1st trip to Bonaire! Lots of questions.

[drrich2]

I think changing hotels will be needless hassle and drama. Your 1st trip to a new destination, I suggest not adding needless complexity. You won't lack for 'newness.'

A vehicle will let you enjoy a drive through the park up north (keep your receipts from buying the marine park tag for free entry), the donkey sanctuary, and just driving around the island. In my experience in past years rental trucks default to manual unless you arrange in advance and pay a substantial upcharge.

Many entries are over rough, at times jagged 'iron shore,' and weighed in gear & lead, you can hurt your feet walking on it. Get medium or thick-soled scuba BOOTS, not thin-soled 'booties.'

A resort with a nice house reef encourages convenient night dives, a higher dive count for the trip, and may offer you a pier with ladder for entry & exit. The option to head to your room for an after dive shower or snack is nice. Buddy Dive Resort has a nice house reef.

There are non-house reef sites with fairly easy entry & exit; Windsock and Bachelor's Beach (aside from the steps up & down) come to mind.

Doing some 'just you guys' dives may offer a low stress 'nobody to keep up with' experience. I've read good things about VIP Diving; no personal experience but I'm glad to see others recommending them.

Last I checked, the Asian supermarket up the street from Buddy Dive Resort was Zhung Kong. Not real big, but quite adequate for me.

Richard.

 

[laikabear]

If you have an 11 year old daughter I think you really have to see the Donkey Sanctuary. Buy some carrots at the entrance and you will have a blast. The donkeys are such characters. (Just make sure she knows how to offer a piece of carrot - flat in your hand, not with fingers curled up.) The diving was great but I think my favorite part of the trip was those donkeys. Even my dive buddy, who did not really want to go, had to admit it was about the best $20 we spent.

You'll need a rental truck or car to get there. Realize that most of the rentals are a manual transmission so you will have to request an automatic and I think they charge more, if you can't drive a stick.

Regarding the ear situation, I put homemade drying / acidifying drops in my ears at the end of every dive day, especially when I'm doing multiple dives over multiple days, or else my ears will start to get inflamed / uncomfortable. That was something recommended to me by a couple on a dive boat in Cozumel who had suffered with swimmer's ear before. I just make the drops with 50% white vinegar and 50% isopropyl alcohol. They work great for me. Caveat - your ears need to be normal to start with... they are for preventing a problem not treating an existing one. My dive buddy in Bonaire had some ear pain toward the end of the week and tried the drops then, and the alcohol stung like an SOB.

A DM on a local boat offered me a sample of Ear Shield to try one day (a PRE dive drop that is oily - the premise is that it coats the ear canal so water doesn't sit directly against it). I found that I liked those, so now I use a homemade version of that once at the beginning of the dive day and the drying drops at the end. Mine are just olive oil with a little tea tree oil added. Again, definitely would not use unless your ears are starting out normal and just get irritated after diving a lot. You wouldn't want to pour olive oil into a ruptured eardrum. And I'm not an MD and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn yesterday either.

I definitely second the suggestion of a place with a good house reef. I've been to Bonaire once, November '16, and we stayed at Sand Dollar which has an on-site dive shop (Dive Friends Bonaire) and great house reef. It's cheaper than Buddy Dive and it's next door or 2 doors down. Buddy Dive also has a nice house reef. And, a short drive up the road is the Hamlet place mentioned previously, which had my favorite site as their house reef (and another location of Dive Friends Bonaire) - Cliff.

Having a dive guide is a great idea. I do shore dives at home a lot but if you aren't really comfortable with shore diving, some of the entries can be a bit challenging. Take a compass with you - I practiced navigating on every dive and got much more comfortable with it while I was there. It's fun to try to come back to your start point without cheating and surfacing.

Hope you have a great time!

Edit: The grocery store across the street from Buddy Dive doesn't have everything you will want if you are making your own meals. It's more like a big convenience store. You will want a vehicle to go into town to the grocery warehouse and/or the big grocery store there... I forget the name but we really enjoyed shopping there.

 

[scubafanatic]

I'd second the prior suggestion to get Thick Hard-Soled booties, you'll definitely need them! (dive socks would also be a good idea). Be ready to deal with strong sunlight (def need sun protection)...and be ready to schlep your dive gear/weights/tanks all over the place, over rough ironshore. Bring plenty of gas $, they sell gas by the Liter ( about the same as a US quart ) and a Liter of gas there costs what an entire gallon costs in the US.

 

[oldschoolto]

Well let me set some things straight...

For your viewing pleasure....



Having a booty that lets you "feel" the bottom and lets you use your toes getting in and out of the surf is a really big help.. I've got 100's of dives on Bonaire and not once did I need hard soles.. Get a sole that has grip on it, And you'll be fine...
Jim.....

 

[gbf]

If the ear trouble comes after swimming I suspect you need to treat your ears post-dive. Here's a start:

More On Swimmers Ear — DAN | Divers Alert Network — Medical Dive Article

The Navy study alluded to is also somewhere on the DAN site.

As drrich said, I'm not an MD, but we follow the method above and rarely have ear problems - and our stays on Bon run 2-3 weeks with 3-5 dives per day.

 

[Doctorfish]

I would not put olive oil in my ears pre dive. Drying agent post dive works very well for me preventing otitis externa ( swimmers ear ). I use a commercial product for convenience, but home made would work just as well.

As far as other issues re trip to Bonaire, Drrich2 summed it up well. One hotel or dive lodge with a house reef, boots, truck. Everything else will fall into place.

 

[dlawr3]

My wife and I took our son to Bonaire back in 2009 or 2010 and all we did was boat diving and the house reef with our dive club at Divi. He had just turned 11 or so and made Jr. Masterdiver shortly before that trip. I think that was also the nearing the end of his diving - got "bored" with it (or more interested in video games and girls). We're hoping now that he's 20 he'll decide to get back into it. I just mention it because you were talking about dive gear and her out growing it.


He got bored of diving?!? I don't get it but I've heard that from other families too.

 

[dlawr3]

I have stayed at buddydive and captain dons

Between those two I would pick Buddydive for certain. In fact, my daughters second big dive trip was when she was 12 to Buddydive.

1. There are two cool pools - one is right by a bar, so she can swim you can have a beverage
2. There are cats everywhere, at least when I was there.
3. There was a smallish, but she liked the jungle gym
4. You have to have a house reef, even the easiest entrances (pink beach), can get some swell, she dived it but it worried her some.
5. The house reef is perfect for kids at Buddydive, they have the coral restoration in like 20ft of water. I used this for easing my kid into going down. We dived deeper later, but for a check out dive, we got to see cool stuff. (think Christmas trees of coral)
6. there is a grocery store in walking distance, cant remember the name, think it was Korean.
7. There is actually a workout place for you in walking distance if you want to.
8. Captain Don's dive masters are kinda gruff, professional but gruff, buddy dive was much more personable which I have found important with my daughter.

9. The breakfast at buddydive was slightly better and had several restaurants on site.
10. I believe between two buns is in walking distance (actually it is a bit of hike, but you can do it, I had a car)
11. Definitely take lights, snorkeling you get to see some awesome tarpon darting around using your light to nail fish. My daughter was not ready for a night dive but enjoyed snorkeling.
12. And lastly at BuddyDive, there was a jumping place at the wall all the kids would go to and jump in the water from like 6 feet above, it was a daily SI hit.

JJ

Wow, thank you so much for this info!

 

[dlawr3]

I think changing hotels will be needless hassle and drama. Your 1st trip to a new destination, I suggest not adding needless complexity. You won't lack for 'newness.'

A vehicle will let you enjoy a drive through the park up north (keep your receipts from buying the marine park tag for free entry), the donkey sanctuary, and just driving around the island. In my experience in past years rental trucks default to manual unless you arrange in advance and pay a substantial upcharge.

Many entries are over rough, at times jagged 'iron shore,' and weighed in gear & lead, you can hurt your feet walking on it. Get medium or thick-soled scuba BOOTS, not thin-soled 'booties.'

A resort with a nice house reef encourages convenient night dives, a higher dive count for the trip, and may offer you a pier with ladder for entry & exit. The option to head to your room for an after dive shower or snack is nice. Buddy Dive Resort has a nice house reef.

There are non-house reef sites with fairly easy entry & exit; Windsock and Bachelor's Beach (aside from the steps up & down) come to mind.

Doing some 'just you guys' dives may offer a low stress 'nobody to keep up with' experience. I've read good things about VIP Diving; no personal experience but I'm glad to see others recommending them.

Last I checked, the Asian supermarket up the street from Buddy Dive Resort was Zhung Kong. Not real big, but quite adequate for me.

Richard.

All very good and sensible advice, thank you so much.

 

[dlawr3]

If you have an 11 year old daughter I think you really have to see the Donkey Sanctuary. Buy some carrots at the entrance and you will have a blast. The donkeys are such characters. (Just make sure she knows how to offer a piece of carrot - flat in your hand, not with fingers curled up.) The diving was great but I think my favorite part of the trip was those donkeys. Even my dive buddy, who did not really want to go, had to admit it was about the best $20 we spent.

You'll need a rental truck or car to get there. Realize that most of the rentals are a manual transmission so you will have to request an automatic and I think they charge more, if you can't drive a stick.

Regarding the ear situation, I put homemade drying / acidifying drops in my ears at the end of every dive day, especially when I'm doing multiple dives over multiple days, or else my ears will start to get inflamed / uncomfortable. That was something recommended to me by a couple on a dive boat in Cozumel who had suffered with swimmer's ear before. I just make the drops with 50% white vinegar and 50% isopropyl alcohol. They work great for me. Caveat - your ears need to be normal to start with... they are for preventing a problem not treating an existing one. My dive buddy in Bonaire had some ear pain toward the end of the week and tried the drops then, and the alcohol stung like an SOB.

A DM on a local boat offered me a sample of Ear Shield to try one day (a PRE dive drop that is oily - the premise is that it coats the ear canal so water doesn't sit directly against it). I found that I liked those, so now I use a homemade version of that once at the beginning of the dive day and the drying drops at the end. Mine are just olive oil with a little tea tree oil added. Again, definitely would not use unless your ears are starting out normal and just get irritated after diving a lot. You wouldn't want to pour olive oil into a ruptured eardrum. And I'm not an MD and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn yesterday either.

I definitely second the suggestion of a place with a good house reef. I've been to Bonaire once, November '16, and we stayed at Sand Dollar which has an on-site dive shop (Dive Friends Bonaire) and great house reef. It's cheaper than Buddy Dive and it's next door or 2 doors down. Buddy Dive also has a nice house reef. And, a short drive up the road is the Hamlet place mentioned previously, which had my favorite site as their house reef (and another location of Dive Friends Bonaire) - Cliff.

Having a dive guide is a great idea. I do shore dives at home a lot but if you aren't really comfortable with shore diving, some of the entries can be a bit challenging. Take a compass with you - I practiced navigating on every dive and got much more comfortable with it while I was there. It's fun to try to come back to your start point without cheating and surfacing.

Hope you have a great time!

Edit: The grocery store across the street from Buddy Dive doesn't have everything you will want if you are making your own meals. It's more like a big convenience store. You will want a vehicle to go into town to the grocery warehouse and/or the big grocery store there... I forget the name but we really enjoyed shopping there.

You are so right about the donkey place with an 11 year old girl! She isn't going to want to leave! Thanks for the eardrops advice. We use homemade drops too, never tried the oil though. We both seem to have a lot of wax build up, ick.

Luckily I drive stick shift but it's a car, not a truck. I get a little nervous driving a bigger vehicle (my husband has a truck but I hardly ever drive it and he doesn't trust me with it either, lol). Thanks again