General Questions for first timer to Bonaire

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For mosquitos, sand flies and no-see-ums, the best stuff I have found is online called Buggspray(dot com). I use this stuff in Utila and other places where the bitting bugs are mean. They have two flavors, one is vanilla scented so it doesn't have that DEET smell. I buy a box and they split the order between the vanilla original and the "military" grade.
 
Get Nitrox certified if you are not and have nitrox included in your package. Nitrox will reduce your required SIs significantly, allowing you to go from one site to the next with little downtime. The MOD limitations of a 32% mix are not much of an issue on Bonaire. Plus, I always feel better after doing four or five dives per day if I use Nitrox.

Try to get guaranteed early check in on your arrival day if you are on one of the redeye flights. Our standard arrival is around 5:00 AM. We pick up the truck, check in to our room for a short nap, breakfast at 08:00 and a mandatory dive brief at 09:00. We are ready to dive with little lost time. Making the earliest possible dive brief is very important. You cannot dive without it.

We like to visit the Donkey Sanctuary on our last day. Donkey Sanctuary Bonaire
 
Susan Porter's "Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy" (BSDME) is a very handy book to have on your first trip. Since last fall there is also a new book (available at Dive Friends Bonaire) called "Dive Guide Bonaire". It is available in English and in Dutch. Excellent book, lots of great information, simple maps of the dive sites and it includes the Klein Bonaire dive sites as well. I heartily recommend it.
 
I found Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy to be worthless, to be quite honest. All the info in it is available in various on-line sites. Never understood why people rave over it.

Big, big ditto, and I'm one of the idiots who was told the same thing and still had to buy a copy just to find out for myself. Unless it's been updated in the last couple of years and completely a different book it's not worth it. The internet is full of information and once you get there, that free map they give you is more valuable than that book by far.

Hard soled booties and don't leave anything of value in the rental truck. Dive as far south as conditions permit, you will be highly rewarded. Dive the salt pier.
 
Rose Inn in Rincon is an excellent lunch stop (local food) after Karpata...there is also a great place for a Milkshake there too (cant recall the name but there is a picture of a stoplight on the sign)
Not much nightlife but Little Havana is fun but is usually later in the eve.
If you are adventurous there are some great sites north of Karpata up and around the oil storage facility..Candyland and Taylormade-worth it IMHO
The Hangout Bar next to the WS place in Cai is a good place to relax..great food too.
Do the Hilma Hooker early before the dive boats get there.

I second the nitrox!
I also second the as far as you can go south sites like White Slave. Lots of schooling fish!
 
With respect to the electronics, you will find that most modern electronics actually say something like "100-240V 50-60hz" (that was taken directly from my mac book pro adapter). If that's the case you are absolutely fine, no worries about "running hot" or anything like that. Anything else you're rolling the dice.

I think once you start looking at your stuff you'll be surprised just how many power adapters are this way. I can't think of any electronics at all which I own that are limited in this respect.
 
Rose Inn in Rincon is an excellent lunch stop (local food) after Karpata...there is also a great place for a Milkshake there too (cant recall the name but there is a picture of a stoplight on the sign)
I second the nitrox!
I also second the as far as you can go south sites like White Slave. Lots of schooling fish!

Le Ma Se is the place in Rincon with great milkshakes. Norman will talk your ear off, but he is an interesting character. Yes on the Nitrox. Dive the south EARLY before the winds come up. Keep water bottles in truck, freeze 1/2 full bottle overnight, fill before heading out - ice water! You dehydrate very quickly but won't realize it as sweat evaporates in the wind conditions. Keep a bottle of bugspray in truck. Bring a powerstrip/surge protector for the electronics, outlets can be limited and this allows charging 2 camera batteries, computer, cell, iPad at once plus the surge protector will (hopefully) prevent damage due to spikes, power glitches. Don't overpack clothes. I passsed on the books, much info is available on island or online. Google search and print off the cruise ship schedule for the week you will be there and avoid town on days ships are in. The 'town' is all of 4 blocks and 5,000 souls off a cruise ship quickly jam it up. OR maybe you want to drive through town on those days for amusement. Check the lunar calendar - nothing beats a full moon night dive with no lights or a no-moon night, a drive down to the lighthouse to check out the night sky. Have fun.
 
Yes- La Ma Se! A rum raisin milkshake is the best and Norman is a trip..great guy!
I love Rincon..everyone waves at you!:D
 
A common approach to shore diving is to enter, see which way the current flows & swim into it going out, then come back. But at west coast sites often current is negligible; you can dive 1 tank going one way, get out, change tanks, re-enter & go the other way, getting 2 dives at a site.

With so many sites to choose from, I'll give you a quick listing of some I'd recommend, popular dives I consider 'signature dives' (just my view). If you research sites online instead of getting a book, this might help you focus. Roughly from north to south:

1.) Karpata - lusher reef than some sites. You walk in beside a big concrete block.

2.) Ol'Blue (Tolo) - nice overall site with pretty easy entry. It & Karpata are past the 'road becomes one way' point & commit you to a long drive home, so do them together.

3.) 1,000 Steps - Sooner or later you'll want to do it. Nice site. The steps are a nice land photo op.

4.) Oil Slick Leap - I've had some really good dives here & seen neat things. It's not just good for the big giant stride entry thrill.

5 & 6.) Andrea I & II - pretty easy entries, good all around dive sites.

7.) The Cliff - not easy to figure out from the road where it is/how to get to it, but it's a small vertical wall that's fairly shallow and fun to dive.

8.) Buddy Dive's House Reef - I tend to head north, toward Captain Don's.

9.) Windsock - easy entry, plus there's a huge wooden pier that makes it easy to see where to come out when you're night diving. Good all around site. One night mosquitoes ate me alive onshore, but not every time.

10.) Invisibles - nice reef but a long swim out. Wife is sea sickness prone & tends to get sick on that swim out. Something to think about.

11.) Salt Pier - if you get past people debating whether it's open or not & whether diving it's allowed, diving along the pilings is neat.

12.) Hilma Hooker - neat dive with a double reef (a sandy 'canyon' between them) with a big wreck sitting on the sand. Swim to the far side to see tarpon. Looping around the ship I tend to hit 70 - 90 feet, so it's a deep dive & watch your air consumption. Entry & exit are marked but not the easiest.

13.) Angel City - good overall dive.

14.) Sweet Dreams - lushest reef I've seen there except maybe for Karpata.

Be mindful that far southern sites like Red Slave can have substantial current at times. Sweet Dreams didn't when I dove there, but it's near Red Slave, so be careful if you try it.

Other people will have different favorites, but those would give you a good sampler of west coast diving at popular mainstream shore sites.

Richard.
 

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