Dive Review of Bonaire Dive & Adventure/Sand Dollar Resort in
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Bonaire Dive & Adventure/Sand Dollar Resort, Nov, 2007, by Rick Bates, ON, Canada ( Contributor 16 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 4401.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We flew from Toronto to Newark in the afternoon, and then the Continental overnight to Bonaire. Customs and baggage pick up all smooth, picked up the included rental truck in the parking lot which also went smoothly. Accommodations at the Sand Dollar was a two bedroom, ground floor condo style unit. Probably a time share, the owners left out many fish ID books, and other reading materials with several hand written notes from them including hints on how to enjoy our stay. The security guard was waiting for us at 6am with our room keys so we were able to immediately check in, have a rest and clean up before the morning dive briefing & orientation session (mandatory by Park rules). After a "check out" dive on their house reef, we spent the week driving to, and diving at the many shore dives, all easily located and well described in pamphlets. Many of the shore dives offered a challenging entry over rocks/corral, but it was all worth it. Most dive sites had a similar profile, but each one had something different from the last to keep things interesting. No big animals except for a few turtles, but the little critters, reef fish, and schooling fish more than made up for it. We pre-booked 5 boat dives, which were a waste of time and money. Only one or two of them were different enough to be worth it. I would only pay to go over to Kline Bonaire once to experience those dives, and perhaps one more boat dive to one of the better off shore dives at the north end of the island. Otherwise, stick to the shore dives! DM’s and boat crews were friendly enough, but we were out with several different crews over the week and there was little consistency with their briefings, their emphasis on safety, and helpfulness. Some DM’s were very strict with in and out procedures, some could care less what you did and sat back and watched. The shore dives did not disappoint at all, and were well worth the trip. “Drive through” tank pick up with your four door truck (with tank rack in the back) was easy and convenient. However, they lock up early, so if you were planning a late night dive or an early morning dive, you had to get your tanks and equipment out and store them in unsecured lockers near the dock. The shore dive facilities, rinse tanks and showers on the dock were superb and very well set up though. Plenty of rinse tanks for gear and cameras, plus banks of warm showers for everyone that was exiting from the house reef or getting off the boats. The “house reef” was one of the best dives on the island, and we repeated it many times, always seeing something new. Nitrox is included in your package rates, mixes varied 31-34%. Your personal gear is hung up in a large locker room near the dock that is locked up and guarded at night. We had no problem with theft from our vehicles, although we followed the recommendation of always leaving our truck unlocked and empty while unattended. There were fresh piles of broken glass in every parking lot we used, so clearly this problem is still a significant one. There is no restaurant on site (it was lost in a hurricane a few years ago) but breakfast was included in our room, and this was available at the adjacent Den Lamen Resort, which is also where the actual dive shop is. All a convenient walk along pathways each morning. With full kitchen facilities in our unit, we stalked up on groceries and ate in for lunch and some dinners, but were happy to go into town most nights and try the many restaurants. Eating out was reasonably priced, and food was always great. We are returning to the same resort and dive operator next year, following pretty much the same drill, however, we’ll pass on the boat dives this time.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Great Lakes Canada, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Bonaire, Curacao, Cozumel, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Fiji
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	78-82°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	None
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	On site photo shop with sometimes helpful photo pro, but mostly seemed motivated to get your money with various "courses" and accompanied photo/video dives.

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

Bonaire Dive & Adventure/Sand Dollar Resort, Nov, 2007,

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 Resort in
Bonaire