Buddy Dive Resort Bonaire Reviews

Well organized, nice spot.

Good diving center. This is in general a diving orientated resort.

If we had paid full price I would have found it a bit over-priced.

But as we went during covid the rooms were on discount and it was totally worth it!

Always excellent !! Food, services and dives !!! Pity it rained and the water got poor visibility, about 10m.

Excellent dive resort with amazingly helpfull staff. The only downside we found was food service was very slow for large groups ( 8 or more )

Excellent Dive resort with rental truck part of room. Great experience all around

Drive through really works. Nice and helpful guys at the repair shop.

Great place for your diving needs. There are several PADI diving courses and instruction can be given in many languages. Our son got his PADI open water at 12 years of age in Dutch.

We ate dinner at the restaurant here. It was pretty good. The view is incredible.

Busy Dive is our go to spot for diving in Bonaire. Rooms are good particularly since they have remodeled. Air set up is easy and it is great to have a house reef. Breakfasts are particularly good. Diner is good but maybe a bit pricy. Only main comment is the dive lockers are crowded..

The reef is open to the public and their dock makes things super easy.

One of Bonaire's best diving resort, first-rate infrastructure, service, pick-up with gasoline released, cylinders released, truly a paradise and a charming place. The resort itself is a fantastic diving spot, it can take kids, seniors, and all kinds of adventurers.

Amazing breakfasts and restaurants. Service staff was helpful, kind and accommodating. Dive crew were very knowledgeable, skilled, and conservation-minded, and I learned a lot from them all. Want to keep it as a secret, but I feel as if I'm doing a disservice to all divers, if I don't recommend them over other places on the island ;).

Nice place, The unit was well equipped and comfortable.

The big draw to Buddy Dive Resort is the free Nitrox upgrade and the unlimited shore diving in most packages. We had friends here from a previous visit so I had a good dive buddy and did some shore diving.

A note about the shore diving. While there are numerous dive sites many of them have difficult entries/exits. Wearing dive boots is a must as you often need to enter/exit with fins off and there are rock/coral formations that hurt when you walk on them. Additionally the rocks are slippery when wet (duh) and any surf (prevalent often) will compound the entry/exit. Additionally, many of the dive sites offer the same topography and sea life...so you are better off picking a site with an easier entry.
Good Breakfast.
Only complaint is the Resort only had a few hair dryers, checked out and shared by everyone.

I didn't stay at the resort, just booked some dives with a guide through their dive shop.

The staff were helpful and our guide was great. The dive shop is meer feet from the water with easy stair access, so gearing up and getting in the water was a breeze.

Great diving. Actually stayed at their sister resort, The Caribbean Club, which I'll review separately. Did boat dives out of this resort, nice boats, great set up for tank exchange drive thru if you do some shore dives as well. Dive staff were great, with the notable exception of Nathan, DM. He was rude, and quite unpleasant to be on a boat with. Otherwise a wonderful experience.

Full service dive resort.fin but relatively expensive restaurant above the pier

The Best Dive Resort in Bonaire!!! Excellent staff makes your days pleasant and drive thru tank pick~up is Awesome for unlimited shore diving!! The reef is beautiful just off the dock!!! Food, well, best French fries anywhere ...lived my fish n chips!!!! Lord willing, we will ho back for our 3rd stay someday!!!

Wonderful to be able to dive there
Food is very good

Perfect service, friendly, clean, beautiful accommodation, great diving facilities and beautifully situated.

Fun place with large accomodating rooms. People were exceptionally helpful and friendly. Nice shore diving too!

Am I not at liberty to tell , it's a must you have to discover

Great diving, great customer service love Buddy Dive Resort

This was my first Caribbean visit anywhere - and it s a really low key, clean and safe with two quite decent restaurants on site. I wasn t diving but the rest of the group was and they loved it. It s situated on the coast just a few feet from Buddy s reef. The staff are awesome, some are Dutch, and super courteous. Would visit again!!

Great experience with #kidsseacamp at Buddy Dive Resort. Great diving staff and facilities; you can dive 24hrs a day here. Rooms are super clean too.

Just finished a week long stay at Buddy Dive Resort with Kids Sea Camp. The Dive staff was amazing!!! While our kids were receiving their advanced diver certifications with Buddy Dive instructors, my husband and I were out on boat dives with our own fantastic dive crew. The rooms are huge and are equipped with full kitchens (minus an oven). The wait staff is slow and most of the food leaves something to be desired, but the buffet breakfast was outstanding. Fresh fruit and an omelet bar set us up for a great day of diving. The house reef was beautiful and provided some of the best diving of our trip. HUGE THANKS to the dive shop staff for making this an unforgettable experience for our whole family!!!

Great structure for diving, with drive-thru of cylinders, equipment rental and a great point with direct exit from the pier of the hotel. Apartments with 3 bedrooms, living room and kitchen. Rent direct pick-ups at the hotel. Breakfast neat!

Anyway, all the best! (I.e.

The diving on Bonaire is incredible. I stayed at the Caribbean Club, but did the boat dives from Buddy s. The DM s were fantastic and very helpful when looking for things to see. Nikki and a guy named Mannu(???dont know how to spell it???) DMs were great and the boat captain, ET. The only one who was unpleasant was the DM Nathan. He clearly hates his job and the tourists. As he stated, his only job description is to make sure people get on and off the boat and don t die , when another DM asked him if he knew of anything Interesting had been seen at any of the sites recently.
Aside from him, beautiful place, lovely people, great diving. And very convenient with tank drop off/pick up drive through!!

Very big. If that's your thing, you will like it. Nice staff!

Did two wonderful dives at their beautiful house reef. And even though we were walk-ins from a different base they treated us as friends. Their facilities are in top shape and thanks to the stairs entry and exit were as easy as it can get. Definitely a recommendation.

Love Buddy Dive! Very convenient and so easy to dive!
Great staff, great breakfast, decent clean rooms.

During my 3rd visit in July 2017, the only thing that bothered me was that Buddy Dive required my roommate and I and two other people in our party to stay at their sister resort, Caribbean Club, about 7 miles away. They had indicated there was a problem with the room. However, I suspect it was because the resort was over booked and there were people in our room until Sunday. Our room was ready as promised on Sunday, just at the same time as normal check-in time: hmmmmmm?

The new benches, rinse tanks, and lockers on the dock and in the storage room are great. The dive staff is awesome!

Very friendly staff, great breakfast buffet. Easy access to diving, both shore and boat dives. Bonaire is the best, and Buddy dive is the best of Bonaire!!

Arrival to Bonaire airport was a pleasure. I walked to the door of the aircraft and was instantly absorbed by the smell for the oceans salty breeze. Immigrations was very quick and my dive gear and bag came around a small but efficient delivery belt. I used one of the airports free cargo cart and easily moved to the airport drop off pick up area. I was told my Dive buddy ride would be there quickly by one of the airport staff members that had been called by them. I was invited to enjoy a cold beverage from the airport restaurant/bar. With an Amstel Light in hand I stood in the sun and took it in. Just that quick I my party had gathered in the same area and we were all pleased. The Dive Buddy pick up arrived and very courteously stowed our bags and we were off. The drive was pleasant and the check in was efficient. I was briefed on the operations of the resort and found everything I had been told to be true. The dive staff was outstanding and the support staff offered pleasant company, even as if I was an old friend.

From a Soldier who just left 18 years of service it was a just what the doctor ordered. I am also a 24 year SCUBA instructor with dive time in both service and from before service at South Point Divers in Key West. I speak with some knowledge of what should be expected in both courtesy and professionalism. I will be returning to Dive Buddy to dive again.

Please do see for yourself. It is outstanding.
Shawn C. Buffalo

Excellent, all facilities in one place. Best diving resort. Great restaurants, nice service.

Great dive resort. They have the best breakfast that is included every morning while sitting oceanside. The rooms are very accommodating. The dive shop is located on the resort as well as anything else needed for diving. Great reefs located right off the shore. Will definitely go back.

The dive school is at a fantastic location and has a very friendly and well skilled staff. The instructor's are relaxed to work with and the boat dives are awesome to do.

Excellent attention, i couldn't ask better. They are kind and ready to help. Excellent place, cozy rooms and spacious. Decorations are pretty and the organization and cleaning is perfect. Nothing to complain about it. Thank you guys for your attention. It was good!

Great location, beautiful view, diving is excellent right from the dock. I highly recommend.

This is THE BEST dive resort I have ever enjoyed. It has everything I want. Number one, it has a tremendous dive shop, boats and staff. Everyone was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. They went out of their way to be helpful and make my experience perfect. It is reasonably priced and very comfortable. They have a buffet breakfast restaurant, a wonderful lunch restaurant and bar and an elegant dinner restaurant. There are also plenty of small pickup trucks with tank racks to enhance your shore diving fun. They even have a drive through tank pick-up. To make it even more attractive they host legendary coral reef naturalists Ned and Anna DeLoach for several weeks throughout the year. They are authors of the best Caribbean Fish and Coral Field Guides. They give lectures, teach fish identification in the classroom and dive with you. I may stop my search for the best dive location because I HAVE FOUND IT!!

This was our third trip to Bonaire, and we usually shore dive on our own and avoid the resorts. However, as we were looking for some training in Coral Restoration with Coral Restoration Bonaire which is based at Buddy, we decided to go with the pros. Lars, Francesca, and Julia provided great training, and gave us an honest critique of areas where we need to improve. Thank you so much Buddy Dive for supporting these people in this amazing work.

Fantastic stay at Buddy 's . The staff did a great job in making sure we enjoyed our stay. The diving was fantastic with warm clear waters and some of the healthiest reefs around. The dive staff made sure we had nice easy diving. The rooms were nice and clean with air conditioning to keep us cool at night. We ate a good breakfast at the resort and enjoyed the fresh omelets each morning. We used the truck rented at the resort to do some great shore dives. I'll be back next year.

This place was absolutely amazing! If you're a diver then you will love it! Could not find a bad thing to say about it!

Amazing Staff, Crew and Facilitates not to mention a gorgeous reef right off the shore of the Resort. If you are going to Bonaire for a dive trip, this is where you want to book, stay and dive. The facilities are even nice for non-divers if there are any in your group.

show free cylinders, large rooms, attentive staff and a spectacular breakfast

Buddy Dive is a fantastic place to learn to dive, to become a scuba instructor, (or anything in between), or to enjoy a stress-free vacation on Bonaire. I have been to Buddy Dive twice on vacation - the accommodations were great (clean, comfortable, good water pressure, plenty of hot water) and the dive services were, too (good fills, easy tank pickup/return). More recently, though, I attended my PADI IDC with Pepe and Brittany... they were fantastic - I received a thorough (but fun!) training preparation for the IE, and my entire class of candidates passed the exam! Not to mention that the all-inclusive option is a deal that can't be beat.

Nice home reef, nice terrace where you can enjoy the sunset. Good breakfast. Location not too far from the center. Besides its own restaurant, also good restaurants within walking distance.

Great place to dive, the resort isn t the greatest but you won t be THAT disappointed if you re here. This is my first dive resort I ve ever been to and I m having a great time.

Excellent value for the money. Great dive facility too.

Great dive resort, unlimited tanks was awesome. Food was average, rooms were average (3 star) as advertised. Staff was very friendly. Healthy reefs just off their pier. Will stay here again. Fine dining restaurant was the best on the property. Great value for the price.

Buddy Dive is a great place to stay whether you are an experienced or novice diver. The house reef alone is worth many days of exploring. We are loving the relaxed style and the mix of comfort and eco efforts yet everything you need is here and everything is absolutely spotless.
The staff have just the right level of helpfulness and do their level best to make your stay wonderful. The resort is of course set up for divers but you can easily do so much more here especially if you have the dive and drive deal. We recommend doing the coral restoration course. If nothing else you will home your buoyancy skills and part of the fees go to the project.
Top Tip: buy sun protection hoods and long sleeve tops so you don't need sun block when diving as it is thought to directly kill the very corals you have come to see. The dive shop sells a more friendly sun block but even that is not totally harmless. I have loads more tips but I will post them on trip advisor at the end of our hol.

Professional and informal. Organize boat diving but also helpful when you want to dive from the shore. At the resort information about growing coral in the house reef.

Very nice diving and snorkeling resort. No beach, but swimming is possible via stairs. Very calm sea. Priced a bit expensive. If you want to explore the island you should rent an off-road vehicle (e.g. Bon4Rent has good offers).

This the 7th time I've stayed here. Hopefully many more!

Loved this place, beautiful gardens close to dive sites. Great food.

Great place to dive. Unlimited shore diving is amazing.

5 stars for divers!
This place is the best resort I've been in for diving. Bonaire overall is known for shore diving and this resort capitalizes on that and makes it easy and efficient for its guests. There is great diving right off their dock, which is conveniently located next to their dive shop, gear rinsing area, gear rental, camera rental, and tank area.
I would highly recommend doing the 'drive and dive' package-a rental car is essential for any stay longer than a day or two. You get a little truck, which you can take through their drive through, pick up air, and take off to whatever dive sites you wish to do. There is also great snorkeling in many locations, including buddy dive, on bonaire.
The rooms weren't luxury, but had a kitchen which was great, the ac worked very well, and the cleaning service each day was excellent. this was a true feat because every day we dragged in mud and sea water with us. There was a tv which we were able to watch an nfl playoff game at.
Their high end restaurant, Ingredients, is expensive but worth a splurge at least once. I highly recommend the truffle pasta, made at your table!
We spent every sunset at the resort bar, Blennies. THere were two small pools and a kid's play area. One pool is attached to the bar!
Although there is no beach, there is a sand area with lounge chairs overlooking the ocean which is nice-watch out for bugs around sunset in bonaire-most bars and restaurants have spray you can borrow. Not as big of an issue during the day.

Overall, if you are a diver or a snorkeler, this is the place to stay. My second choice would probably be next door at Captain Dons. If you are NOT a diver or a snorkeler would look elsewhere.

We love Buddy Dive. We're on our 3rd stay here, and probably 10th time on the island. The service is excellent, the rooms are lovely, and the diving is suited for everyone from beginners through advanced and tech divers. If you choose to visit, don't miss their breakfast buffet , the homemade croissants are die for.

Very friendly and a solution is always being sought.

Correction.. This review need to be for Blennies Restaurant at Buddy Dive Resort..

Is nice nice rooms good pool for children and a goei family place

Great diving. beautiful refs. Well maintained. You gotta carry your own gear down the cliffs and into the water. Rocky beaches. A real gem.

A little hard to get enough towels and some of the construction was a bit off but the bartender was a jam and we enjoyed the surrounding area and the ease getting in and out of the ocean to dive

This was one of the premier dive resorts on Bonaire. We have been there many times. Unfortunately it is changing quickly. While there is still some wonderful staff like Kimberly, Lauren and Dani, the rest seem more interested in staring at their cell phones now than helping.

The rental dive gear was the biggest let down this trip. We had to swap out regulators 3 times due to poor maintenance and leaks. And since it was shore diving it meant a long drive back to swap them out. And the tank rentals continually leaked badly. A single dime o ring is all that was needed to not ruin a dive. We had 6 bad tanks over 8 days, not acceptable.

Not sure if we will return. There are many new choices here over the last 10 years and will probably try a new resort. Gonna miss this place.

Great restaurant food was good but a little pricey. Staff was very friendly

Excellent setup for those who want top dive, dive, dive in Bonaire. Dive packages generally include pickup truck rental and unlimited air/nitrox tanks from the drive- thru filling station. Then it's just a matter of choosing a dive site from the map and setting out to find the corresponding yellow rocks marking the sites on the roadside and in you go. Rental equipment from Buddy's is reasonably well maintained and costs are also reasonable, and staff are efficient and professional even if not terribly friendly in some cases.
The apartments are well maintained, clean and comfortable, most with sea view, some with only a view of one of the 2 pools, and the 2 restaurants serve good if not great food which is good value for money. There are also several alternative restaurants within walking distance.
Most of the clients are repeat visitors, which says a lot for the experience here.

Gross place, outdated, some rude dive staff

Disgusting place. Made for budget groups
I was awoken by a loud fumigation gas engine blower at 6:03am. See attached photo. That is not fog. That is mosquito fumigation which blanketed the entire place. everywhere. Can management please respond? I felt Absolutely sick entire next day. Surely some toxic chemicals were used on the unsuspecting guests without warning. Staying at this resort can be hazardous to your health. Shame to dive buddy.

The breakfast is unsanitary with birds occasionally flying directly into the buffet food and picking at it.

The 2 Venezuelans working at the dive shop are incredibly friendly. Also the girls working at the front desk are polite and friendly. Unfortunately, The 2 American ladies working at the dive shop are incredibly rude.

Overall, the entire resort is incredibly dated, outdated furniture, outdated construction materials, dilapidated with deferred maintenance. In fact the Front door to my hotel room never opened properly because the door did not fit the door frame.

One of the two swimming pools was closed during my visit, and the rest of the hotel looks like a work in progress construction site with engine noises and random construction sounds. Just a horrible experience.

We took their "Discover Scuba" course which involved about 30 minutes of instruction, about 15 minutes of "drills" near a buoy to be sure we understood everything, then an amazing 45-minute dive where we saw amazing creatures, gorgeous coral, and even a seahorse. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will probably continue our scuba education to become real divers :) Thanks!

They have control over it and there are good people