improvements. Like the set up and diving freedom at Captain Don's. They will be offering rebreather training/diving soon.

Captain Don's Habitat, September 1999, Chuck Wohlust, Winter Park, FL. Vis: 50-75 ft., Water: 80-83 degrees. Resort has some wear, but everything was clean. Staff friendly and helpful, excellent service for breakfast and lunch. Breakfast buffet excellent. Dive staff knowledgeable and found sea horses, eels, etc. Diving atmosphere relaxed with suggested depths and times. Hilma Hookerwasn't in the schedule (3 days diving).

Caribbean Club, March 1999, Vivian Williams, La Grange, KY. Vis: 50-80 ft. Delayed flights, missing luggage, no hot water until sunshine warms it up, people indifferent at times, diving not to our liking, much prefer Cozumel or Cayman Islands. Put on stand-by status even though we confirmed flight three days in advance. One lady's seat on takeoff was in bathroom. ALM pathetic operation! (Bonaire Caribbean Club; Phone: 599-7-7901 Fax: 599-7-7900; e-mail info@bonairecaribbeanclub.com; www.bonairecaribbeanclub.com)

Carib Inn, November 1998, Brent Davis, Oakdage, CA. Water: 81-82 degrees, Vis: 30-80 ft. Diving consistent. Rarely great, rarely bad, middle of the road. Most sites very similar some coral bleaching, no large pelagics, few intermediate fish (angels, jacks). Vis poor-average for Bonaire. Crime is out of control and aimed at tourists. Bars on the windows of many resorts (including The Carib Inn), yet no bars on the residences next door. Rental cars routinely broken into or stolen. Dive operators down play it, but nothing will likely change until divers get fed up with the situation and spend their vacation dollars elsewhere. One note: at Klein Bonaire current was very strong. While we were getting ready to leave a group of divers drifted under our boat. They were picked up by a Plaza Resort boat. The other captain picked up their divers and came very close to us, moving slowly. When asked is everything was okay he said "I'm missing two divers. I'll come back and look for them tomorrow." Then he laughed. We were shocked he would make a statement like that after what happened in Australia. Sick joke, we thought. It was not - they were missing 2 divers. Presumably they found them, but the attitude of the captain of the Plaza Resort boat was shocking, callous, and offensive. (Ph: 011-599-78819, Fax: 011-599-75295, e-mail caribinn@bonaire.com)

Carib Inn, March 1999, John F. Collins, Brookfield, CT. Vis: 100 ft. Water: 78-80 degrees. ALM flight 3/13/99 to Atlanta terminates at Curaçao. Seven hours later assigned hotel for night. Flew 3/14/99 ALM via Itaiti to Miami. 30 hours Bonaire-Miami. Dive travel to Bonaire is down. Wonder why.

Carib Inn, April 1999, Jack Wander, Roseville, CA. Vis: 75-100 ft. Water: 78-80 degrees. Well run. Good divemasters. No food. Good diving.

Divi Flamingo Beach, July 1999, Phil & Grace Hampton, Merritt Island, FL. Vis: 40-80 ft. Water: 79-81 degrees. Dive Bonaire runs an excellent operation, with good boats. 3-tank-a-day plan with 2-tanks in AM and 1 PM, plus all the shore dives you want. I got 39 dives in two weeks. Our unit is a time-share which is comfortable but needs repairs and renovations. We have been going to Bonaire for over 20 years, and it is our favorite dive location. The only problem with Bonaire is ALM. Six hour delay on arrival from Miami, two hour delay on return. (Ph: 800-367-3484 or 011-599-78285, Fax: 011-599-78238)

Harbour Village, November 1998, Nadine Allen, Albuquerque, NM. Vis: 75-100 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Perfect place to dive the best of Bonaire with luxury of the island's best resort. Relaxing one tank dives from 42' dive boat that goes out at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. daily (no pre-dawn wake up calls here!). Staff allows you to dive your own computer and be back on the boat within an hour. Lots of fish up close in 82-84 degree water with good vis (75-125 ft). Bonaire Marine Park encompasses Bonaire and strict conservation measures have kept the underwater treasures intact. Full service Health Spa, tennis, a yacht harbour, 4 fine restaurants, and the most beautiful palm lined beach and lush gardens on the island. Worth the extra money. Ask for the dive packages when booking. The "Dive into Luxury" package offers a week of boat dives, unlimited shore dives, beachfront accommodations, breakfast and lunch, spa visit. (Ph: 800-868-7477 or 011-599-7-7500, Fax: 011-599-7-7507 or 305-567-9659)

Harbour Village, December 1998, Scott Dosek, Phoenix, AZ. Water: 82 degrees, Vis: terrific. Fantastic facility, very convenient dive operation. Shallow reefs, no current. Excellent night diving. Ideal for novices.

Harbour Village, February 1999, Vic Bary, Cranford, NJ. Vis: 50-75 ft. Water: 79-82. Requires one dive on it's reef before turning you loose. Boat restrictions: 100' for morning dive, 70' for afternoon dive. Filled tanks set out for unlimited, unsupervised shore diving. Rental equipment available. Both dive boat and dock had a cameras only dunk tank. Divemasters competent and friendly, and prevent unwanted duplicate visits to sites. Rig your own gear, but they check you. Harbour Lady provided comfortable accommodations for 18 divers, with positions in the open and under cover. Fresh towels and a fruit drinks. Site briefing, review of marine park rules, depth and time limits. Follow the divemaster or your own dive profile within the limits. Divemasters pointed out sea horses at several sites. A pod of porpoises played in the bow wave. One morning boat dive and one afternoon boat dive each day. Night dives several nights a week. Dive shop manager, Ursula, and divemasters Tom, Ron, John and Jose made this enjoyable. Harbour Village facilities and staff are without parallel. Restaurants: recommend Carpaccio, Richard's, Dive Buddy's Dock of the Bay, and Harbour Villages own restaurants. Not an island on which you should buy a meal package.

Harbour Village, February 1999, Ailene N. Eplan, (istein1@ix.netccm.com) Northfield, NJ. Vis: 80-100 ft. Water: 78-80 degrees. Restrictions: No touching, depth & time suggestions. Love this island for diving and vacationing. Caribbean flavor! Diving incredible, easy and relaxing! Dive operators accommodating! Harbour Village an oasis!

Harbour Village, March 1999, Jon Lennox, Chaumont, NY. Water: 8O-82 degrees, Vis: 80-90 ft. Restrictions: 100'. Harbour Village and Great Adventures Dive operation are first class. Divemasters Edwin, Ursula and Tom were initially strict with until they evaluated every diver individually. I have been diving for 43 years, but still respect decisions of the divemaster in charge. Soon, they recognized experience and turned over responsibilities. I was diving my own profile in a couple of days. ALM airlines my worst experience ever! Find an alternative.

Harbour Village, July 1999, Eric Orkin (eorkin@opus2.com), Dover, NH. Vis: 100 ft. Water: 80 degrees. Sunny, dry. water: calm, Lots of freedom. Unlimited shore diving. Pick up a tank and go. Boat dives set depth/time limits. Pleasantly enforced. Hotel wonderful, nicest on the island. Beautiful without being overwhelming or tacky. Staff friendly and accommodating. Hotel GM is a diver so he understands the issues. Dive operation and equipment storage areas convenient. Well maintained. Rental equipment top notchy. Mature approach toward independence of divers was much appreciated. Always helpful. Boat dives convenient, well run. Always willing to fulfill suggestions for sites. Conditions ideal. Disappointed by lack of bigger fish. Coral spectacular but lacked topographical majesty of San Salvador Island. Overall, an A. I loved shuffling off to breakfast (included in the package), shuffling to the dive center to pick up my gear, a few more steps and I'm on the boat.

Plaza Resort/Toucan Divers, August 1998, Wayne Leonard, San Francisco, CA. Vis: 25-50 ft. Water: 80 degrees. Resort very nice, but dive shop only "OK". On shop's boat we often went to sites that were also accessible as a shore dive. We stopped going on the boat and did our own shore diving. (Steve Jevon, Toucan Diving Bonaire (at the Plaza Resort Bonaire), J.A. Abraham Blvd. 80, Kralendijk - Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles; telephone 011 599 7 2500; fax. 011 599 7 7133; e-mail Info@ToucanDiving.com; website: www.toucandiving.com)

Plaza Resort, September 1998, Jim Sowle, Lowell, MI. Water: 85-P6 degrees, Vis: 40-50 ft. Great trip. Outstanding resort/facilities definitely 5-star. Generous with info on nite dives/shore dives and made arrangements for night dive on town pier.

Plaza Resort, December 1998, M Wolff (mwolff@dac.net). Weather delay so we were rerouted through Caracas (at an additional expense of nearly $1000) and arrived in Bonaire a day late sans luggage (arrived 3 days later). Stayed 8 additional days at the Plaza Resort. Very nice hotel but offered no assistance related to the lack of luggage and clothes over Christmas and Boxing day when all the stores were closed. Hotel had the nerve to charge us for the room, tax and service charge for the day we could not arrive. We spent nearly $5000 in the hotel, the hotel restaurants and the dive shop during the week and they insisted that we be charged for the day we were unable to arrive. The hotels of Bonaire are partially responsible for the poor air transportation to this wonderful island, yet they are unwilling to accommodate a good customer (this was my second stay in the past 9 months). I travel extensively and have had flight delays around the world, but I never been charged full fare for a day I have been unable to get to a hotel.

Plaza Resort, February 1999, Harmot Wagner and Bruce Martin, Ocean Beach, NY. Water: 78-82 degrees, Vis: 60-100 ft. Restaurant service slow. Local restaurants excellent especially Richard's. Boats and service excellent. Many dives at Klein Bonaire plus 1000 steps and Hilma Hooker.Room large and comfortable except no A/C in bathroom and strong sewer odor.

Sand Dollar, August 1998, Michael Kates, Atlanta, GA. Fourth trip to Sand Dollar. For a family destination it is unparalleled. Quality of children's program varies widely year to year, depending on the personality and creativity of the young lady assigned to run it, but it still beats any other. Dive operation keeps a large number of people happy without sacrificing personal attention. Jim Brandon's photo operation is professional and accommodating. Reefs healthy despite the number of divers. Lot to enjoy if you don't mind foregoing awe-inspiring encounters with large pelagics. Water temp 80-82! F, visibility 40-80 feet. Night dives on Bari reef, off the dock, have gotten worse as time has gone by. Interesting night creatures have been eaten by the trained fish that follow diver's light beams, snapping at whatever one illuminates. Three years ago it was a single tarpon, which was kinda cute. Now it's tarpon, snook, soapfish and snapper, and they are no longer cute. Town Pier is one of the most depressing dive sites I have seen. The damage done to that site by the thousands of divers is enough to bring a tear to your eye. Green Parrot restaurant has become one of my favorite eateries on the island. Rendezvous has deteriorated markedly. Best place is Beefeater's Garden Restaurant. Pet peeve: the dive shop charges a 10% "service charge" above the quoted price on every product or service you buy. It is NOT a gratuity. The divemasters do not see penny of it. If you wish to tip the divemasters, you must shell out on top of this. I asked what it was for, and was unable to get a satisfactory response. It seems it is nothing more than a way to charge an extra 10% above the quoted price, plain and simple. (Ph: 011-599-75433, Fax: 011-599-75252)

Sand Dollar, September 1998, Jeff Guzowski, Dania, FL. Water: 80-83 degrees, Vis: 75-100 ft. Went out of their way to make trip run smoothly. Brought in extra boats when other 2 filled. Also let us pick location on overflow boat. 24 hr tanks for shore diving: took group of 24 and a few did midnight photo dives. Shore diving marked on roads plus maps of all sites available free. Some did 21-25 dives in 6 days. Restaurant ran out of some food, but alternates available. Good portions, well cooked and choice of menu. Resort cleaned each day. Had six 2-bedroom condos. No A/C in living room only bedrooms. Living room got little use because of no A/C. Pillows were little bigger than airline pillows. Great trip.

Sand Dollar, October 1998, Mark Bryant (mdb102058@hotmail.com), Pensacola, FL. Vis: 75-100 ft. Water: 81-84 degrees. Sunny, dry. Water: calm. Trip was fantastic. All luggage arrived with us. The room was clean and convenient. The diving was spectacular. Took lots of macro shots. Reef right off Sand Dollar was convenient and assessable, offered everything you could possibly want in a dive site. The shore diving system is very easy. All you need is a van, a few tanks and off you go and you simply stop at a yellow painted rock with the name of the dive site and park, gear up and your in the water in 15 minutes. No surf, surge or climbing except for a few sites like 1000 Steps. Sand Dollar's boat dives very well organized. Divemasters were very helpful and knowledgeable and knew where to find seahorses and frogfish. Male boat captains were lazy and let the women do all the work. Green Parrot Restaurant was very good, however, somewhat expensive. The waiters were lazy, slow and let the women do most of the work. The price of food on Bonaire is about twice normal whether you buy it in a store or a restaurant. Had no problem with crime and saw no hint of it. The staff and guests at the Sand Dollar and people in town were friendly and accepting and showed no signs of prejudice or hostility towards us, a gay male couple.

Sand Dollar, November 1998, Scott, Round Lake Beach, IL. Vis: 50-150 ft. Water: 75-85 degrees. Sunny, windy, dry. Water: calm. Preferred first dive to be above 100' and the second to be above 60' but staff did not bother you unless you where obviously dangerous. Sand Dollar Dive & Photo helpful and friendly. ALM airlines lost 6 travel trunks with our equipment. They forgot to take them off the plane and they arrived two hours later when the same plane came back from Curaçao. On the return it took 90 minutes to check in 4 people. flight was canceled and we were delayed in Curaçao for 5 hours. Staff at Sand Dollar and the Green Parrot were great!

Sand Dollar, January 1999, Kevin Kelsey, The Woodlands, TX. Water 77-79, vis 60-80 feet. Slide film returned at 5:00 but photo shop and viewing room closed at 5:30 sharp. Not much time to view photos. Overall experience very good. Second visit to Sand Dollar. Except for the rudeness and arrogance of the photo shop manager Jim and his assistant (They acted "put out" when asked a question, perhaps because a tip was not at hand for their simple answer to the question), everyone was friendly and helpful. did all shore dives; reef off Sand Dollar is our favorite. Lots of smaller critters; a three to four foot tarpon joined us on night dives. Richard's continues to be our favorite restaurant. Took Continental Airlines to Caracas from Houston and ALM to Bonaire. Continental's service was excellent as usual and ALM was surprisingly efficient.

Sand Dollar, April 1999, Greg Rodden (A9230@AOL.com), Philadelphia, PA. Vis: 50-75 ft. Water: 75-78 degrees. Sunny. No touch policy on reefs; No dive gloves. Condos are clean, well-kept and comfortable, modern kitchen, patio and TVs in the bedroom. Green Parrot okay; better eating establishments in town. Dive operation was first rate. All newcomers are required to attend an orientation with emphasis on coral protection. Separate rinse tanks for cameras and equipment on the dock, large storage shed locked every night, smaller lockers for individuals. For night dive, put the number you are assigned on the blackboard and they leave a full tank for you. Rented a RAV-4 for three days at $225, a rip-off; we were told that we couldn't put tanks or scuba equipment in it. Others may be a cheaper (not by much for what you get). Most diving is from the shore with a swim of 50 yards to the reef. Reef is healthy and one never tires of diving it. Boat dives can take you to other sites. Crew ensures your safety and enjoyment. Ideal for beginners; little current, good vis and easy diving. Experienced divers: enough sites to keep them interested and entertained.

Sand Dollar, April 1999, Marc P. Posner M.D., (mposner@hsc.vcu.edu), Glen Allen, VA. Vis: 75-100 ft. Water: 75-80 degrees. Restrictions: 130 Feet max, no deco, 500 PSI at surface. Excellent photo shop with expert friendly service, slide viewing and developing/mounting available. Rained almost every day. Diving outstanding anyway. Pleased with accommodations and service at Sand Dollar Condos, divemasters courteous, knowledgeable, pointed out highlights of sites, above and below surface. Reef in beautiful condition. Travel via ALM is painful.

Sand Dollar, May 1999, Stacie Morgan, Cumming, GA. Vis: 50-200 ft. Water: 79-82 degrees. Restrictions: 100 ft max morning, 100 ft max afternoon, 80 ft max night. Trip was fabulous. People friendly and accommodating. Everyone on the staff was helpful. Had a rental car and did plenty of shore diving. Warning: Never lock your car and take only the gear you will need with you. Thieves on the North end of the island.

Sand Dollar, July 1999, Kathleen Fenton, (Kathleerinf@aol.com), Silver Spring, MD. Vis: 80-120 ft. Water: 78-83 degrees. Boat dives: only one per morning and one per afternoon. Excellent children's program which my niece enjoyed. We (2 divers, 2 adult non-divers, 1 child) rioted because the living areas have no air conditioning (only the bedrooms had window units), and most of the furniture was old and not well kept. Diving was great for corals and small fish. Dive shop staff friendly and helpful.

Toucan Divers, February 1999, Paul W.H. Tung, M.D. (pwtung@meganet.net), Freedom, NH. Vis: 50-80 ft. Water: 76-78 degrees. Dive restrictions: Max 130 ft. Third trip to Bonaire. Always a pleasant dive here. Shore diving. Some bleaching. (Steve Jevon, Toucan Diving Bonaire (at the Plaza Resort Bonaire), J.A. Abraham Blvd. 80, Kralendijk - Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles; telephone 011 599 7 2500; fax. 011 599 7 7133; e-mail Info@ToucanDiving.com; website: www.toucandiving.com)

Toucan Divers/Bel Mar Apts., May 1999, Pam Kraus, Des Moines, IA. Vis: 50-75 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Dive restrictions: 100 ft. boat dives. Paid for six boat dives in our package and only used four because of the great shore diving. Toucan Divers experienced, personable and professional. Rented a Toyota Hi-Lux pickup from AB Rental through our package Reservations made through Great Southern Island Adventures. Great prices, helpful. Shore dive sites are clearly marked by yellow rocks with the name of the site on the rock. Just grab your gear and head into the water. Bel Mar Apartments close to Toucan Divers but exclusive and private. Not resort like, quiet, private condo. All amenities. Purchased food at the Cultimara Supermarket. Enjoyed Richards and the Green Parrot for on the water dining and the "Dome" for lunch downtown. ALM fine