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Dive Review of Buddy Dive Resort in
Bonaire

Buddy Dive Resort: "Great diving and not very good food.", Jun, 2022,

by Steven Y Davidson, GA, US (Contributor Contributor 15 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 11942.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 1 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 3 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling 5 stars
Value for $$ 3 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments The resort is very nice, well maintained. Our AC was broken on our arrival and it was fixed within an hour. Breakfast was included and was very good. Lots of choices from eggs to pastries and all in between.

The restaurant called Blennies is another matter. The service was terrible and the food mediocre at best. When I ordered a fish sandwich what I got was an piece of grilled fish so overcooked that the edges were crispy. And the sandwich consisted of a bun, that piece of overcooked fish, a smear of tartar sauce and three small pieces of lettuce totaling about half the size of a dollar bill. We ate a lot of French fries and spring rolls. They were not bad the other choices were not good. I heard a rumor that this was a training facility for their other resorts. I hope not. Bad service everywhere. We ate at Captain Dons a couple of times. Good service and better food.

The truck rental process is another issue. Even if you buy insurance, you are on the hook for $585.00 for any damage. A few years ago our dive shop leader had to pay that much for a dent that could be pulled out with a simple $29,95 dent puller from Wal Mart. This trip, someone pulled a piece trim from a friends truck. The piece could have been easily replaced for a hundred bucks or so. It cost her $585.00. Another friend from this trip was about to be charged $585.00 for what they were claiming was damage. He was able to remove the road tar and they had to admit that there was no damage.

One of our group was threatened with a $50 charge for a wet seat in the truck. We rent those trucks for one reason. Shore diving. If we are penalized for using the truck for that, there is no reason to rent the truck. Buddy Dive appears to have turned rental truck "damage" into a profit center.


The diving was awesome. The house reef is very healthy for the times and they are staging new coral growth systems just off the resort. If they improve the restaurant and moderate the truck damage profit center, I would highly recommend Buddy Dive. We used to stay at Sand Dollar Resort before Hurricane Lenny took out their restaurant and dive shop. They have not rebuilt them.

I think we are going to look at Captain Dons next time or I understand that there is a newer resort that is all-inclusive. As hard as it is to find food on the island without a reservation, that might be welcome.
Websites Buddy Dive Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Bahamas, Belize, Bonaire, Curacao, Cocos Island, Tahiti, Fiji, Cozumel, Cayman, Utila, Roatan, etc.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas calm
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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