My wife and I are experienced divers with our own equipment. We've gone to most of the Sandals resorts because the diving is such a pleasure and the hotel facilities are excellant. Is there any place similar to that in Bonaire? If not are there any suggestions? The Plaza resort looks nice as does the Buddy Dive. Looking for easy access to the dive boat from the hotel with a dive boat properly equipped and knowledgeable dive masters along with a nice resort. Any help or suggestions would greatly be appreciated. Thank you

you can't go wrong with Divi, Plaza, Buddy, Captain Dons for easy access and good accomodations... Plaza is the biggest resort...I prefer Divi for ambiance...

Gary, our family just returned from Bonaire on Tuesday (sob!)
We stayed in a house but visited all the resorts, just to see what they were like; would be happy to share our initial impressions of all of them with you if you're interested, just e-mail me!
For what it's worth we liked EVERY dive operator we spoke to, ended up using Toucan as they were closest to our house and they were really great. Did our Advanced with them plus tank rental.
Bonaire is fantastic and all the people terrific, it's just a case of getting the accommodation to best suit your own preference. As I say, e-mail if you'd like more info.
Jill

The resorts you mentioned all have good accomodations and are staffed with knowledgeable dive guides. If money were no object, I would have a very hard time deciding where to stay. Alas, my budget determines my choice of accomodations. That said, I've stayed at the Plaza and enjoyed if very much and I've stayed in more modest digs and enjoyed myself just as much. For me, the more important thing is to have a set of wheels to get around. I like to spend at least one whole day diving at Capt. Don's. I pay the $5. to use their lockers, rinse tanks, showers and dive from their E-Z access docks. There is a small wreck there and the reef in both directions is phenominal. I like to visit Buddies to dive also. Plaza has a beautiful beach (most of the resorts kinda don't) They keep tanks there by the entry area for your convenience. We dive with Toucan at the Plaza wherever we stay. Simply personal preference. You will have a great experience wherever you go. margarite

HI Gary,

I've been to Bonaire 3 times now and can tell you the house dive at Capt Don's and Buddy is the best. Buddy has two really nice dive boats, they are Newtons that are set up perfectly.

However, if you are looking for amenities in your room Buddy is a litte on the lean side. I haven't stayed at Capt Don's but toured it and found it to be very nice. I've also toured Sand$ and the rooms there are really nice. Their house dive is about 100 meters south of Buddy and 200 meters south of Capt Don's. If you stay shallow and don't mind a good swim you can do all three in one dive.

Hope this helps.