Follow up questions after booking

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JDelage

Contributor
Messages
317
Reaction score
51
Location
Seattle, WA USA
# of dives
200 - 499
So I've booked my flights and room at Hamlet Oasis for the week of Sun 7/15 - 7/23. I now need to book (1) air supply and maybe some boat dives and (2) car rental. Some quick questions:
  1. What car rental agency should I use?
  2. What do people do with their car key (and maybe a credit card) when diving?
  3. What do you take with you in the car when going shore diving? Bottled water? Towel?
  4. Do I need to book the air supply in advance?
 
1. I use AB
2. I take them into the water with me
3. yes, yes, & hat, shades, & snacks
4. not from my experience with Wannadive

Also consider booking guided wild side dives with Bas Tol.

And I also suggest making sure that you have appropriate boots
 
Do you use some kind of waterproof container? I'm not too worried about the key but all those CC's have chips now...
 
Do you use some kind of waterproof container? I'm not too worried about the key but all those CC's have chips now...

Nope, and no problem; card still works fine after dozens and dozens of dives.
 
Room and truck key on a necklace, cc and cash in my shorts pocket under my wetsuit. Bonaire establishments will accept wet cash :)
 
So I've booked my flights and room at Hamlet Oasis for the week of Sun 7/15 - 7/23. I now need to book (1) air supply and maybe some boat dives and (2) car rental. Some quick questions:
  1. What car rental agency should I use?
  2. What do people do with their car key (and maybe a credit card) when diving?
  3. What do you take with you in the car when going shore diving? Bottled water? Towel?
  4. Do I need to book the air supply in advance?

1. There are a gazillion threads debating various car rental options. We have had success with Telerin. I would read through some of the threads if you want all the viewpoints.

2. On my first trip, I used a supposedly waterproof Otterbox product for cash, driver's license and a credit card or ATM card. Really, though, you don't need a credit/ATM card--just bring a small wad of cash for your lunch or whatever you think you will need, and leave everything else in the safe in your room--or hidden. On subsequent trips, I got lazy and stuffed cash in a ziploc bag and put that in my BC pocket, where the contents most certainly do get wet. Car and room keys are not electronic on Bonaire, and can survive getting wet in a BC pocket. Invariably the cash gets wet. Wet cash is widely accepted on Bonaire ;-)

3. Yep--water, towel maybe (you dry pretty fast in in the dry desert climate). A sandwich if you're a frugal luncher like me. Read the other gazillion threads on thefts from rental trucks in Bonaire. The bottom line is leave nothing of value in the truck. Leave the windows down or at least the doors unlocked.

4. Yes--it would be a good idea to book in advance. You're staying at Hamlet? Then Dive Friends Bonaire, which has a branch on the premises, is a no-brainer for you. Look them up and let them know how many days you'll need tanks--that's all.
 
I used a Dry Pak waterproof case in Bonaire for a week - no problems. On my second trip I reached around and found the purse missing - swam to shore, and sure enough I had an empty strap around my neck and arm. I searched the water and the shore and couldn't find it, so my credit cards and vehicle keys were gone. A Bonaire Stinapa Ranger came into the parking lot - I explained my predicament. He called Budget Rental for me, and within an hour they pulled in with another vehicle, and drove my first one away. I had other credit cards in the safe in the room, but ended up having to pay $300 for a key replacement on the vehicle.

This has happened to others that use the Dry Pak case - the carabiner that connects the case to the strap comes open. The solution is just tie a piece of string around the strap and into the slot on the case - a second means of securing it.

The rest of this story is I got a call from BarclayCard 63 days later. Someone picked up my water purse on the beach near Quintana Roo, on the Yucatan Peninsula, and called the number on the card. It had floated over 1200 miles without sinking!
 

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