Frequently Asked Questions

 

About Den Laman Location On Property Bath Amenities Living Room Amenities Kitchen Amenities Electricity Diving & Activities Marine Park Orientation When the diving begins Boat Departures Gear Storage Nitrox On Wearing Wet Suits Non-diver use of Marine Park Eco-Activities	Located off the Rotary just north of town!	General Interest Bon - WHERE? (location) Island Environment Getting Here Entry/Exit Requirements Traveling with Children Transportation & Transfers Driving on Bonaire Time Zone Currency Language Grocery Shopping Beaches Emergencies
ABOUT DEN LAMAN Den Laman's location: The property is less than 8 km/5M north of the airport and about 3 km/2M north of the capital town of Kralendijk.  Walking to town is enjoyable along the paved waterfront walk that begins just south of us, and takes less than 15 minutes. On Property: Den Laman was just completed in 2005, so everything about the property is still quite new!  In addition to the 16 apartments (4 studios. 5 one-bedrooms, 2 ocean view two bedrooms and 4 ocean front 2 bedrooms and 1 Deluxe 2-bedroom) there is the Sunset Bar & Grill and Bonaire Dive & Adventure Dive shop and dock, and Fish-Eye Photo all on property. Bath Amenities:  We’ll provide you with shampoo, but if you use a hair dryer please bring one with you. Towels and Linens are provided with the exception of wash cloths/face cloths which are not customarily used by Europeans. Room Amenities: Your apartment has a safety deposit box, and LCD TV with Surround Sound System (plays music CD and DVD’s.) There are direct dial phones in all of the apartments and pre-paid phone can be purchased at the front desk.  Calls to the US average only .40 cents a minute and X to most of Europe. Wireless Internet access is also available for a nominal fee. Kitchen Amenities: Your kitchen is fully equipped with a full size refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, stove, coffeemaker, toaster and complete cooking supplies and utensils. You also have a dining table with seating for four in the studios and one bedrooms and seating for 6 in the two bedrooms. Electricity: Voltage is 127 volts, 50 cycles, slightly different from the US. Most U.S. appliances will work, however they may run a bit hotter.
Diving & Activities

Bonaire Marine Park Orientation: Dive Registration, Orientation & Marine Park Fee: Bonaire Dive & Adventure, which is located on property, opens at 8:30 am. Divers must register at the dive center, and bring their (1) dive certification card, (2) diving vouchers, (3) credit card for a security deposit, and (4) US$25 cash for the required purchase of a Bonaire Marine Park Tag. The Bonaire Marine Park requires all visiting divers to participate in a short orientation session on their first morning of diving. At Bonaire Dive & Adventure, this orientation is held at 9:30 a.m. After the orientation, divers must do a self-guided familiarization dive on Bari Reef in front of the Resort before leaving for off property shore diving or boat diving. The purpose of the dive is to recheck buoyancy and to check your dive equipment while still within safe distance of the dive staff and facilities.

Boat departures: The boats leave our dock at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. for one tank boat dives.  All divers need to be ready and on the dock at least 10 minutes prior to departure please! 

Gear Storage & gear considerations: Gear storage is available free of charge in dive shop. Booties and open heel fins are necessary for off property shore diving along the iron coast. Full foot fins are adequate for boat diving & diving on property.

Nitrox: Bonaire Dive & Adventure offers Den Laman guests FREE Nitrox upgrades with any prepaid dive package, provided of course you are a certified Nitrox Diver.  Nitrox tanks are available on our dock, and also at the drive up air/Nitrox fill station, which is located adjacent to our parking lot. Bonaire Dive & Adventure also offers Nitrox course if you are interested in becoming a Certified Enrich Air Diver.

On Wearing Wet Suits: Whether you choose or need to wear a wet suit is a personal decision that needs to be based on your You can expect the water to reach the high 70's in the winter and the mid to low 80's in the summer.  Most people will find that they are comfortable in a 3mm full to 2mm shortie, depending own your own "internal thermometer."  Others might be perfectly happy in skins!  Bonaire Dive & Adventure rents 2 mm shorties as well as full 3mm wet suits.

Island Environment: Bonaire is a small (111 square mile) island, only 3 to 7 miles wide and approximately 24 miles long.  With the exception of Mount Branderis and the north western areas near Washington Slagbaai National Park, the island is primarily flat.  It is also quite arid, averaging only slightly more than 20 inches of rainfall annually, most of which falls autumn through  January.  Easterly trade winds wash over the island year round, helping to dissipate the heat, with average land/air temperatures ranging in the low 80's Fahrenheit.

Getting Here: There are several different options for getting to Den Laman on international carriers that offer one-stop service via San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aruba and Curaçao. Non-stop service is also available once weekly on Continental Airlines from Houston, Texas and Newark New Jersey and from Atlanta on Delta. Non-stop flights are also offered from Amsterdam, Netherlands, as well as from Ecuador and Peru on KLM. Ferry service is not available between Bonaire and Aruba, Curacao or Venezuela. 

Entry/Exit Requirements: All visitors to Bonaire are required to have a valid passport. No Visas are required for U.S. and Canadian citizens. It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure his or her own visa requirements, and no refunds will be awarded for customers denied access for lack of proper Visa.  There is a departure tax of U.S. $33.40 per person that must be paid in cash at the airport upon departure.

Traveling with Children: Children 12 and under are exempt from paying government room tax. Please be sure you have notified us if you will be traveling with an infant and need a crib reserved for a one time $20 fee.

Transportation and transfers: If you have reserved a rental vehicle with your package, the majority of the rental agencies are located a short distance from the airport terminal, with shuttle service provided. You will need to present them with your Rental Car voucher upon arrival. The Optional $10.50 per day vehicle insurance is highly recommended as most credit card insurance coverage does not cover truck rentals. Charges may be accessed for additional drivers. There is no requirement to purchase a local license. Taxi rides will run approximately $11 from the Airport to the Hotel.

Driving on Bonaire:  We encourage all visitors to Bonaire to rent a truck to explore the island, and for that reason have included one, at very competitive rates, in all of our packages.  They are great for touring, getting you to your shore dive sites and taking you around town to sample the local cuisine.  You do not need to obtain a local drivers license or permit to be able to drive on Bonaire, though you do need to be 23 to rent a vehicle. 

Time Zone: Bonaire operates on Atlantic Standard Time, but not daylight savings (no summer time change).

Currency: The Netherlands Antilles Guilder (NAFL) is fixed at the exchange rate of 1.77 to the dollar for cash and 1.78 for traveler’s cheques. Most stores and business however exchange it at 1.75. You can spend dollars everywhere, but you will likely receive your cash in guilders. Traveler’s checks and credit cards are widely accepted but be sure to have your passport or photo ID available. There is a bank with a 24-hour ATM within walking distance which can dispense guilders or dollars.

Grocery shopping: There is a small convenience store within walking distance, excellent wine and liquor store across the street, and larger grocery stores are within a 5-minute drive.  Ask our staff at the front desk for recommendations on where to shop, as the stores most easily found are not always the ones with the best selection for foreign visitors.  But our local staff stands ready to point you in the right direction!

Beaches: Because Bonaire has a fringing reef and iron shore, there are few natural beaches on the island.  Although we do not have a beach per se, you can enter the water for swimming or snorkeling via the ladder on the dive dock, where you enter into no more  than 3 feet of water. There is also a man made beach adjacent to the resort that is accessible from Den Laman, and two lovely combination coral/sand beaches (Pink Beach and Windsock Beach) heading south, as well as a lovely smooth sand area great for small children out at the protected lagoon of Lac Bay

Emergencies: Bonaire has a hospital no more than 10 minutes away from the Resort and an adjacent hyperbaric recompression chamber that is run by highly trained staff, admittance via the emergency room at the hospital.

Reservations: 1-800-382-1094

Email: Denlaman@diveres.com

Den Laman Condominiums
Kaya Gobernador N. Debrot 77 Bonaire, Netherlands, Antilles

On Bonaire: 599-717-1700

Email: info@denlaman.com

Copyright (c) Den Laman Condominiums. All Rights reserved. Images courtesy of Fish Eye Photo