Just returned from Buddy Dive resort in beautiful Bonaire. We had what we considered to be the best room in the entire resort. Beautiful ocean views, french doors, excellent service and of course the diving was fantastic!

The entire staff at Buddy Dive did all they could to make this trip truly enjoyable. From scheduling open water dive certification, to providing a clean and fantastic room we had what was truly the best vacation.

Food - We ate mostly in town for our dinners. We didn't have one bad meal! Great fish recipes and unbelievable ice cream!

Things to remember when traveling to Bonaire - mosquito repellent and netting!

Hello dear travellers, if you are thinking in going to Bonaire PLEASE DO NOT stay at Buddy Dive Resort. The hotel rooms are infestated with BED BUGS. Please do check your bed before sleeping in any of the rooms there or you will end up like me in a battle with these horrible creatures during your stay and also having a risk of bringgin them home and have to pay a fortune to get a professional finding them in your house.

Visit link bellow for more info:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbug

It was our first trip to Bonaire and we loved it. Our stay at Buddy Dive was overall very pleasant, but there are a few things that you should be aware of before booking. The staff at the hotel and dive shop were all very pleasant and helpful. The breakfast was also very good, my husband is still raving about the omelets and waffles he had every morning. The diving was great, we ended up doing quite a few dives right off the house dock. Its very easy getting in and out of and the facility is very well taken care of. We did the "drive & dive" package and the truck they rented to us was very nice to have. It made it really nice to just hop in and shore dive or find a good restaurant. We did not do any boat dives but I'm sure they were very good too.

Now for the not so good part of Buddy Dive. We stayed in a one bedroom apartment on the first floor. It was always clean and was very convienent to the dive shop and restaurant. It was however, in very bad need of updating, especially the bathroom. It didn't appear to have been remodeled since it was built, probably in the 80s and its showing. The shower was terrible, the hot water knob fell off every morning. There were NO electrical outlets at all in the bath. That meant if you wanted to say, blow your hair dry or use an electric shaver you had to do it in the kitchen with no mirror. Also, there is no hair dryer - you have to go to the front desk and ask for one, no big deal. There was also a hole in the bathroom door that looked like a mouse had chewed it out quite a while ago. The website also lists air conditioning, but be aware that this is ONLY in the bedroom.

The grounds showed signs that they could be nice, but needed a lot more care - weeds everywhere.

Bonaire is a very laid back nice quite island and we will definitely be back, just not to Buddy Dive. Harbour Village is just down the way and has a MUCH nicer place for about the same price when we stopped in to look around.

We stayed at Buddy Dive Resort Jan 25-Feb1.

Check in: They picked us up at the airport. Since we got in at 8 pm they took us directly to our room and let us in. We checked in the next morning at the desk.

Dive shop check-in: A bit chaotic. You do have to fill out paper forms. They were in our room so we had them done before we went to the dive shop. You turn in your paperwork, pay your $25 for the reef tag then go to the pool bar for your 9am orientation. You have to watch a video. Then you have to do a check out dive. No one goes with you on that. It is for you to check to make sure you are weighted properly and do a leisurely dive on the house reef. You can do this anytime that day. The boats go out at 8:30, 10:30 and 2:15. You will miss the first two for sure. You sign up on the board each day for the dives you plan to do on the boat. The board can fill up depending upon how many boats they are using. We did 2 boat dives a day and then shore dives the rest of the time.

Dive Shop: They seem to have this down to a science. They are efficient and run the boat dives on time. If everyone is there, they leave early. Not once were they late. Free Nitrox with our package. The diving was easy. Many sites to choose from. Seahorses seen on many of the dives. 24 hours diving. You can get your tanks around the clock.


Room: We had a one room apartment. Rm 406-2d floor. It is on the end of the building next to the ocean. Our back patio over-looked the ocean, raised sand beach area, pool, the pool bar and restaurant. When you walk into the room it is into the bedroom. The toilet/shower is in a little room off of that. The rest of the apartment is toward the back.
One large open room with kitchen, refrig with freezer, microwave, sink, gas stove top.
Sofa, 2 chairs, cable TV, desk with chair and closet with hangers and shelves. The AC is in the bedroom only. A large fan to recirculate air in the living room. This was January and the day time temps were about 85 degrees F. We closed the curtains to keep some of the heat out as the sun hit the living room in the afternoon. It was comfortable and not a problem for us. The AC in the bedroom was very cold and worked fine.


Rental Truck: We got the drive and dive package. They just got brand new Mitsubishi 4 door pickups. Ours only had about 200 miles on it. No complaints there.

Food: Our package had breakfast included. Buffet style with eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, pancakes, French toast, various fruits and lunch style meats, yogurt, cereal, juice, coffee, milk, water. There is a cook to make fresh omelets while you wait. Normal fare for a resort.

Groceries: We found the Warehouse grocery store the first day we were her to pick up some food and drink. Since we rented and apartment, this saved us some money on food.

Restaurants: We ate at Bistro De Paris , Rum Runner, Will’s Tropical Grill, The Reef, Casablanca. Some restaurants only take American Express. Other will take your Visa or Mastercard. All the food was great at all of these restaurants. Prices did vary but was worth what we paid.