Cash money and diving questions

[tursiops]

You recall how much the SIM card cost? There's no information in Digicel Bonaire's web site in this regard. We have a voice-only phone, and we just want it for emergencies and such.

Gosh, I'm not sure. I think the card was $10 with some voice time on it, and I bought a $20 data plan on top, that went away immediately. The biggest problem to me was I visit there once or twice a year, but the card was only good for 90 days unless I used it. So it was constantly starting over again....which I'm willing to pay a bit more to avoid!

 

[wwguy]

Any experience with using a SIM card on the island with an unlocked phone or is it not worth the cost?

We seldom find ourselves carrying our mobile phones away from our villa while on island due to the oft discussed risk of theft while diving etc. The only time we carry them is for land-based outings where we want to use the camera to take photos to torture our friends back home in the snowy U.S.A.

So rather than purchasing a SIM card and minutes we leverage the WiFi in our apartment and use smartphone apps that have free calling via U.S.-based phone numbers. If going that route you can (and should) install and test the apps at home before you leave. I use GrooveIP with my Android phone and my wife uses Talkatone for her iPhone (Talkatone is also available for Android.) The apps include unique US-based phone numbers, which callers will see when you call them from any WiFi or cellular connection in the world. GrooveIP app is free if you don't mind ads in the app, or $4.99 one-time fee if you want the ad-free app. With GrooveIP you can also add a free RingTo app (the technology behind GrooveIP) if you also want to send and receive texts via the same number. GrooveIP will also email you MP3 audio files of any messages left by callers. Talkatone includes calls and text in the same app, but has more restrictions on free features before incremental costs set in. The app store has more details if interested.

Apple iOS's Facetime is also a viable free WiFi option (assuming un-metered WiFi service is included with your Bonaire villa) and requires no significant incremental app configuration. The primary caveat is that it only works with Apple iOS devices, so the folks back home would need to be using it too. Google Voice is also free, but requires a properly configured Google account and you must make calls via Gmail's web browser interface on a PC or Google Hangouts app on a mobile device. Google used to be the best free solution out there, but they've made it difficult in recent years by closing access to 3rd-party apps like GrooveIP etc.

Just some options to consider if you have smartphones.

 

[Lorenzoid]

We seldom find ourselves carrying our mobile phones away from our villa while on island due to the oft discussed risk of theft while diving etc. . . .

I have two scenarios in mind when I might use a phone. The first is for emergencies at a dive site. On past trips, we have done as you do and left the phone in our room while out diving for fear of theft. But everything I have been taught and have read about dive safety includes the advice to have an emergency plan in place, and that includes how to call for help. This trip I decided to take an inexpensive, unlocked phone with me in a waterproof case. Digicel's coverage map does not give me the warm and fuzzies that every dive site has coverage, but I think it's worth having a phone out there.

The second reason why we like to have a phone with us is that our group has two or sometimes even three trucks among us, and we like to be able to communicate with each other, since we're not always together. Last trip, one truck had a flat tire at night, and the other truck proceeded on back to the villa and just assumed we had stopped at a bar or something. It's good to have a phone.

 

[tursiops]

I have two scenarios in mind when I might use a phone. The first is for emergencies at a dive site. On past trips, we have done as you do and left the phone in our room while out diving for fear of theft. But everything I have been taught and have read about dive safety includes the advice to have an emergency plan in place, and that includes how to call for help. This trip I decided to take an inexpensive, unlocked phone with me in a waterproof case. Digicel's coverage map does not give me the warm and fuzzies that every dive site has coverage, but I think it's worth having a phone out there.

The second reason why we like to have a phone with us is that our group has two or sometimes even three trucks among us, and we like to be able to communicate with each other, since we're not always together. Last trip, one truck had a flat tire at night, and the other truck proceeded on back to the villa and just assumed we had stopped at a bar or something. It's good to have a phone.

I agree. I am always with (or leading) a group, and getting hold of everybody (if only to arrange dinner) is hard. Texts are good.
I'm hoping my new cheap voice-only phone will fit into an old divelight case I have.

 

[cruxpot]

Dive Friends signed me up for about 4 days out of the week for boat dives. I guess the question is -- is it really worth paying the extra for boat diving or is it better to rent a car and shore dive? I talked to a guy at my local dive shop who visited Bonaire and stayed at Buddy and says he just boat dives and doesn't bother with rentals because he doesn't want to deal with the thieves and sees no reason to drive anywhere since there isn't much to see. I'm diving alone anyway. I still wanted the option to visit some places on the island, but I could save $384 if I decide to not rent the Jimny and just be lazy at the resort and do boat dives and maybe a cab from Sand Dollar for a few things. The main thing is the ability to get groceries and sundries for the room.

If I can get a cheap sim card for $10, then that may be worth doing for emergency purposes when away from the room. I have a crappy throwaway samsung phone that I picked up in Thailand years ago and wouldn't even be worth stealing. Is the Wifi good at most places in Bonaire that you can get reasonable voice quality? I usually use the CSIPSimple app for Android and have a few voip providers that I buy credit from. I also use Google Hangouts dialer which is free for dialing US phones.

 

[wwguy]

Funny, I've enjoyed 180 shore dives on Bonaire since my last boat dive there in 2003. We've got nothing against boat diving. We just love the freedom, flexibility, and solitude of self-guided shore diving. Maybe your buddy is myopic. We see plenty of stuff while driving around the island. Lots more than puttering back and forth between Buddy Dive and Klein Bonaire in a dive boat for sure. (Been there and done that too.)

WiFi quality is hit and miss around the island depending on ISP, location, and how many people are drinking from the digital pipe in any particular installation. Just like here in the U.S. I'm not sure about Sand Dollar specifically. I'll defer to others who've stayed there.

 

[oldschoolto]

For me.. Part of the Bonaire trip is "NO PHONE" and like it like that.. Send me a message on Facebook... Maybe I'll return it.. lol... The second thing is no scuba police .. No boat to catch or clock to watch.. No one but the wife and me...

That's why "We LOVE" Bonaire... Freedom..

Jim...

 

[cjibber]

WiFi quality is hit and miss around the island depending on ISP, location, and how many people are drinking from the digital pipe in any particular installation. Just like here in the U.S. I'm not sure about Sand Dollar specifically. I'll defer to others who've stayed there.

I was in Sand Dollar last week and the WiFi was pretty good. Each unit now has its own router and ours worked perfectly the whole two weeks we were there. Not as fast as we are used to at home but fast enough for everything we needed. It is a lot better now than it was last year.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Dive Friends signed me up for about 4 days out of the week for boat dives. I guess the question is -- is it really worth paying the extra for boat diving or is it better to rent a car and shore dive? I talked to a guy at my local dive shop who visited Bonaire and stayed at Buddy and says he just boat dives and doesn't bother with rentals because he doesn't want to deal with the thieves and sees no reason to drive anywhere since there isn't much to see. I'm diving alone anyway. I still wanted the option to visit some places on the island, but I could save $384 if I decide to not rent the Jimny and just be lazy at the resort and do boat dives and maybe a cab from Sand Dollar for a few things. The main thing is the ability to get groceries and sundries for the room. . . .

I have heard of very few people who exclusively do boat diving in Bonaire and do no shore diving. I recall one person on SB saying he exclusively does boat diving because he has mobility or health issues that make shore diving difficult. Other than for reasons like that, I can't imagine not doing any shore diving. Bonaire's main draw--what makes it a unique destination--is shore diving. It's been called the shore diving capital of the world. It's why our group ends up choosing Bonaire over other destinations time and time again. We just love the freedom of diving when we want and where we want, and if the mood strikes us and we feel like relaxing for a while, we do that instead of a dive. You can make decisions to dive or not dive at the last minute. On the last day of our trip last year, we thought we were done and ready for cold Amstels, but we decided on the spur of the moment to visit the garden eels we knew could be found at the next site over. So we drove over there and did an easy 30 minute dive to 30 feet where we found the garden eels. THAT is Bonaire diving! What else is Bonaire diving? Drive-through tank pickup. The first time I drove the truck up to a drive-through and loaded up the truck with tanks, I must have had the biggest grin on my face. Where else can you do that? I'll tell you where: Nowhere!*

I have made three trips to Bonaire and am looking forward to a fourth in December, and I have yet to do a single boat dive. Others in our group have been going to Bonaire for a decade or more and have only done a few boat dives, the last being many trips ago. They tell me the dives you can do from a boat are not different in any significant way from the dives we do by shore. A boat dive might be nice if one wants to break up their trip, or if they just really like boat diving. I am afraid that if I want to do a boat dive, I will have to tear myself away from the group, since nobody else has any interest in doing one. I have not been tempted yet. I may do one someday. Probably not this next trip

*AFAIK!

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

I would have to agree with Lorenzoid on the cell phone. Yeah, it may be nice to disconnect from the internet civilization, but the connection for emergencies is important. It may never be you who needs that call but it could be a dive buddy. I have an iPhone 5 that I bought a nice UW case for that is good to 130' and allows photos. I bought it as I'm working on a photo app and it is not big or hard to carry. I also have a lot of neat dive apps, fish ident apps, first aid apps....lots of info that has been handy to have over the years. Lots of uses, not just a phone.