Dive Review of Bon Bini Divers/Ocean View Villas in
Bonaire

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Bon Bini Divers/Ocean View Villas, May, 2004, by Marc & Maureen Duggan, CA, United States . Report 1290.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Quick little trip to Bonaire hit the spot -- relaxation, no timetables. Tim, one of the owners of Ocean View Villas was waiting for us at the airport, showed us to the rental car agency, and had us follow him back to the Villas (comprised of three apartments in the same building as Tim's residence). Catering to divers, there are two studio apartments and one large two-bedroom apartment. Nice and clean with newer kitchens and bathrooms, and an additional private shower out the back door of each unit (great for rinsing off equipment between days). Bonaire is a shore diver's paradise: park your van on the side of the road, and just walk in. Previous articles in Undercurrent indicated possible thefts from vehicles, so we went prepared: don't bring anything in your rental vehicle that you aren't going to take in the water with you, lock the steering wheel with a "Club", and leave the windows/sliding door wide open. We had no problems. Before your first dive, every diver must do a land orientation/checkout dive with a local operator and purchase a $10.00 Marine Park Tag, even if you have dived in Bonaire before. This is one of the reasons the reefs in Bonaire are so spectacular and show much less damage than other destinations. No gloves allowed -- don't even bring them. The dive operator affiliated with Ocean View Villas is Bon Bini Divers located at Lions Dive Resort and provider of all our tank refills. Francey and the others at Bon Bini were very helpful and attentive (my Cobra malfunctioned and locked in surface mode and they offered the use of one of their rental computers for free). Tank refills were easy through their "drive-through" filling station out by the main road. We could have passed on the few boat dives we did (1000 steps, Nearest Point, and Small Wall) and would have preferred to do a few more shore dives instead. It's a long haul for equipment from the Lions Dive parking lot down to the dive shop. Underwater we found serene gardens, lush plants and beautiful coral and sponges, with many tropical fish. Sightings included large tarpon, eels, parrotfish, blue tang, trumpetfish, yellowtail snapper, a honeycomb cowfish and a porcupinefish. Not too much large stuff at all, so if you need a fix of sharks, mantas, etc, Bonaire is not the place to go. Two favorite dive sites: Margate Bay and Hilma Hooker (wreck with an interesting story behind it). Be very careful not to get small sand/coral particles in your regs when taking equipment on or off -- with shore diving all day and equipment in and out of the back of the van, it can (will) happen really easily. Several restaurants and clubs in Bonaire are well above average and really good. Tim's recommendations never failed us, especially "It Rains Fishes", and an intimate Cuban bar called "Little Havana" that spins old vinyl jazz records while you enjoy Cuban rum and cigars. Bonaire is a destination to return to... Great resources for the island is www.bonairetalk.com and www.infobonaire.com. www.oceanviewvillas.com www.bonbinidivers.com
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	[Unspecified]
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	81-83°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	70-125 Ft/ 21-38 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	None
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	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		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Bon Bini Divers/Ocean View Villas in Bonaire

Bon Bini Divers/Ocean View Villas, May, 2004,

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 Bon Bini Divers/Ocean View Villas in
Bonaire