Dive Review of Divi Divers/Divi Flamingo in
Bonaire

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Divi Divers/Divi Flamingo, Jun, 2008, by James A. Heimer, TX, United States ( Contributor 15 reports). Report 4184.
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	We were attending the 2008 Digital Shootout for underwater photographers, which the Divi Flamingo and Divi Divers has hosted for the last two years. We were in the 700 series of rooms, which are time-share units adjacent to the dive shop facing the pool. Each room had a small, dated kitchenette (coffee maker, blender, bar refrigerator, microwave and cooktop, plus dishes and utensils) and a shower-only bathroom. The sleeping / living area was spacious, reasonably well lit, with plenty of desk and table space to set up photographic equipment. Each room had a screened-in porch (ground floor) or balcony (second floor). The AC kept the room cool, and the rooms were serviced every day. The rooms could use some updating, and for one day, we had an unpleasant sewage smell in the room, while the septic system for the resort was being serviced. Our 12-dive package included two meals a day, a buffet breakfast and buffet lunch at the outdoor Calabas restaurant. The food was good in quality, quantity and variety – adequate for a one-week stay. We ate several meals at the more “upscale” Chibi Chibi restaurant at the resort, and they were also good. There are several restaurants a short walk outside the gate to the resort that we tried – Richards on the water away from town and La Luna and Donna & Giorgio's toward town. All are pretty pricey, but very good to excellent quality. Our group of 80 divers participating in the shootout was divided among four boats. We had the Alice H, a boat-hulled flat top vessel (the other three were more conventional shapes). We dove two morning dives, with the afternoons reserved for seminars and workshops. You loaded your gear on board in the morning and hooked up your own equipment, geared up in place and walked to the stern to do a giant stride entry. The crew handed down cameras, and one accompanied and conducted each dive. After the first dive you shifted your gear to a new tank during the surface interval. We had two excellent dive masters, Enrique and Jan, who found the “featured creature” (seahorse, frogfish, juvenile drum or trunkfish, etc.) at each site. Although large sea life was absent, the reefs were in excellent condition and there was a great variety of the usual tropicals, including turtles and reef squid. The shootout crowd is a little different from the random group of divers you might encounter – most were very experienced and considerate divers, but there was a definitely a spirit of competition to get the best shots during the dive. Besides the boat diving, we dove the house reef (Calabas Reef) several times, including two night dives. We did not pursue other shore diving opportunities. We will go back to Bonaire, but will probably look for a newer resort.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Hawaii, Tahiti, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, California, Mexico, Texas Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, Honduras Bay Islands, Belize, US Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Aruba, Bonaire
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy, no currents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Dive duration (45 to 60 minutes) and maximum depth (usually 60 to 100 feet) were specified. The duration was primarily to keep on the shootout schedule so that the boats got back in time for lunch and the afternoon seminars.
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
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Each boat had a multi level camera shelf, which provided adequate storage for travel to and from the dive sites. Each boat also had two camera rinse tanks, one of which was provided especially for the digital shootout due to the large number of divers on board. Additional camera rinse tanks had been set up in the gear rinse area on the dive dock, and extra tables were provided as a place to put cameras while gearing up or down.

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Dive Review of Divi Divers/Divi Flamingo in Bonaire

Divi Divers/Divi Flamingo, Jun, 2008,

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 Divi Divers/Divi Flamingo in
Bonaire