Bart
General Manager
Bart was born in Amsterdam and raised in Brabant. After he moved to Zeeland, he discovered scuba diving. He first worked as a dive instructor in the Netherlands or five years, and in 2005 he decided to come to Bonaire. He has lived here ever since and just loves the ocean, the diving and the island.
Robert
Operations Manager
From the Netherlands, Robert’s first dives were in a swimming pool in the Netherlands and then here in Bonaire. His favorite part of the job is the variety and teaching courses from Open Water to specialities. Favorite part of Bonaire is the relaxed life and warm waters but he misses his daughter and BigMacs from back home.
Pascal
CDT/Retail Manager
Originally from Belgium, Pascal has lived and worked on Bonaire for over 20 years and has been in the diving industry for over 30 with over 5,000 hours underwater as a sports diver, dive instructor and commercial diver and taught hundreds of recreational divers.
Alex
Repair/Retail Supervisor
Alex grew up in the shadow of the Heineken (favorite beer) Brewery in the Netherlands where he worked for several years. He has worked in Menorca, L’Escala, Playa del Carmen, Xcalak, Saba and Tortola. He enjoys first time divers just as much as helping divers improve during technical training.
Judith
Administration
Judith came to work for Dive Friends Bonaire as an administrator and later as a bookkeeper in 1993. During the years, Judith has amassed lots of experience. She likes her job and also enjoys interacting with all the people around her. Judith lives on Bonaire with her husband and has two grown-up daughters.
Janneke
Reservations
PADI MSDT
Janneke grew up in the Netherlands and started travelling in 2009. After several years of teaching and travelling many countries, she decided to settle down and stay on Bonaire for a while. She started work with Dive friends in August 2018 and does reservations.
Annie
Yellow Submarine Manager
Course Director
Annie grew up in Southern California and became a Dive Instructor in Thailand in 2007 and is now a PADI Course Director training the next generation of PADI Instructors.
Caitlin
Photography Specialist
PADI MSDT
“Stop by the Photo center at our Gooddive location to say hello to Caitlin, our underwater photo pro since 2017! Caitlin is extremely passionate about all things underwater, from macro to wide angle she wants to help you see and capture it all. Caitlin has worked across the world in the diving industry for 11 years; teaching, guiding, taking photos, and leading conservation efforts. Caitlin leads or marketing department, events, and Underwater Cleanups. She wants everyone to get involved!”
Daniel
Delfins Beach Manager
PADI OWSI
Daniel is began diving in 2014 in Belize. Towards the end of 2014, Daniel moved to Australia to become a Divemaster. He worked in Malaysia and Thailand and became an instructor. Daniel remembers his open water instructor telling him Bonaire was his favorite dive spot in the Caribbean so he made the leap over from Asia to join us!
Jeffrey
Dive Inn Manager
PADI IDC Staff Instructor
IAHD Instructor
Jeffrey is from the Netherlands and learned to dive there when he was only 12. Before coming to Bonaire, he worked at his father’s dive school in the Netherlands. Jeffrey likes the tranquility of being under the water and Bonaire is perfect because it is so easy to dive and has great underwater life.
Helmer
Courtyard by Marriott Manager
PADI Instructor
Helmer was born in the north of the Netherlands and after 8 years working as a chef, he made the decision to become a diver. He started diving in 2013 on Sint-Maarten and became an instructor there in 2017. After living on Sint-Maarten for 4 years, he moved to Bonaire. He really loves to be in the water and he will be happy to show you the amazing underwater world of Bonaire.
Luke
CDT/Retail Manager
PADI Instructor & SSI Instructor
IAHD Instructor
Luke is originally from the UK and he has been diving since he was 12 years old. During his universities studies, he did marine research on the island of Martinique which confirmed his love for the underwater world. He decided to become a dive instructor so he could share his passion with others.
Martin
Port Bonaire Manager
PADI MSDT
From the Netherlands, Martin started diving in 1991 and first came to Bonaire to dive in 1995. After 20 years working in a bakery, it was time for a change and he came to Bonaire to work as an instructor. You can find Martin at the Port Bonaire location.
Peter
Sand Dollar Manager
PADI Instructor
Peter grew up in the north of the Netherlands. When he was 20, he learned to dive on vacation in Bonaire. He fell in love with Bonaire and the diving life style. Within a few years, he decided to change his life and make the big move to Bonaire, where he then became a diving instructor. Several years on, he still loves his life on Bonaire.
Steve
Hamlet Oasis Manager
PADI MSDT
Steve originates from the USA, he joined us from St Thomas. He started diving at the age of 10 in the Great Lakes. He decided to become an instructor in 2006 in Thailand. Get involved in his favourite course: Rescue. He’ll soon make it your favorite course too. Got a gear question talk to Steve, the self-proclaimed gear geek.
Alex
PADI Divemaster
Alex first fell for diving in England but truly got hooked in the warm waters of the tropics! She became a divemaster in Honduras in 2008 and then travelled around Southeast Asia as an instructor. After a month-long trip to Bonaire to do some underwater filming, she fell in love with the shore diving freedom and moved here six years ago. She’s happiest when she’s critter-hunting in the shallows and puzzling over marine life behaviour.
Alie
Divemaster
Alie was born and raised in the north of the Netherlands. After working at a bank in London she decided to quit real life and go travelling for a few years. She fell in love with diving during her travels and has worked as a divemaster in Malaysia and now in Bonaire.
Amy
PADI MSDT
Amy was born and raised in Kansas in the middle of the USA, miles away from the ocean. It wasn’t until doing the Peace Corps in Honduras in 2010 that she was peer-pressured into SCUBA diving and became totally captivated. Since becoming an instructor in 2013, she has worked in Honduras, Hawaii, Zanzibar, Polynesia, and other amazing dive destinations. She is passionate about dive education and underwater photography.
Aimee
PADI Instructor
Aimee grew up in the cold northeast corner of the USA and has been working her way south ever since.She took her first breath underwater in Roatan back in 2011. After chasing her passion for diving to the Florida Keys, she decided to pursue diving full-time on Bonaire. Her passion is finding the reef’s tiniest inhabitants.
Antonia
Dushi Style – Retail
Antonia was born and raised on Bonaire and has been working with Dive Friends Bonaire for over 13 years. She believes the most important thing is how you treat the customers. She enjoys speaking with customers and telling them everything about the products. She likes to treats everyone with love and respect and keep them returning year after year.
Bart
PADI Instructor
Bart grew up in the Netherlands and learned to dive in the military. After that he was working as a musician and bar owner until he picked up diving again in 2015. After the first dive he was hooked again and after a few visits to Bonaire he and his family decided to move to divers paradise.
Chris
PADI and SSI Staff Instructor
Chris grew up in Indiana, USA. He first became certified at the age of 14. He decided to become a professional fish pointer in 2011 in Thailand. Chris has pointed at fish in SE Asia for a few years. Now he is pointing at fish in Bonaire and loves it!
Daniel
Dive Friends Retail
Darcy
SSI Dive Guide
Darcy was born in Curacao and first learned to dive there at the Sea Aquarium in 1997. He has been diving ever since and working in the dive industry at various dive shops in Curacao. He moved his family to Bonaire and now has been working for Dive Friends for several years.
Eddy
PADI Instructor
Born in the south of the Netherlands. Started diving at the age of 20. Came to visit a friend on Bonaire and fell in love with it. Did his divemaster course with dive friends in 2017 took a break from his job as fireman and is back as instructor
Eric
PADI Instructor
Eric was born in Virginia, but grew up in Japan where he first learned to dive. Instead of going off to college at 18 he instead became an Instructor and has been travelling and teaching ever since.
Floor
PADI Instructor
Floor was born in the south of the Netherlands and got certified when she was 12 years old. She fell in love with the underwater world and the feeling of hovering underwater. She always dreamed of working at a dive school. When she finished her Bachelor’s in ocean chemistry, she decided it was time to take the jump! She left the cold weather and and is enjoying the Caribbean sunshine!
Guus
PADI Instructor
Guus is originally from the Netherlands. He learned to dive while travelling through Indonesia in 2014 and was immediately hooked. When he later decided to make it his job, he went to Honduras to do his training there. Here on Bonaire, he loves introducing new people to all the underwater world has to offer.
Henk
PADI Divemaster
Jessee
PADI Instructor
Jessee is from the east coast of Virginia, USA where he developed a life long love and respect for the ocean. He finally got certified in 2011 and since then diving has slowly taken over his life! After developing software for 20 years he traded in his keyboard for a mask and fins to pursue the dive life full time.
Jack
PADI MSDT
Jack was born in the south part of the Netherlands and started diving there over 15 years ago, very cold! Finished his Instructor Course in Thailand and became an MSDT. He stayed on to work on Koh Tao. He had a lifelong wish to come to Bonaire and is very happy to share his passion for the island, the diving and the underwater world with his students.
Jason
Divemaster
Jason is from Curacao but started diving here on Bonaire. He would go snorkeling and see all the fish but wanted to go deeper and get closer. Now he can get closer and find new fish on each dive. He likes helping and meeting divers from all over the world. You can find him filling tanks at our Sand Dollar location.
Jeannine
PADI Instructor
Joan
Front Desk
Joan was born on Bonaire and she has lived her whole life here. She has worked in a dive shop for the past 16 years and she still loves every day. She enjoys seeing how happy all the divers are when they come back from their dives. She loves to help people and she always greets the customers with a big smile. She likes to spend her free time with her friends and lovely family.
Jose
Jolanda
PADI MSDT
Jolanda grew up in the coastal Dutch city of The Hague and has loved being around the ocean from a very young age. At age 20 she did her first try dive and since then, she has been diving ever since all over the world. After 3 years working in Asia as a dive instructor, she has come to Bonaire to enjoy the famous clear waters and fantastic diving. Diving is not a job, it’s a lifestyle!
Justin
PADI Instructor
Originally from Philadelphia. In 2016 Justin took a break from his investment management job to travel through South East Asia. He ended up getting addicted to diving and quitting his job for good to become a diving instructor. After a few years of teaching in Asia, he made the move to Bonaire where he’s enjoying the crystal clear water and amazing shore diving!
Kimberly
PADI Instructor
Kirsten
PADI Instructor
Kirsten is a South African American raised in the Caribbean on a sailboat. She discovered the world of diving in the deserts of New Mexico. Her diving adventures took her to Mexico, Fiji, and professionally in Honduras. Kirsten has recently returned to her life on a sailboat and moved to Bonaire for the famous diving and to share her love of the ocean with others.
Lliane
Reef Store – Retail
Lliane is from Bonaire and likes making home made ice cream, gardening, reading, and dancing. She loves to talk with customers and meeting and speaking with people from many different cultures all over the world. She speaks Dutch, English, and Papiamentu and enjoys making use of her many languages in serving these customers.
Maaike
Front Desk
PADI DMT
Maaike is originally from Groningen, the north of The Netherlands. She just started diving and is now busy doing her Dive Master Course with us. She used to sail on tallships but in June 2018 made the step to live on Bonaire! She loves the sea and everything in it!
Martijn
PADI MSDT
Martijn is coming from the north of the Netherlands, and that’s where he started diving as well. He just loves being underwater and after diving for himself for year,s he gave up his office job to trade it for a life close to the sea where he is sharing his passion by teaching others to dive!
Monique
PADI Instructor
Monique was born and raised in the Netherlands and has always been a water addict. Swimming and snorkeling in every pool, pond, lake and sea as a child. She discovered scuba diving on holiday when she was 18 and after many discover scuba dives around the world, she became a certified diver. Because she couldn’t keep apart any of her instructors in all black gear, she decided to add some color and is now also known as Pinkie the PADI instructor.
Nienke
PADI instructor
Nienke learned to dive many years ago in Australia and after several dive trips she really fell in love with the underwater world. After deciding to turn her life around, she quit her job in media/advertising. She moved to Turkey to work there and did her divemaster internship in winter on Bonaire. After becoming an instructor in Indonesia she came back to Bonaire to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the underworld world with her students.
Patrick
PADI Divemaster
Patrick was born in the Netherlands and went to a private school for Maritime shipping. He has worked in different companies in the overseas shipping industry as well as in the Dutch Navy. His first dive was in the Dominican Republic when he was twelve years old. In the beginning of 2018 he moved to Bonaire to become a divemaster, and as one of our boat captains, most of the time you will find Patrick on one of our boats!
Samuel
Dive Friends – Retail
Samuel is from Belgium and grew up with love for the sea, surfing, sailing and scuba diving at a young age. He settled down on Bonaire in 2011 and enjoys his life on the island, where everything revolves around watersports and he can still get Belgian beers! He uses his expertise to help customers choose the right dive gear in the Dive Friends Retail Store. He loves getting to know people, is a real gearhead and is passionate about nature conservation.
Sarah
PADI Instructor
Sarah grew up in Portugal. She did her Open Water Course in 2016 before a trip to the Maldives, where she fell in love with diving, and decided to become an Instructor. Sarah was very happy to leave behind the cold waters of the Atlantic to come to Bonaire. You always know where Sarah is, as you hear her before you see her!
Sijbrand
PADI Divemaster
Vanessa
PADI Instructor