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The resort opened its doors for the first time on August 19, 1980, and it’s a sure thing that a lot has happened and changed since then.
When talking to guests who stayed with us before they will most likely have a lot of stories from back in the day, which they can share with you.
Martien van der Valk, head of the Buddy Dive Family looks back: “When my wife Ingrid and I obtained Buddy Dive Resort & Watersports back in 2002, the resort only had 46 apartments, a small dive operation with 3 boats and 20 rental cars.”
Today the resort offers 73 apartments, more than 100 rental cars, and 2 restaurants. The dive operation has grown and is now a PADI 5-star Career Development Center with 6 dive boats, a large range of diving options, courses, kids programs and the largest technical diving facility in the Caribbean.
In 2012 we founded a foundation to protect and restore the coral reefs in Bonaire; Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire has become a well-established foundation with multiple participating dive shops on the island. To date; Reef Renewal Bonaire has planted over 22.000 corals back to our reefs.