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Dive Review of Div'Ocean in
Bonaire

Div'Ocean: "Excellent 2 Weeks of Boat Diving with Div'Ocean", Dec, 2021,

by Joyce Leftly, NJ, US (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 8 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 11837 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 5 stars
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments It was wonderful to finally return to Bonaire after 2 years of cancelled trips due to COVID. My husband and I enjoyed 2 weeks of OUTSTANDING BOAT DIVES with the excellent Div’Ocean dive op ! This was our 5th time diving with them and we've already planned a return trip in spring 2022.

Div’Ocean owner Peter has an amazing staff (Kevin, Walter & Bianca) and they provided relaxing, fun and safe dives, finding lots of hard-to-spot critters. They are also experts at resolving any equipment issues.

We did 2 tank dives daily on their shaded boat, which has a max of just 6 divers for personalized service. I have a hip issue and no longer do shore dives; Kevin and Peter were always happy to lift my gear out of water so I could easily go up the ladder.

Our equipment was set up on the boat each morning, with my smaller tanks as requested. There was a place for dry storage for towels, etc They provide water, fruit, and raisin buns during the surface interval, along with interesting conversation.

We had several great encounters with my favorite Reef Squid, along with Turtles, Frogfish, Ocean Triggerfish, Eagle Ray, Barracuda, Slender Filefish and 2 divers even saw a Manta out in the blue. Of course there were many small critters that Kevin pointed out - and with a max of 6 divers we could each take a look without being crowded.

After the boat returned, there's a rinse tank with CLEAN water, and we hung our gear in their open air tank room, which was locked up when the shop closed. And our wetsuits were actually dry the next AM !

The shop also offers DPV dives on the East Coast, ostracod dives and other specialties.

We rented a Port Bonaire condo via VRBO; this was a great place to stay and also very close to the dive shop. There is good snorkeling there, via an easy ladder with a rinse tank set up for cleaning gear. You can (carefully) swim across the channel and go around the point near 18 Palms; we saw an Eagle Ray, Glassy Sweepers, Atlantic Spadefish and many others. This is also handy for non-diving spouses or kids to check out. We also tried snorkeling to Te Amo beach, but there were too many people there; we also had to explain why they should not stand on the coral !

The traffic and potholes were not nearly as bad as I expected from other reports. We went to Van Den Tweel late on Saturday afternoon, always a busy time, and were glad to see most people were masked. Also stopped in a few more times at off-hours and got in and out quickly.

Most of our favorite restaurants were open and we made reservations ahead of time for a few nights. Capt Dons still had the best thin crust pizza, enjoyed a meal at Ingridients and the Stoked double-decker food truck with burgers, etc was right near the condo. Also enjoyed a new small place downtown "C'est La Vie" for casual paninis, salads, etc. with 2 tables outside behind the shop.

It’s critical to keep up-to-date with changing COVID documentation requirements – this official website was helpful : [bonairecrisis.com link] . There was some confusion between various airlines and the Bonaire officials and I see now the rules have changed again due to the Omicron variant.
Websites Div'Ocean   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Curacao, Bonaire, Cozumel, Hawaii, St Vincent, US & British Virgin Islands, Dominica, St Lucia, Anguilla, other Caribbean locations
Closest Airport Newark Getting There Easy non-stop from EWR on Saturdays;

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions 1 hour dives are typical but could stay longer if something special turned up
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Large fresh-water tub for cameras
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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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