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

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Bonaire Dive & Adventure/Sand Dollar Condominiums, Dec, 2002, by James and Kandace Heimer, TX, USA ( Sr. Reviewer 10 reports). Report 311.
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	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
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
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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Dive Review of Bonaire Dive & Adventure/Sand Dollar Condominiums in Bonaire

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

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 Bonaire Dive & Adventure/Sand Dollar Condominiums in
Bonaire