tips for Bonaire newbies traveling with Bonaire veterans?

[djtimmy77]

picky picky!

so these "new divers" know the ins and outs of dive travel? sure they do.

 

[wwguy]

Here's my list. (Some are repeats or variations of previous submissions.)

1. Hard-soled booties and full-foot fins are a must for shore diving entries.
2. Use a dive compass (or dive with a buddy who does) for navigating from shore to reef drop-off and back. There's lots of neat stuff to see on the way out and back. Consider refreshing your navigation skills if you're one of those recreational divers that haven't looked at a dive compass since your OW class.
3. Apply 25% DEET insect repellent for enjoying morning coffee or evening cocktails on the veranda. Mosquitoes aren't always out, but when they are they're fierce.
4. Bring cheap sunglasses to leave in the truck. (You can buy them at the front counter at Van Den Tweels Supermarket for $6 or so.)
5. Sunscreen (should be a no-brainer for any dive trip, but you won't find much shade during shore dive surface intervals on Bonaire.)
6. Bring a replacement o-ring kit that fit's in your BC pocket. These kits are small, lightweight, and cheap. It's a lot of work to carry spare tanks just in case of leaking o-rings.
7. Buy a bottle of water, drink it, and then refill it as often as necessary and carry it with you in the truck. (Personally we prefer old Nalgene bottles for this because they're durable, reusable, and ugly.)
8. Fill up empty 2 liter soda or juice bottles before you leave the dive shop and leave them in the back of your truck to warm up. Then use them post-dive to rinse yourself and/or your camera etc. This makes the surface intervals more enjoyable too.
9. Bring, and wear, cheap shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops that you can leave in the truck. Also, cheap worn items are less likely to be pilfered than cheap new items.
10. I like to bring an old towel to leave in the truck too. It's great for a quick dry after rinsing saltwater with my 2 liter bottle and it's a soft place to lay my camera between dives.
11. I leave my clothes scattered around the truck, rather than in neat piles or bags. This makes it tougher for grab-and-go theft and also makes my items look less desirable. We also go out of our way to leave some trash items like potato chip cans and empty bottles and cans rolling around on the floorboards as they accumulate during the trip. It provides some distraction for those looking in and trying to decide what to grab.
12. Learn to transport your scuba rig without expensive bags and accessories you won't use. Anything left in the truck is a potential target for theft. I continue to be amazed at the variety of expensive items people have reported stolen from rental vehicles. If you don't leave it in the truck in the first place it won't be stolen (from the truck anyway.)
13. A small bottle of liquid laundry detergent can wash a lot of clothes. Hand washing in the sink in your room is easy, and the trade winds dry things quickly. 4 to 6 oz of Woolite in a travel bottle is plenty for us for a 3 week trip.
14. If doing a lot of shore diving you'll be doing a lot of driving around the island. At least one person in your group should have a tire inflator that attaches to a LPI hose. It's a long walk back to town from most shore dive sites.
15. Personally I don't carry snorkel or SMB when diving most Bonaire shore dive sites. We never use them and the drag is a drag on our bottom time. We submerge as soon as water is deep enough to get under and navigate to the drop-off and back. If significant current is present we just go find another great dive site. I realize this is a matter of personal preference and that both are considered safety items. For us it's a calculated risk based on previous experience and self-assessment of our dive skills. I know a few other folks that carry compact snorkels folded in their BC pockets.
16. Bonaire's reefs are teaming with amazing variety of species and abundant macro life. However slow you think you dive now, you will probably see even more if you dive slower.

Just my two cents... uhhh... better make that 16 cents.

 

[Lorenzoid]

picky picky!

so these "new divers" know the ins and outs of dive travel? sure they do.

They're not "new divers"--they are new to Bonaire diving and new additions to our (more or less) annual Bonaire group trip. They've been to tropical dive destinations before, though perhaps not in the last few years. I dunno--I'd like to make sure they are ready for Bonaire without sounding paternalistic. These are the kind of people who probably travel with bug spray and sunblock everywhere they go. The question is what might I be overlooking that's specific to the way we do Bonaire? Hmm.

Sorry to sound "picky," Jimmy--maybe it's the pre-trip jitters and knowing that we have an eclectic group this year. I'm hoping to tease out some nuggets of advice for these two or at least satisfy myself that I haven't neglected to mention something to them that they really would have wanted to know in advance. Once we're there, well, we can show them how to do a shore entry and that sort of thing if they need help. Advice like "hard soled boots" is invaluable. On one trip, Insel lost my wife's luggage, and for the day and half until they found it, the dive op lent my wife some gear (no charge!), but they only had closed-heel fins and light-soled boots. My wife still has scars from where she fell, trying to walk in those flimsy rental boots. Our theory is that by not having good rental fins and boots, they want to encourage customers to buy some from them instead of renting. "Bring hard-soled boots" would be my number one tip for first-timers to Bonaire, as the ironshore and rubble are unforgiving.

 

[djtimmy77]

From your original post:

So, for example, this year we have a couple of people in our group who have never been to Bonaire and aren't very experienced divers period.

My advice, chill out, Bonaire is really an easy travel destination.

 

[wwguy]

Not sure it's relevant, but this is the first time any of us has stayed at Hamlet Oasis. We usually stay at the Belmar or a private house. So we'll be using the on-site branch of Dive Friends Bonaire. I don't think any of us has dived the house reef, "The Cliff," before. (And yes, I have a copy of Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy.)

This is a great location and my favorite "house reef" on the island after many trips staying north and south the years. We stay at Beachcomber Villas, which sits at the seaside in front of the Hamlet Oasis office and pool.

The Dive Friends' Hamlet shop sits at the north end of The Cliff dive site and the Hamlet property complex, with the mooring buoy and cliff wall located a hundred yards or so to the south. Entry and navigation from DFB shop is easy day or night, as the island's communication cable from Curacao comes up from the depths right at the dive shop. It's an underwater marker that you can't miss at any depth on your return from the dive. There's a similar rope marker to the south near the La Machacha wreck at Captain Don's Habitat. This rope, or the nearby small wreck, make a great turnaround point midway through your dive.

While diving Small Wall over the years I've seen several frogfish, 6 or so seahorses, numerous turtles, octopus, eels, stingrays, tarpon, and even dolphins. The only thing I don't like about this reef is the increase in boat dive traffic due to popularity. If a boat is tied on the mooring buoy I usually wait (a luxury of local accommodations) or go dive elsewhere.

Staying at Hamlet Oasis you'll also be within easy walking distance of Zhung Kong for groceries and beverages, and Captain Don's for pizza or seaside dining. Buddy Dive's pool bar and restaurant are also within reasonable walking distance.

Enjoy your trip. 51 days and counting until we return for another 3 weeks of Bonaire fun!

 

[gypsyjim]

It is really difficult to know from our perspective exactly what info you experienced Bonaire visitors have passed on, so pardon us if we repeat something. All I have seen have been good useful tips so far, even if you already knew them, and who knows who else may come across this thread while they are researching their own upcoming first Bonaire trip.

 

[morecowbells]

It is really difficult to know from our perspective exactly what info you experienced Bonaire visitors have passed on, so pardon us if we repeat something. All I have seen have been good useful tips so far, even if you already knew them, and who knows who else may come across this thread while they are researching their own upcoming first Bonaire trip.

Well said! I have gained a lot of valuable information reading some of the responses. People are taking the time to offer help and suggestions. It may not be the exact information you are seeking, but it not costing you anything. There have been lengthy replies which I am sure took far more thought and time than mine did. When people are taking the time to (what they may think is helpful) reply, it would sure help of you showed some gratitude instead of complaining that they are missing the target.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It is really difficult to know from our perspective exactly what info you experienced Bonaire visitors have passed on, so pardon us if we repeat something. All I have seen have been good useful tips so far, even if you already knew them, and who knows who else may come across this thread while they are researching their own upcoming first Bonaire trip.

Again--sorry for trying so hard to steer the thread. It's just that there are dozens of threads where first-timers ask for Bonaire tips, and I figured if I simply left the question open-ended like that, people would say "do a search--there are dozens of previous threads." So I tried to be more focused with my question.

 

[gypsyjim]

I for one never tell another SB member to use the SB search function because, honestly, that function is damned near useless, in my opinion.

It is easier to use Google to search for SB posts, than it is SB's own. Inquire about a word or phrase through the SB search and you might for example see that somewhere in 10,000 posts, in a hundred plus pages of a thread you might find those words, if you look long and hard enough. No direct link to that word is provided, or was not the last time I tried a search.

I have no problem with folks starting a new thread to seek input or ask advice. If no one is interested in your new thread it will quietly fade away (this happens every day or so I am sure), or maybe like this one you may get quite a few helpful responses. I for one am glad to see members trying to provide useful answers, even if some of the information is repeated, or fairly well known already.

 

[tursiops]

Again--sorry for trying so hard to steer the thread. It's just that there are dozens of threads where first-timers ask for Bonaire tips, and I figured if I simply left the question open-ended like that, people would say "do a search--there are dozens of previous threads." So I tried to be more focused with my question.

You can certainly focus your question, but you can't control the responses, so lighten up! You want to know what first-timers on Bonaire need to know, that your many-timers have not already passed on. Get serious! How the hell do we know what you know and have passed on? So you are getting some good info....use what you need, and thank everybody for their input.

You seem pleased people mentioned hard-soled booties. That implies you did not know that would be useful info....so what else did you miss that is obvious?