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Dive Review of Bonaire Dive & Adventure/Sand Dollar Condominiums in
Bonaire

Bonaire Dive & Adventure/Sand Dollar Condominiums, Dec, 2002,

by James and Kandace Heimer, TX, USA (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 10 reports). Report 311.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 1 stars
Service and Attitude 2 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Travel to the resort was extremely difficult -- Due to cancelation of our Air Jamaica flight from Houston on early Saturday morning, we were rerouted through Miami with much delay, spent the night in Montego Bay, and had to go through Curacao, then to Bonaire. We finally arrived Sunday at 4:30pm and our luggage arrived five hours later. The return trip got us home in one day and was uneventful.

The resort was clean and comfortable with a great view of the ocean. Only the bedrooms were air conditioned but the weather was pleasant and we left the doors opened to the patio balcony for a nice breeze. Housekeeping was sufficient, however, needed to ask for more towels each day. Since we were in the townhouses, we were set apart from the dock and the dive operation. Wings A and B are closer to the activities. Den Lamen Restaurant was okay but food was expensive and not of good quality. We did not eat at Mangos, the on premises restaurant mainly because it was not on the beach. In between dives, there was no place to get snacks or drinks at the dock. We were told that we could not use Den Lamen's facilities if we had dive gear and dive suits on. We liked Rum Runners at Capt Don's and the Lion's Den at the Lion's Dive Club, and we liked the facilities at Buddy's Dive Resort because there was more activity and people there.

Bonaire Dive and Adventure was an excellent dive operation. We received a thorough Bonaire dive briefing and orientation of the island, which includes shore diving. The boats are small but well equipted for diving. I rented a BC, which was in excellent condition. Also, it appeared that the rest of their rental equipment was well maintained. They have a large storage room to accomodate dive equipment and a place to hang dive suits to dry out. There are several rinse tanks, camera rinse tank, and two showers right on the dock. For night shore diving, they have outside lockers, with locks, to store your equipment, making it very convenient to do a night dive off the dock.

Divemasters were safety conscious, knowledgeable of marine life and helpful on the dives. We especially enjoyed diving with Jerry, on site naturalist, and Dara. Both of them pointed out numerous fish, seahorses and coral, that we would never have found on our own. After the dive, they explained the characteristics and behaviour of the things we saw on the dive.

Bonaire's shore diving was excellent. We purchased a book at the dive shop which described each shore dive in great detail, including enter and exit tips. There are big, yellow rock signs to show you the direction to the shore dives.

Despite the trouble getting there, we plan to go back in May, 2003 with Air Jamaica. However, we will probably stay at Buddy's or Capt. Don's.





s

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Bahamas, Great Barrier Reef/Coral Sea, Belize, Bay Islands, Hawaii, California, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tahiti, Aruba, Grand Cayman/Cayman Brac
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas choppy
Water Temp 79-81°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Marine Preserve restrictions, depth limits 100' from boats, 60 min time limit, able to dive computer profile
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 1 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 2 stars
UW Photo Comments The resort had no particular accomodations for photographers. There was a separate rinse tank on shore, but nothing on the boats. The excellent visibility and variety of marine life account for the high overall rating.
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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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