Well we wrapped up our 3^rd trip to Bonaire (March 5^th – 13^th) and I thought it was about time I followed through and got my first trip report up. You'll have to excuse some irregularities in formatting, I thought I was going to be really savvy and it backfired on me a bit. At this point my patience has run out and I have the html looking acceptable (I know some of the lines are goofy). I have the report separated it into five sections which I hope is helpful to everyone. My wife Amanda and I were married on Bonaire three years ago so it is a very special place for us. I would be remiss if I didn’t give a special shout on to some people. We were happily surprised to find our friends from our wedding trip Colleen and Dan staying at Den Laman at the same time as us. We had met them during our wedding trip and actually looked at their room at Den Laman which played a big part in us making the switch from Buddy’s. It was also very nice to meet a good portion of the rest of their family (Tim, Brent, and Rebecca) who were all great people and nice enough to dive with us. I would also like to thank Bas Noij for his tips and for being generally a cool dude.

Getting There

We flew AA and AE for what will most likely be our last time, both because of the discontinued AE service and our general dissatisfaction. We got to San Juan on time and had an uneventful 5 hour layover during which we visited a nearby Cuban restaurant (Metropol) that was pretty decent. Our AE flight out had a nav system malfunction that delayed departure for a couple of hours. All in all it could have been worse as AE has stranded us in San Juan before. The car rental agency was closed when we arrived at midnight so it cost us a bit of time the next day which was a bit frustrating.

Our return flight to San Juan was also delayed 2 hrs as a result of a delay in the previous nights incoming flight from San Juan. Nothing new as we have run into this in the past; our current tally with AE is 6 flights total; 3 late, 2 on time, and once they dumped us in Aruba. I hate AE and have no idea why I flew with them again (OK I admit it they were the cheapest).

Lodging

This was our first time staying at Den Laman. We previously had stayed at Buddy’s. We both felt the rooms at Den Laman are definitely nicer than Buddy’s. We had a studio and would probably upgrade to a single bdrm in the future. We were a bit disappointed that one of the panes in the double paned sliding glass door was cracked rather badly. I am sure they are working on fixing it. The only other issues I would mention are the fan in the bathroom was obnoxious and that the security door routinely catches and does not lock. Front desk staff were very friendly and the maid service was excellent. We would consider staying at Den Laman again and were it not for the dive op it would be a no-brainer.

Dive Op

We were generally disappointed with the Dive Operation at Bonaire Dive Adventures. This is generally not a big issue as we only shore
dive but our frustration level was at points high enough that we may not return to Den Laman because of this.

First off, the water in the rinse tanks was generally in pretty bad shape. Only staff could fill them so we were unable to address this on our own. In addition to this there is no camera rinse tank at the drive up air fill which was inconvenient. In contrast I thought the dock was stellar. Very camera friendly, Amanda would typically enter with a giant stride then I would hand the cameras down. You could also exit on the beach rather than the steps which I prefer especially with camera equipment, when viz is below average and there are larger waves. Nitrox fills were very good.

Generally we deal with dive shop staff at a minimum but our experience with the staff at BDA was always sub-par. My requests to have our gear lockers moved were always met with poor attitudes and a response of “Try back tomorrow because……” Early in the week the wind was a bit out of the norm (it was out of the NW) and the viz was sketchy so I asked if there were any sites they would recommend we try that would have a bit better viz than we were seeing. The response was pretty much a no with attitude. Another example would be the response I received when I then made the mistake of asking if the wind was likely to change. A simple 'I haven’t checked the weather' would have been appreciated rather than the 'I’m Not God' I received.

All in all, I realize all of the issues listed above are relatively minor but the net result of being disappointed EVERY single time I
dealt with dive staff was mounting frustration which I’m sure didn’t help my expectations moving forward.

I will make two more comments; some of our friends that were there had no complaints about the dive op and were very happy with Andre in
particular (we didn’t deal with Andre at all). In addition to this I was told that there has been a lot of staff turnover lately so our experience will likely be different from what you would encounter 3 or so months from now. We will probably give them another chance.

Diving

We had some dives that were very unique this trip particularly because of the quantity of large sea life we saw. In our previous
2 trips we saw a grand total two sea turtles and 3 or so Eagle Rays. We had already counted that many by our 3^rd dive and the trend continued through the week. At Red Slave one morning we spotted 3 eagle rays and a turtle before descending past the top of the reef. Couple that with a super large green turtle during a LaDanias-Karpata drift dive and we were pretty much the turtle hunters. Easily over 10 encounters on the week and some good pictures the best of which can be found Here I am still in the process of sorting through pics. It did take me a few
days to get used to my new setup and am generally not too happy with my pictures.

We hit a number of new sites as well as a lot of our old favorites. We did a total of 21 dives. Sites that I thought were especially
notable are discussed below:

LaDania’s to Karpata Drift:
This is one awesome dive. I can’t believe we didn’t dive this one in the past. Special thanks to Bas for giving me a briefing the night before! After descending to 98’ down the wall for the first few minutes we completed the rest of the drift between 35’ and 45’ for a very nice 70 minute dive. Saw a gigantic green turtle.

Red Slave: Very interesting site with lots of big sea life and topography that is much different than other sites. In my opinion this is a must dive site.

Something Special: Is still one of my favorites.

Night UV Dive at the Cliff: Did this one with Bas Noij. Very cool, but I was more into it than my wife. This isn’t stopping me from thinking about buying her a UV light to help me spot macro stuff to photograph at night.

Lac Cai: The verdict is still out on this one but I am optimistic. Dove it with Bas under very bad conditions. The dive was easy but the current was going to wrong way out over the reef so viz was poor at best. Bas Noij is a super cool guy and I would highly recommend him to anyone.

Yellow Submarine: This was a very pleasant surprise. I thought this would be a boring dive but I was really pleased. Saw a ton of squid at the end of the dive. I think we will do some night dives here in the future.

Bari Reef: Very nice house reef. To reiterate, I really liked the setup at the dock. It could get a bit crowded but what do you expect? I was a bit miffed one day when some gal pretty much pushed right in front of me to shoot the local frog fish. The
tarpon are annoying at night. One of them was more aggressive than I remember.

Chocogo (need confirmation if this is the site): We made this dive just to the north of Red Slave. There was an old white house and we dove just north of there and south of the yellow house with the fence. This was the most beat up site I have seen on Bonaire. Lots of dead coral and tons of fishing line.

Willemstoren Lighthouse: I was ready to make the dive but after talking to a local gal we decided against it. We were there late one afternoon scoping it out for the next morning. I didn’t get her name but she explained that the current was strong enough that
you couldn’t swim against it. Amanda wasn’t too interested at that point so I’ll probably try and find a buddy next time and make the dive sans wife and camera.

Just a general observation, there did seem to be more fishing going on near the reef than I have seen in the past. This was especially true at the southern sites.

Food
Special thanks to whoever put up the post regarding best places to eat just prior to our trip. One of our favorite things about Bonaire other than the diving is that the food is so much better than typical diving destinations. We ate out every night for dinner but made our own breakfasts and most of the lunches. For Dinner we at:

The best of the best: Salsa
Salsa easily was our favorite restaurant. It wasn’t even close. We had the tasting menu and were very happy with everything. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get any Mahi Mahi as I saw a fresh one hanging in the kitchen when we arrived. I believe our waiter was Dirk and he was easily the best we had on the island. Some of the service at other restaurants was a bit lacking and it was really refreshing to have a waiter who acted like he had an ownership stake in the place. We were there on a Wednesday and there were a couple of guys playing guitar. Normally this sort of thing elicits eye rolls from me and is a bit on the obnoxious side but it was executed perfectly in this case. They were far enough away from everyone that the volume was perfect. A young lady sat in for a couple of songs and was very good as well.

Other Excellent Choices (in order of preference but they are all very close)

Bamboo
My wife picked this place out and we were lucky enough to be joined by our friends Dan, Colleen and Co. for a very nice dinner. Great food and better company made this very enjoyable. We wouldn’t miss it on our next trip. Service was very good.

Wil’s
My wife ordered the tuna so I went for the Wahoo even though it’s not my favorite fish (too dry for me). Well Wil did the best job I have ever seen on keeping the Wahoo moist but the sauce was too sweet for me. This is defiantly a matter of personal preference rather than anything Wil did as the man is clearly a very skilled chef. Service was excellent.

Donna and Giorgio’s
This is some killer Italian food. I had the greatest incarnation of a Chicken-Eggplant Parmesan dish ever created (I consider myself an authority having made a living waiting tables at three Italian Restaurants through college). Our last trip we tried Capriccios and we both preferred Donna and Giorgio’s. We weren’t fans of our waitress but Donna made up for it.

Cactus Blue
I should have got the blackened tuna again. It was my favorite meal on our last trip but we decided to try the Seafood Platter for two which was good but given the price I would just order the Tuna. Don’t get me wrong everything was very good but the Tuna stood out as the best. The Mahi Mahi was just OK. Still, the cocktails are awesome, Corinna and Hagen are awesome hosts, and I have never had better key lime pie.

I don’t think we had a bad meal but my wife would differ (Bistro). We also had dinner at Patagonia and in hindsight I wish we had tried Buenos Aires. The food was good but I missed the quantity at Casablanca. We had the BBQ one night at Sand Dollar and it was good but we with our growing list of must visits (See above) we would try somewhere new. We had lunch at Bistro one day and I am sad to say that in three visits it has dropped from Amanda’s favorite lunch spot, to just OK, to we’re not going there again. Don’t flame me though, I think the place has a certain charm and the food was good (but not good enough to argue with my better half over). We also had lunch at Sunsets which was OK. We went to City Cafe thinking it was Whataburger and it was OK as well. Lunch for us really is an afterthought that we squeeze in between dives.

Whew! Well that’s all I have in me for now. It’s a bit more of a novel than a trip report so thanks to those that read through the
whole thing, I guess I got three trips worth of info out at once.

John - honest personal trip reports are always the best read for me, thanks, and will try Salsa next trip, somehow never have been and we eat out for dinner most nights also.

Patrick

Quality report John. Thanks for taking the time and of course for the kind words about me

We just returned from Den Laman and were also very disappointed with BDA. Very unhelpful as well. We did a few boat dives with them and they were very limited on the time of the dive.

On one boat dive to Klein, the current was so strong that even our most experienced, strong, young divers couldn't make any progress against it. One diver was swept away, and had to be recovered after the dive. They did not explain any emergency procedures and there was much confusion when they started banging on the ladder to abort the dive. They should have checked out the current before the dive, or at least stopped the dive when everyone was at the surface attempting to swim against it. No offer of refund or another dive when requested.

Thanks for the trip report. Salsa is now upgraded to a "must try" on my dining list!

We went out to Klein on I think it would be the North end, our divemaster Geertje from Divi dive checked the current prior to the start of the dive and decided it was to strong, good call on her part, I am divemaster certified and would think the current was around one to one and a half knots. Given the level of ability of some of the divers on board it could have been a major issue if they tried to dive in those conditions. Divi has in my humble opinion some of the best dive staff on the island, Geertje and Louis at the top of the list. Glad to see everyone survived.

Roy,
did boat dives to Klein as well this trip with the carib Inn. Only negative was no one checks current ahead of time. we were at south bay with "heavy" current once. took me 20 minutes to get back to the boat. No incidences but I am sure if we had a clue would of gone somewhere else or done an awesome drift dive :-). Give Divi high marks on that one.

I have also stayed at Den Laman and agree with the poor service of BD&A.

I would go as far to say that they are the worst dive operation on the island. ANYHOW - the worst I have used!!!

Ditto on what David said...............

hello John,
nice trip report to read. John, NoGoSlo,David, would it be very impolite to ask which one of the staff of BDA was so rude to you, as well as, who was the dive master on your dive who did not explain emergency procedures? I think this is very important to address.
Sorry to read that you all had such bad experience with BDA, I know for my part that it is sometimes not easy to work with the owner, I am surprised that you received such comments from the staff!

Oh Silvia....LOL about your comment "it is sometimes not easy to work with the owner".....

I had one very unfortunate experience with him, but it was enough to keep me away from BDA forever. Because of him, we won't consider Den Laman or Sand Dollar for accommodations, since BDA is the dive shop on site there.

Just a couple of items.

#1 All of the people in my group had been to Bonaire previously. Some 10+ times. I don't know how long our orientation was because most of us walked out after 1 and 1/2 hours. Do we really need to stand in the sun and hear about the speakers favorite bar in Rincon?

#2. Our orientation did not include actually important topics such as "How the gear storage room worked" We had to go in and find out at the front desk. Maybe that was covered in the third hour.

#3. The staff was always sourly. Not rude per se but more like "Don't bother me - I don't really want to help with your problem. Much poorer attitude that any where else we have stayed.

#4. Even though the nitrox was supposed to be locked up at 4:30 pm. It was actually locked up when ever that employee decided to leave for that day. Sometimes before 4:00 pm.

#5. As to Den Laman in general, the facility was nice but the communication between employees was non-existent. I had let the Den Laman folks know our flight and arrival time as well as one of the other parties in our group. No one was at the airport. We took a cab to their truck rental location and they were closed for the day. The cab took us to Den Laman where there was a note on the window to call a number and someone would come let us in (This was around 6:00 pm) They were not aware of the folks arriving later that day and only after I showed then the e-mails and responses from their staff did they admit that more guests were arriving. Anyhow it was a communications sanfu. They met the late arrivals at the airport helped them get a truck and drove to Den Laman so that the late arrivers could find the right place. BUT THIS IS A DIFFERENT ISSUE! They made everything smooth for the late arrivals but I was out $25 cab fare

hey David,

to #1 and #2, it is quite an ordeal and I know many people who felt the same way about it, however am I surprised to read that the person who walked with you through the premise left the locker room out. They normally do. Even though you might have been a diver returning to Bonaire and have never dived before with BDA - they go with you through the whole process to NORMALLY cover all topics. No exception - due to liability.
to #3, I am so surprised, I still have a hard time acknowledging the fact you are presenting.
#4 ditto on 3
#5 oh boy.......
Dont get me wrong, I do not try to sweet talk the way you have been treated. It is your vacation and it is the duty of a resort or hotel or a dive shop to welcome you with open arms and attend to your needs and questions - this is what they are paid for.
However, I do understand BDA's strict rules you were presenting in #1.

Stayed at Den Laman 2/14-2/21 and used BDA.
In reference to :
#1 and #2: Orientation was less than an hour. It was long, but informative, given by Jerry and Weitze who were anything but rude.
#3 Niels was very friendly, and helpful. Andre was not there the week we used BDA (coincidence?) Benji/CGT was amazingly helpful with tech improvement. Joan and Peggy were as you mentioned, but we stayed clear of them after the first half hour of our vacation.
#4 Nitrox started to get locked up around 4:15, but that is what our locked locker was for where we stashed 2 tanks a piece.

#5 cleaning staff were very friendly only when tipped, then they spoke fluent English.
-The desk clerk was very helpful, came to find us at the restaurant when a medically emergent phone call came in from the States.

We would stay again and use BDA.

Andre did our orientation

I've made three trips to Bonaire and used BDA and stayed with Sand Dollar every time. I've never had an issue really. Couple little things taken from the truck at night. (Our fault, should not have left it there, knew better).

I think individual experiences very, expectations very. My vacation expectations usually involve; eventually arriving on the island, getting wet most of the time, drinking brights, getting some Lover's Strawberry ice cream, maybe smoking a few cigars and eating something.

Living in Chicago, I guess the definition of rude un-helpful people is different to me, but I have always found everyone on the island helpful, in their own time.

We are heading back to Bonaire in 35 days, we'll be staying at Sand Dollar and using BDA again. So far it's worked great for us... no reason to change...

I hope your next trip is a better experience for you.

Our orientation was less than a half hour and I was happy with it. The woman who conducted it asked in the beginning how many times all of us had been to Bonaire (3 for everyone there) so she may have given us the short version. Covered the essentials.

The issue that rubbed me was the same as David described in #3. It basically applied to the three women that seemed to be inside the Dive shop when I went in there. I don't really want to call out individuals so if anyone wants more info PM me please. I think David summed it up pretty well, just a sense that they had much more important things to do. Not a deal breaker for the future but enough to make us consider:

1. Staying at DL and using Buddy's for a dive op.
2. Staying at Bel Mar, Bellafonte, or Belle Vue

We stayed at Den Laman for 2 weeks last summer (and are returning for 2 weeks this summer) and had a similar experience as Jennifer V.

We easily caught the shuttle to the rental car company (though I understand Total moved back to the airport from the Plaza since then), found Den Laman pretty quickly, someone was waiting for us in the office (at 6:30am), check-in was painless, and we had excellent service the entire time from the cleaning staff and the office staff. Our orientation with BDA was an hour long and covered all the necessities for first time visitors (though we'll do the short version this year), and we were on our own to do what we wanted.

I'll definitely pay a bit more attention to how BDA is on our trip this year, just because they are really getting bad reviews all over the place.

I pretty much agree with most of the posters here. You experience may vary.

I would go back to Den Laman because of the accommodations and facilities. I would use BDA again, because of it's proximity to Den Laman. I would ask for the short orientation as a returning guest. I would not do any boat dives and I would counsel my group to check out tanks early and put them in lockers for night dives and early morning trips. The Nitrox tank availability only between 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM is a major inconvenience.

We've had similar experiences at BDA with the office staff - they can be incredibly brusque, almost to the point of seeming indifferent. As to the DM's, our Christmas visit was marked by many less-than-involved DM experiences on the boat dives. This most recent visit, we only did one boat dive (with Peggy and Jerry Ligon) and we very pleased - as we had been when they were on the boats in December.

NoGoSlo's advice is on-target. We enjoy the amenities of Sand Dollar, appreciate the free upgrade to EAN, and the richness/variety of Bari Reef, so we work around BDA. Wherever I've been diving and lockers were available, I've gotten one - so, we did that over Christmas and were able to work around the 4:30-ish lockdown of EAN tanks. With lockers for the late/early dives and a truck for the daytrips...gotta tell ya - it was Divers' Paradise big time!

Peace,

John and Gina

Hey John! I absolutely loved your trip report! Not just because we were all mentioned in it (ha!ha!), but because it brought back the great memories of spending time with you & Amanda in Bonaire...Let's stay in contact & book trips that coincide with each other's plans next year. We hope to stay 2 or 3 weeks next time and it would truly make it more special if you guys were there to dive with us! Colleen

Thanks Colleen. That sounds like a plan for next year. We have already decided it will be two weeks minimum. Probably going to take the Continental red eye but we will look at some other options. We met a couple from Fargo who really liked flying Insel out of SJ but that still means you have to fly AA at some point.

Cheers for the trip report.

I did not like BDA either. I will NOT use them again!

that's weird..find office staff @BDA to be the most friendly and helpfull...on first name basis, and we only shore dive, but received a short orientation by knowledgable divemaster when we explained we were repeat customers...all questions always answered on the dock ..hey that rinse water is always an issue where ever you go..people put their sandy booties and suits in there with no regard..they do need to address the issue of not enough pegs in the gear room, I refused to double up on a single peg and just kept finding an empty one..worked out fine....guess everyone has a different expectation of service, just like restaurants..but BDA gets our business every year

I never posted any comments about BDA from our trip last summer (June 27 or so, for 2 wks) -- I never did any trip report, at all, but I can corroborate these negative experiences.

There were very few weights available when my daughter and I checked in-- a couple big ones and lots of 2s. When I asked if they could, or would, have some 4s available, the employee only shrugged and offered no helpful suggestions.

The tank lock-up required too much planning for me.

This was my 2nd trip. The first one was with Belmar/buddy -- lots of tanks always available.

We are booked, this year for sand dollar/ bda again, in July, mostly because of the spacious grounds of sand dollar and proximity of bari reef. (but the wi-fi is better at Belmar)

The office folks weren't too friendly, as I recall. BDA wouldn't rent dive lights without batteries. I had brought an ample supply. I rented lights from Buddy at the Belmar location. Maybe 'cause they knew me and knew I was credit-worthy in case I flooded their lights. (I cleaned and lubed their O-rings for no charge!)

I didn't use the gear storage at BDA. Too many people in and out for me - and I think they locked it up, too, at some time of the day.

The orientation lasted seemingly forever after being awake for 27 hours and enduring the continental flight and the Flamingo baggage claim. There was a large group, not enough shade, and too many questions from too many people. (I hate people. Yet, I love social gatherings!)

Oh, yeah, MANY of the o-rings on the tanks were tattered and leaked a bit.

The rinse tanks, weren't sparkling-fresh, either, especially late in the day.

But, I'm lazy, and the inconvenience of going next door to Buddy's to get tanks may be too much for me--especially if since I've read that BDA doesn't non-customers on their dock. Does paying Sand$ for a 2bdr unit, for 2 wks, entitle me to use the dock? Is the patch of beach sand still there, after Omar?

I gotta' add that the main reason for choosing Sand$ is that they have screens on the windows.

Evan, I hope you enjoyed something?

LOL Jerry......

Well I remember the time frame Evan is talking about, big groups, out of weights, loads to organize, BDA understaffed trying to cover all odds and ends somehow while also organizing canoe trips, Ocean Classroom, night dives, I mean, yes, there might be older tanks, but yes they are checked regularly, which I can assure you of personally.O-Rings is always an issue everywhere. Most of the staff is multi tasking on a daily basis, from working on the boats, diving in between and attending to specific needs of their divers and planning and teaching different OW level courses or higher. Joan Enid and Erika in the office are lovely women, they might not always smile right away but for the last ten years they have taken care of everything around and about the dive op, I actually learned to love them, hard shell but lovely on the inside, as is the rest of the staff, not everyone has always a good day and yes it is not nice if you just get shrugged off but all of them are sincere and committed workers, knowledgeable and for my opinion always think of safety first.

Jerry:
I did enjoy lots of dives, lots of dinners, and took lots of photos. And, I'll be be back on July 5! But, I do complain about things and people (including myself) more than I appreciate them.
Evan

Evan, welcome to the club!

I have to agree that the gear room thing at BDA is pretty bad. We were assigned one peg for the two of us, which wasn't that big of a deal for just hanging our BCs, but there was no where to put booties or fins, so they wound up on the floor under someone else's peg. There also was often a shortage of hangers for wetsuits, which was kind of a pain.

This year we're planning to only put our BCs and wetsuits in the gear room and take everything else up to our room. I'm sorry if Den Laman won't be too happy with taking some damp gear upstairs, but we really have no choice. It's too bad Den Laman didn't build a locking gear locker for each condo on the ground floor...that would have been outstanding!

Hey Dive Warm, I agree with you that DenLaman should have built lockers for guests' gear. That would be awesome...in the mean time, we really tried not to drip water on the steps of DM this year and brought our mesh Stahl sacks with us to haul our gear upstairs. They have dry bags, so we always had a chammy towel in them. Here's the magic tip for all who are concerned with the quality of BDA's rinse tanks - when you get on the island, stop at the little Chinese store on the east side of the town and buy a $7 plastic tub. We would keep it in the bathroom for soaking our wetsuits (brought our own Sink the Stink), etc., and would drain them in the shower, drag bucket & all to the balcony, and would hang our gear to dry. With the wind in Bonaire, it dries quickly. I know it looks tacky to have stuff hanging all over the railings, but maybe some drying racks could be furnished??? Anyway, when it's time to leave, we just give the tub to the maid with all of our leftovers (food, dish soap, etc.). Recycling at its best!

Regarding the locker at BDA, be careful! We found people tend to hang gear on the pegs in the back for safety. I could elaborate, but I won't...my tip would be not to leave anything you care to lose in there, just the weights, or whatever you don't want to haul up to your room.

I hope this helps. Bonaire Talk is so great, isn't it? You learn more tricks on this site!

Colleen

I did notice plastic tubs for transporting gear in the trucks of a few people and they look like a good idea.

I really don't have an explanation for why there isn't a camera tank in the parking lot. I know I saw a lot of people that have way more money invested in camera equipment than me. It's not like wanna be underwater photographers are a rare breed these days.

Hey, John, I agree about the cameras! We flooded 2 of ours on The Cliff...also, I really DO hate hauling all my gear up those steps! I'm not getting any younger and that staircase isn't getting any easier!! Ha!Ha! Colleen

Just fake a back injury like Amanda and have Dan carry everything larger than a camera all week!

Great idea! I'll do it!!!!