Question Upcoming trip to Bonaire-have a few questions.

[donnad]

Hi everyone. So my understanding is that you shouldn’t leave anything in your rental truck while diving , so how do you handle the following....... they don’t want you to sit in the truck when you’re wet, but if you’re not bringing towels and you’re wanting to go ahead and drive to your next dive spot or go get a bite to eat and you’re wet do you bring a plastic trash bag to sit on and hopefully no one would steal those from the truck?? Do you take your little bottle of Defog down with you in your bc pocket? Guess you need to plan on driving without sunglasses cause those would get stolen? And leave your phone back at your room, so keep a map in the glovebox? And keep your dive boots on cause you can’t leave flip flops in the truck cause they would get stolen? And if you want a snack or beverage between dives you just go buy that somewhere ? Just trying to figure out how to plan. Thanks so much.

 

[tursiops]

I'm about to make my 38th trip to Bonaire over the last 23 years, encompassing 55 weeks of stays.
There has been nothing ever taken from my truck except for a sandwich by a bird in the Washington Park.
Sun hats, towels, flip flops, bottles of water are routinely left in the truck. Phones, no. Prescription sunglasses, no; take some cheap gaudy ones from the Dollar Store with you. If it is valuable, don't leave it in your car with the windows open and the doors unlocked.....just like you wouldn't in any city in the US. Look at the statistics: there are a LOT of cars parked at the shore sites; how many have things taken from them? Nobody is going to steal your dirty towel or your smelly flip-flops. Plan your dive, but don't overthink your planning.

 

[junkyard_dawg]

I usually bring a towel....they aren't usually interested in towels. I leave only items that I won't get upset losing. Usually a towel, bottled water and a small snack. I grab enough tanks to do 2 dive sites then return to the room. Eat and drink on the way to the next site and off-gas.

The trash bag is a good idea, doubt they would be taken. I've only had a pack of crackers stolen since I've been going but I don't leave anything behind. Not having sunglasses can be annoying but if you must have some I'd get whatever you can from a dollar store or maybe some cheap tinted safety glasses.

I leave phone in the room, map will be fine in the truck. They are looking for more expensive items. I don't lock the doors if it's sunny I leave the windows down as well just in case. We put the truck key in a BC pocket.

This pettiness is the only bad thing that I've ever experienced in Bonaire...it's a shame but the diving and rest of the trip usually outweighs the inconvenience of not having certain things in the truck.

 

[junkyard_dawg]

I'm about to make my 38th trip to Bonaire over the last 23 years, encompassing 55 weeks of stays.
There has been nothing ever taken from my truck except for a sandwich by a bird in the Washington Park.
Sun hats, towels, flip flops, bottles of water are routinely left in the truck. Phones, no. Prescription sunglasses, no; take some cheap gaudy ones from the Dollar Store with you. If it is valuable, don't leave it in your car with the windows open and the doors unlocked.....just like you wouldn't in any city in the US. Look at the statistics: there are a LOT of cars parked at the shore sites; how many have things taken from them? Nobody is going to steal your dirty towel or your smelly flip-flops. Plan your dive, but don't overthink your planning.

38th?! That's awesome. I'm going for my 8th time in Oct. but first in a few years.

 

[morecowbells]

When we purchased groceries at Van de Twill. We purchased a couple of their plastic reusable bags. When diving, we would place them on the car seat, and a trash bag on the back. I left my cheapie sunglasses and cheap flip flops in the bed of the truck. No issues with theft.

 

[Doctorfish]

My move is to put the floor mats on the seats after diving.

 

[NDL_Diver]

We bring X-large garden trash can bags, biggest you can find. Remove the seat headrest. Slide the bag over the seat back and then over the seat. Tuck in at the seat and backrest. Make two holes in bag for headrest abd insert.

This keeps the seat dry for going out to dinner. You will have a puddke of water in seat you can swat away. We push back the plastic from seat toward the seatback when not in use.

Cheap sunglasses for diving (just stash out of sight), good pair at condo. Used 2 liter bottles of water/pop in back bed filled with tap, heated by sun for fresh water wash after getting out of water and to wash sand off feet.

Flip flops, yes a $10 pair (had a pair stolen 10 years ago from truck) and good sandles at condo. Koolyman has a good selection on island if you need replacement.

Carry a cheap insulated jug (Bubba by walmart) for cold drinking water (the Yeti stays home in Kansas). If it gets stolen, no biggy.

Towels, don't usually need the. It is so dry your skin will be dry in no time. Your swimsuit is wet for awhile.

Truck keys go in DryFob. Mask dfog in back bed of truck(they don't want that).

Truck unlocked.

Only been hit once in 12 trips, they got my flipflops(did't have my jug that day). Drove to Koolyman for replacement.

 

[NDL_Diver]

Phone in room. Map?? Yes you can get a map, I guess I had one 26 years ago when we 1st went. It is generally not needed, real easy except by supermarkets, but after a few days even that area is easy.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Rephrase "you shouldn’t leave anything in your rental truck while diving" to "you shouldn’t leave anything in your rental truck while diving that would cause you hardship if it were stolen." Buy a cheap towel at the store. It probably will not be stolen, but if it is, you're out a few dollars and can buy another. Take only cheap flip-flops and sunglasses and old t-shirts you don't care about. You can take a cheap styrofoam cooler if you want a cold drink and a sandwich after diving. DO NOT leave your prescription eyeglasses, a cell phone, keys, etc., in your vehicle. In short, if it would cause you a hardship if it were stolen, do not take it.

There are many threads in the Bonaire forum suggesting ways to take valuables with you while diving, using a waterproof container, such as the DryFob for keys. You could take a cell phone that way if you had a big enough container (they are expensive), or you could do as many of us have managed to do for decades and simply leave the phone in your room (maybe in a safe) while you're out diving. You can leave your wallet in the safe in your room and just shove some bills in your BC pocket; soggy money is readily accepted at stores and lunch places. You can also find suggestions for lockbox sort of gadgets that you can secure to the truck.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Carry a cheap insulated jug (Bubba by walmart) for cold drinking water (the Yeti stays home in Kansas). If it gets stolen, no biggy.

We buy a jug of water on our first grocery shopping foray of our trip, and then keep it refilled with water and partially frozen before each dive day. Sure, at the end of our trip we have plastic to dispose of--and we try to minimize the amount of disposable plastic in our lives--but I can live with the guilt of one plastic jug for a week or more of drinking water.