My wife and I are visiting for the first time starting April 1st. The Divi Flamingo is where we chose to stay. Does anyone have any recent updates on the property?

We've stayed at the Divi on our last two vacations. Most recently in January 04 we had the 2nd floor timeshare studio very close to the dive shop. Tremendous location for convenience, no real view to speak of but thats ok. The beds are comfortable, of which there were two in the room. If you are used to a king size bed at home it's kinda confining. The bathrooms are tiny and need some tweaking to say the least but certainly good enough. The Divi is easy walking distance to town. But for our money, the Dive operation is TOPS! We can't say enough about the boats and staff..We would go back just for the dive operation alone..You can't go wrong. I'm not doing the place any justice but I wanted to revive the memory.. Just my cents..

I love the Divi. It has a great location for strolling in to town on the prominade that is along the waterfront. The snorkeling here is awesome and I here that the dive operation is great. The waterfront rooms are my favorite.

We stayed there last September -- our first trip to Bonaire. The Divi was just nothing short of excellent. We stayed in a room right on the water -- second floor. We could look from our balcony right down into the water. And what a wonderful view from the patio!! The room had two double beds, good a.c., decent sized bathroom. It's not the "Hilton", or whatever, but more than exceeded our expectations. We room was kept clean, we had fresh towels (when requested), etc.

The dive operation is "tops", as previously said. And the entire staff, from check-in to servers, to gardeners and everybody in-between could not have been more friendly and helpful.

Hope this helps.

Randy,
You will love Bonaire. We are timeshare owners (721) @ the Divi. We have been going there for years. Most of the changes to the property are finished. It looks really nice. In Feb, we stayed in our house in Republiek, but we dove with Divi Dive Bonaire. We have alot of friends there. If you have specific questions, just ask. Have a good trip! Sue

Hello! In a few days, we will be walking up to our studio room at the Divi and we are very excited!
Does anyone know if the studio apts. have a freezer in them? do they have BBQ's available to cook our meals? What about things like dish soap, etc? Do they have a drip coffee pot? These may seem trivial questions, but I'm a "gotta know" kind of person. I have read the posts here in the past and we are looking forward to seeing the landmarks and underwater views!
Helen
Helen

Hi, Helen! Welcome to BT!! Yes, there is a full/mid sized fridge with top side freezer (not super large, but very adequate; no BBQ set up but you can pick up a hibachi (sp?) at one of the local stores and cook on your screened in porch area or over on the patio by the timeshare poolside. We have seen lots of folks cook outside this way.

You will need to provide your own dishsoap and coffee filters for the full-sized Mr. Coffee maker. There is a blender and a toaster and an electric can opener (if I recall correctly) on a counter area. There is silverware and all pots and pans and dishes and cups/saucers, etc. Probably enough for four folks to use. I did not see any plastic cups for drinks this past trip so you might want to consider that (don't want glass breaking on the tile floors or outside). We picked up a couple of plastic bottles for our own use.
There is a stove/over (gas). No dishwasher, however. YOu will need to provide a kitchen sink sponge in addition to the dishsoap, too.

The bathroom has the towels and some soaps are put out when you first arrive. We bring our own liquid moisturizing bath soap/gel and shampoos. When you want "fresh" towels let housekeeping know by dropping the soiled ones to the bathroom floor....that is the signal for fresh towels.

There is a tv with limited cable channels and a movie channel that tends to "stick"....and repeats parts of flicks over and over and over (dvd player, I guess). Who cares, tho...you will be outside enjoying yourself! No HBO or Showtime any longer in the timeshare rooms. Uncertain about the hotel side.

You will be provided with pool towels with the exchange of the "old" ones at the station by the beach. If you do not have new pool towels in your room when you arrive call the front desk if it is after the time they are available by the beach area and ask them to find some for you.

There are two queen sized beds and a queen sized sleeper sofa in the rooms. There is a sitting area by the glass doors /porch area by the sofa and a chair.

There is a phone in the room now, too, which was something new added a short while ago. We rent a cellphone from Michael Gaynor at "Chat n Browse" for a great price and use the prepaid time with the phone and purchase prepaid cards if we need them. He also has computers up there for internet access and much, much more! Go see him...he is a sweetheart!

Divi's beach is small and intimate and I absolutely LOVE it that way! Great diving and snorkeling right there at the Divi, too. Two decent restaurants and mini mart, beauty shop and massages available, etc. Small work out room. Great folks working there.

You will love being there.....of this I am certain.

It is not a fancy 5 star resort by any means....it is fairly "old" but recently redone. Small resort and intimate. Close to town...walk right up along the waters edge from your unit and you have access to everything going on in town and the restaurants, too.

I hope you have a wonderful time! Please keep us posted as to how your trip went. If you have any more questions about the Divi, feel free to ask! There are many of us on BT who love the Divi very, very much. Ayo. Carole

PS What is you unit number? There are only 40 units all totalled...nice and intimate.

Helen, I forgot to mention that we do bring some freezer bags for storing some things (and for packing in the luggage) even tho there are a few tupperware type containers in the unit. We also bring paper plates for when we want to load up a cooler and go off on the road for the day...you can pick up styrofoam coolers at many of the stores or better ones if you want one. You can always leave the cooler in the room for the staff or give it to someone before you leave if you don't want to keep it.

We will offer leftover food and canned goods we have purchased to the staff in case they would like to take it.

We do like to "tip" our housekeepers, too. I believe it is a fairly common gesture as a guest. They really do appreciate it, too.

If you have any special spices you love and don't think you can find them on Bonaire you might want to pack them, too. There are several stores for purchasing foods and things, but certain items we tend to bring with us (hot sauces, Mrs. Dash, etc.) I can't recall if there is any salt and pepper in the unit or not. Need your own sugar, too, if you use that.

Don't forget lots and lots of sunblock!!!! You will need to protect your entire body if it is not covered by a dive skin. You will be near the equator. Even your head (scalp) can get crispy burned!! Be very, very careful. Bring tons of it from home.

Have fun!! Carole

Look for the Tarpon at night that frightens new night snorkler's. Big shiny fish. He goes after the fish the lights are shined on. You can also see them south on the reef infront of Divi in the blue during the day. Great staff and Divi always has my vote being a Timeshare owner for 18yrs.
I think Carol's has things pretty well covered, except(no pun intended) A hat is a must, baseball caps are fine, to keep your head cool.
You will fall in love with this island too!

We forgot to mention that town ,an easy ride, a lovely walk but suggest a car for grocery shopping, has several modern supermarkets with everything inluding meats, milk and bread to portable bar-b-que's and the fish markert is an easy walk south down before Richards. And let's not forget the fruit and veg. market on the road to town on the water.

Thank you Carole and Lorraine for your wealth of information!

I don't know what the unit # is yet. We are a group of 38 from the Long Point Divers. It is snowing here in Southern Ontario and it is only a week until we set foot on the beautiful island of Bonaire! It has been a dream of mine to dive there since I was certified in '98! My husband just got his certification last year and has fallen in love with the sport as I have. Lake Erie has a lot of fish but next to no vis.
One more thing? When we purchase (lobster?) at the fish market, what currency is used? Or should I say, should we use?
thanks,
Helen
(who just got back from the tanning bed!)

Hi,Helen! Glad to be of help....are all of you staying at the Divi on the timeshare side?? Wow!! What a large group.......should be a lot of fun.

Most places on Bonaire accept US currency freely and easily. I have not been to the fish market, myself, but it most likely will not be a problem. I'm certain someone else can jump in here to confirm that or advise otherwise.

Some of the very, very small local operations might not "appreciate" US currency and would prefer local guilders and florins, but most of the places on the island are ready, willing and able to deal with US currency.

You are going to have a blast! Remember, tho, Bonaire is not a plush, lush green island as many others are...it is a desert terrain with cactus, rocks, iguanas, donkeys, goats and birds and absolutely wonderful Caribbean waters to surround this with!! It is a unique place, without a doubt.

Lots of sunblock....and a sunhat, too!! Ayo. Carole

PPS It has been spritzing (raining) of late, tho, so it will be greener than normal and might have more mosquitoes to chase you around at dusk, too. Be ready for them in the early evening hours. cb

Well, we're packed and almost ready to go. I've checked out as much info as I can and now can't wait to be arriving on Sunday.
I'll try to make it to the restaurant on Tuesday to meet you wonderful people who have helped me prepare for this trip!
I've got bottles of sunscreen and threw in a couple more after I read that not too many places sell it.
Couldn't find my mosquito coils from last summer, brought some insence instead. Now, I just hope we're not overweight for the plane, you'd think I'm gone for a month LOL!
I bought another card for my land digital camera, I'll have to learn how to post pictures after we get back home to Ontario. I probably won't have time to see everything I want to, but I have a feeling this won't be our last visit;-)

thanks again everyone!
Helen from Ontario

Have an absolutely fabulous time, Helen!!! Savor every moment of your trip. Can't wait to hear about it when you return! Safe trip, too. Carole

This is probably a silly question but, where is the Divi in relation to Buddy Dive? We have only stayed at Buddie's and will be at the Divi in October.

Lee, no such thing as a silly question Divi is on the other side of town (Kralendijk) from Buddy's. Buddy's is on the North side of (Kralendijk), and the Divi is on the South side of (Kralendijk)...hope that makes sense! Have a great time!

Now I remember. I think they are the one that has a casino. Looked like a nice place from the front. But then again, even the worst place in Bonaire....

Thanks

Lee, Divi is a great place to stay. A lot of folks that frequent the board stay there. The dive shop is great (just a giant stride off the dock like Buddy's), they have a great restaurant, Chibi's, small grocery store...you will have a great time!