This should sum up our experience succinctly: If Dive Friends reached out and offered us an all-expense-paid do-over trip with them serving as the diver operator, we STILL wouldn't go. It was really THAT bad. When we arrived at the Delphins Resort, we checked in and then went directly to the the dive shop to get our diving credentials. Once there, the gentleman at the dive shop informed us that only one of us was booked for the 4 boat dives we’d reserved, despite that we had paperwork showing reservation for the two of us -- PAID IN FULL, 5 months earlier. He then went on to say that all of the dive boats were fully booked for the entire week, so...too bad. We insisted that they figure something out to honor our reservations. The rep called around and was able to get the two of us on a dive boat for Saturday afternoon -- which was the ONE day we had a pre-planned, pre-paid, non-refundable excursion elsewhere. He then shrugged and said that was the best they could do. After standing in the dive shop for over two hours, Dive Friends was able to offer us 2 boat dives together, with the possibility of another — on the days they decreed, any plans we had be-darned — and one guided shore dive. The following morning, we arrived at the dive shop to retrieve the gear we’d also reserved 5... This should sum up our experience succinctly: If Dive Friends reached out and offered us an all-expense-paid do-over trip with them serving as the diver operator, we STILL wouldn't go.

It was really THAT bad.

When we arrived at the Delphins Resort, we checked in and then went directly to the the dive shop to get our diving credentials. Once there, the gentleman at the dive shop informed us that only one of us was booked for the 4 boat dives we’d reserved, despite that we had paperwork showing reservation for the two of us -- PAID IN FULL, 5 months earlier. He then went on to say that all of the dive boats were fully booked for the entire week, so...too bad.

We insisted that they figure something out to honor our reservations. The rep called around and was able to get the two of us on a dive boat for Saturday afternoon -- which was the ONE day we had a pre-planned, pre-paid, non-refundable excursion elsewhere. He then shrugged and said that was the best they could do.

After standing in the dive shop for over two hours, Dive Friends was able to offer us 2 boat dives together, with the possibility of another — on the days they decreed, any plans we had be-darned — and one guided shore dive.

The following morning, we arrived at the dive shop to retrieve the gear we’d also reserved 5 months prior (and confirmed and paid for the day prior at the dive shop). We were then told the rental gear was not there, but rather, it was at another Dive Friends location and the employee manning the Delphins location would not be able to go retrieve the gear until the other employee returned with the car. And so we sat there and waited for nearly 2 hours.

The rest of the week presented a continued comedy of errors:

* The “guided shore dive” was guided by an employee who worked in one of the Dive Friends offices and “rarely got out."
* EACH TIME we arrived at the boat dives, we were informed they did not have us scheduled to be on the boat at all, so we had to handle that ordeal.
* Prior to the trip, we’d been told that the boat dives departed from "the Dive Friends shop." What we hadn’t been told is that there were multiple dive shops and the departure shop was miles away.
* The boat dives were sloppily planned; despite having multiple boats, Dive Friends didn’t bother to gauge the skill levels of the divers in advance and blended all boats (as confirmed by divers we met who’d been on other charters) with divers of varied skill levels — from literal first-timers to advanced divers — all guided by a single dive master. I have been diving for 23 years, and here, I find myself on these boat dives, surfacing with ¾ of a tank of air because the “junior open water diver” — on her third dive ever — sucked down all of her oxygen, effectively cutting our guided dives in half — if not more. This happened on FOUR dives over two days.

Most folks only get one chance per year to take a vacation. Dive Friends ruined this for us in 2019. I hope you don't make the same mistake. More

  We used Dive Friends to facilitate our diving throughout our vacation in Bonaire. In addition to getting the unlimited shore diving package we did nitrox and night certifications. The staff was super helpful at every turn. Our instructor for the night dives was Sarah and she was a delight!

Having all the different locations throughout the island for tank drop off and pickup is very convenient. We dove using nitrox 60s vs. 80s which were not always stocked at every location but we had good luck getting them at Port Bonaire and Hamlet Oasis. We found negotiating some of the challenging entries and exits were more manageable with the smaller tanks.

When we return to Bonaire we will be diving with Dive Friends! More

  My son and I had a fantastic time at Delphins Beach and had some great dives there and at Yellow Sub. Special thanks to Monique, Maaike, Luke, Guus and Jason. Enjoy the drinks! Paul & Paul jr.

  Dive Friends Bonaire really lives by their motto "without blue there is no green". They generously donated tanks to support our research teams investigation on the importance of parrotfish on coral reefs. The general manager Bart also worked with me to launch a citizen science project so that guests can help monitor Bonaire's parrotfish populations- the crew have been incredibly supportive in this as well. I was frankly floored by how supportive the shop is to supporting our research and protecting Bonaire's reefs in general.

Thank you all for your dedication to reef conservation!! A particular thanks out to Caitlyn and Roos for helping organize a public talk, Steve for logistical support, and to Jason for helping out with monitoring! More

  We've been to Sand Dollar 8+ time and have dove with Andre's Bonaire Dive & Adventure and loved it. Since they closed, Dive Friends have taken over the dive operation at Bari Reef. They are fine, but not outstanding. Lot more regimented and concerned about liability, seems like. It's a large operation with multiple shops, so staff seems less personable. BDA would send a boat if you showed up at the dock on time, even if you were the only diver, Friends will only go with minimum of 4 divers. During our more recent stay with Friends, we noticed that the equipment on the dock is not as well maintained. We had one day where nearly all the tanks had bad o-rings. We've also had issues with the Nitrox checkout station. We miss Andre's personal connection. More