We stayed at the Sand Dollar because the diving is so easy. Well it's not. Only two entry points that are rocky. We had to cart our cylinders to the shore for diving. The near by restaurant will not let you charge meals to your room, and they do not server breakfast. We do not recommend Sand Dollar as a place to stay for diving.

We stayed at Sand Dollar in late February and had a wonderful time. We just spoke to a family of five that stayed last week and also had a great time with plans to return. The shore entry is real easy. It's a about 100 feet from the dive shop to the entry point and they give you a cart to put your tanks on. It's still the easiest diving the world! Yes, the restaurant still is not serving breakfast but each unit at Sand Dollar has a complete kitchen and there is a grocery store on site. Sand Dollar is still the best place to go in Bonaire!!!

WE STAYED AT SAND DOLLAR IN FEBRUARY AND HAD A GREAT TIME. THE STAFF IS VERY FRIENDLY AND HELPFULL. BECAUSE OF THE WAVE DAMAGE SHORE ENTRY WAS NOT AS EASY AS IT WAS BEFORE AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE GEAR STORAGE WHILE WE WERE THERE, BUT THEY HAVE COME UP WITH LOCKERS SINCE THEN. THEY WERE BUILDING THEM WHILE WE WERE THERE. THE BOAT DIVING WAS GREAT. WE HAD A GREAT SITING OF AN OCTOPUS AND TOOK SEVERAL PICTURES OF IT. SITED DOLPHINS FROM THE BOAT.

YES WE WERE SPOILED BY PREVIOUS VACATIONS TO BONAIRE AT THE SAND DOLLAR, BUT THE DIVING IS STILL GREAT. I KNOW THEY PLAN TO GET A DOCK FOR SHORE DIVING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE PLAN TO RETURN NEXT YEAR AND STAY AT SAND DOLLAR.

JEAN WOOD

I stayed elsewhere but did many shore dives and boat dives at the Sand Dollar and had no complaints. The staff was great. Bari reef was one of the best shore dves I did in terms of most species of fish. I also highly recommend doing guided dives or snorkels with Jerry Ligon, the Sand Dollars resident naturalist. See my full trip report for more details.

We stayed at the Sand Dollar at the end of March and, when compared to our several stays there some years ago, we were disappointed to the extent that we won't stay there again until things substantially improve. And . . . we were big fans of Sand Dollar before.

Apparently we aren't the only ones who feel this way as it was virtually empty during our stay. While Captain Dons and other resorts are making some real progress restoring their facilities, Sand Dollar owners and management are, so we were told, involved in a dispute with the result that repairs are slow to occur.

The grounds are more barren then they previously were and not particularly well cared for; the ruins of Green Parrot and the dive shop remain. Bari is still good from 40 feet down (lots of squid, eels and very large parrot fish) but is barren from 30 feet or so up; the dive shop facilities are cramped and the equipment rinses are large pails. The dive staff try to do their jobs well they seem somewhat disenchanted with management and, compared to the other dive shops, have lower morale. The five minute dive to the reef is not any real inconvenience and the diving remains excellent where not effected by the storm. I miss courtesies of the past such as fruits or ades on the boat and the absence of two boat morning dives.

The restaurant is not open for breakfast and has a very limited menu when compared to the Green Parrot. The owners and staff are friendly but during our stay the restaurant was relatively empty during meal hours. Overall, it appeared to us that Sand Dollar has lost much of its positive feel.

The shore diving remains excellent and continues to be the best mode of diving on Bonaire.

We also were at Sanddollar in March. I must admit I went with a heavy heart dreading to see the results of Lenny. I came home with spirits lifted because not only did we have a wonderful time ourselves, but friends who were with us who were first time Bonairians were totally enchanted by the amount of sea life they were able to view right off the shore.
I'm a non diver, so I spent lots of time on shore and enjoyed watching families with small children taking advantage of the Sandpenny activities. I particularily loved seeing the children snorkeling in the scuba vests and learning to breathe through a regulator. They thought they were the biggest deals in the ocean.
I did not find the resort empty, but rather saw many groups of divers and non divers totally enjoying their experiences.
The facilities at Sanddollar continue to provide spacious rooms, great views, and wonderful access to both diving and snokeling.
The restaurant Den Laman is greatly, greatly, greatly, improved since the new management took it over. The new tables by the water, give it the ambience that we were used to at the Parrot.
(ok so its not the reincarnation of the Green Parrot yet, but its making an impressive move in that direction). On a Sunday night when many down town restaurants are closed we found Den Laman filled to point where you really needed a reservation if you wanted a good table.
I seem to have been in the same place at the same time as "anonymous" ....maybe...or maybe not.....
Anne F

I was at the Sand Dollar 4/19-4/26 with our family of 6. It was our first visit and we loved it. Our 3 BR room was one of the nicest rooms we ever had anywhere else. This was our first time shore diving and while there is more work involved compared to rolling off of a boat we are now hooked. We went to Capt Dons for breakfast, an easy walk. Buddys has it also and is closer. I can see how convienent Green Parrot must have been but these are not bad alternatives. When at Capt Dons on 4/25, the Barge arrived to work on the docks. Den Lehman was quite crowded both times we went and reservations were a must.

The dive operation is cramped but worked out well for us, the boats were uncrowded. Sites were nice, I did not have a bad dive. Jerry Ligon is great, dive or snorkle with him if you can. Capt Don has big fancy boats but they are full of divers (10-20) to my eye. That is a lot of folks to dive with. My daughter did her check out dives with Anne and loved her, I would rec her as an instructor to any one.

In short I will be returning to Sand Dollar soon!