60 replies to this topic

[triggerfish]

wow....all your pictures were great! looks like you all had a wonderful time.

and i've made more than one exit like karpata...believe me.....i've got the scars to prove it!

[Mitch0129]

Actually the accomodations were brand new condos and apts but unfortunately they hadn't worked the plumbling kinks out in all of them as some of our divers had drain problems....and no I'm not talking about the 'pee or not to pee' thread!! LOL!!!

Because the place was condos and timeshares the office staff did not keep regular office hours nor did they supply what most of us thought were 'basic' essentials. They did however have nice kitchens, refrigerators, and patios that worked wonderfully for our shared group happy hours or for cooking if you weren't into eating out all the time. The dive shop was on premise which was really nice but we had to drive to get to the boats so that wasn't as nice as other places that had the boat come right to the hotel's dock. We did not have a restaurant on premise but we did have one very close but it just wasn't the same. Now I'm thinking that paying a couple of hundred more would have been worth it to stay where we had better beach front access and a restaurant etc. Would we stay there again? No not as a group...would I stay there with a few friends and save some money? Probably....but only if they start supplying toilet paper!!! (Seems the reason we got such a good deal was that toilet paper, soap and wash cloths oh yes and maid service were NOT part of the package! )

But seriously...they got so many complaints about not offering basic amenities that I doubt that will be a problem in the future! So we did buy toilet paper for the gang and had it available to pass out when anyone needed an extra wipe so to speak!!!

All in all the accommodations were ok....but certainly not spectacular. I did get to check out some other resorts rooms and many were the same calibre of room and layout however they were part of a nicer resort with more amentities and therefore would have been a better choice now that I know better! Fortunately I got to do a lot of scouting out for the next trip to Bonaire! -ww

Kamala, when I was there in '96 we stayed at the Sand Dollar and did not have a problem. Everything worked like a charm, the on-site dive shop always had tanks for us out so we could do our beach dives anytime, and the boats picked us up at the docks. Since that time, however, the dive shop and adjacent restaurant was demolished in a hurricane so I do not know what it's like now. As I understand it, from talking to someone at SeaSpace, they did rebuild the dive shop and restaurant and it is much better. That aside, I would stay there again.

[jextract]

I had a spectacular time. I've never been to a place where you could dive so easily (Karpata exit notwithstanding, or so I've heard ... from a friend ... yeah, that's it). The dives that stand out for me are the one at Cai that was mentioned earlier where we saw eagle rays and huge fish, the night dive at Salt Pier where I saw so many wonderful things including a green moray that was larger around than my thigh, and the two-tanker/five site/2.5 hour drift dive that we finished the trip with. While the accomodations weren't exactly the Ritz-Bonaire, we were comfortable and I think everyone had a good time. Great happy hours (way to go Carolyn and Mike in particular!) led to fun dinners and late nights talking and laughing. Looking forward to joining ALL of you again in the near future!

(see my photos in the gallery)

[triggerfish]

mitch...i'm a sand dollar regular...or was. the green parrot is no more
all the people that i loved who worked there have moved on to different places (especially alvin clemencia, the ninja diver). but the condos were great. i'd still stay there...there is a beach entrance now which is very easy....

[chinacat46]

I've always stayed at Buddy Dive which has very reasonable prices and the vehicle is included with the room. It's right next to the Sand Dollar.

Looks and sounds like you guys had a great time. Thnx for the pics Gar.

- Chuck

[Blublood]

I thought everything was great!!! The group of people were so wonderful. So many different folks from so many walks of life with that one common love....diving. Everyone was so gracious and fun and the diving spectacular....This is what it's all about!!!!

i thought the accomedations were fine...actually pretty good. Very comfortable. would have been better if our condos were a little closer together though. Other than that there was great diving right down a little ladder. Just ask BobbyK he chased a seahorse right off our condos for days!!!! I thought they were great for our get togethers and nobody seemed to mind our parties by the pool and any other noise we generated.

Good Job Kammy! And thanks to all!!! Lets do it again soon!

[finGrabber]

Sounds like everyone had a great time!

Gar - the pictures are excellent, almost makes me feel like I was there too!

Kim

[WreckWench]

Thanks to all for being such a great group....diving with you all was really easy and fun!!! I look forward to doing Bonaire again...gosh I can't believe how many sites we didnt' do...the diving there is truly fantasic!

-Kamala

P.S. Don't forget to post some of your pics here in this thread!! (We wanted the bulk of the pics saved for posterity via the gallery and we at one time had 6 threads on the Bonaire trip...so we have consodiated them down a bit to make it easier for people to keep up with them!)

[Blublood]

Hey Kim!!! Thanks so much...Lots more pics and times to come in Roatan!

[cyclingmike31]

Here is one of a turtle that I took. More to come.

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[cyclingmike31]

And one more of Walter on his 1500th Dive.

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Edited by cyclingmike31, 24 June 2004 - 11:15 AM.

[cyclingmike31]

And one more for right now. More to come later.

This shot was taken on a night dive off of Capt. Don's Habitat.

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[cyclingmike31]

I KNOW cyclingmike must have a camera full of pics hiding out somewhere!

Yes I do have an I-Pod full of pics. I'm crunching through them as fast as I possibly can. I'll have pics hopefully posted soon.

[WreckWench]

I thought they were great for our get togethers and nobody seemed to mind our parties by the pool and any other noise we generated.

Actually I think a few people were concerned...but I think we were so big a group they just didn't say anything!! My theory was join in or have your own fun!!! At least all the rowdies were down near our end and we definitely had the entire back end of the resort by the dive shop!! -ww

[Blublood]

For anybody as dense as myself.................And.......You havent seen all the Bonaire pics posted so far just go to the "gallery" up in the right hand corner of this and any page click on that and then go to the SD trips page, also located at the top of that page and then go to Bonaire....I never knew about this until a couple days ago so if you happened to be in the same boat as I...there it is.

I know trigger knows...she already left her mark!!!