Help planning my first trip

[tkaelin]

And as an aside, we have used cars for diving on Curacao, specifically compacts with a hatchback and fold down seats. We put our gear in mesh dive duffles and don't bring tanks. We drive to a beach dive site that has parking lot for cars and a dive op on site for tanks, local up to date dive info and changing, rinse and drying areas. Places like Cas Abou, Lagun and Playa Kalki. The car stays clean and dry and works well for these locations. This would not work for most sites in Bon.

 

[NDL_Diver]

And as an aside, we have used cars for diving on Curacao, specifically compacts with a hatchback and fold down seats. We put our gear in mesh dive duffles and don't bring tanks. We drive to a beach dive site that has parking lot for cars and a dive op on site for tanks, local up to date dive info and changing, rinse and drying areas. Places like Cas Abou, Lagun and Playa Kalki. The car stays clean and dry and works well for these locations. This would not work for most sites in Bon.

Not like that on Bonaire. Dive sites more remote with no services.

AB car rental does not allow cars for diving. Only pickups.

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[NDL_Diver]

Checked an airport car company and they will charge $350 cleaning fee. Also only puckups allowed to be taken into park.

 

[jaz29]

We are thinking of making an 8-day trip in February - deciding between Roatan and Bonaire - We have never been to Bonaire, so we are thinking of doing that.
But a few things scare me a bit:
1) Truck rental - is it possible to get one with an automatic transmission?
2) Food -- seems like nothing to write home about - expensive and mediocre from some of my reading.
3) Safety - all those stories about vehicle break-ins...

I hope to get scuba board wisdom and go - it's always fun to dive into new places.

This will be my 2nd trip to Bonaire for Christmas break. A truck just makes loading equipment easy. There are automatic transmission vehicles available but for us was $300 additional. Learn to drive a manual. Food was excellent, but VERY expensive. There are no big resports so nothing fancy, but very good. Safety...never felt nervous. I think the stories are about folks rummaging through vehicles at dive sites. We never saw an suspicous folks and did not leave anything in the truck at the dive sites.

 

[SelfDiver]

We are thinking of making an 8-day trip in February - deciding between Roatan and Bonaire - We have never been to Bonaire, so we are thinking of doing that.
But a few things scare me a bit:
1) Truck rental - is it possible to get one with an automatic transmission?
2) Food -- seems like nothing to write home about - expensive and mediocre from some of my reading.
3) Safety - all those stories about vehicle break-ins...

I hope to get scuba board wisdom and go - it's always fun to dive into new places.

Truck rental - is it possible to get one with an automatic transmission? Yes, but why?
You can learn to drive stick (manual transmission) while burning someone else's clutch.
Think of it as a new life skill. After about 2 hours of driving, you won't even think about it.
Some people recommend getting a tire inflation bit that connects to your regulator LP inflator hose.

DGX Adapter: Tire Inflator = BC Inflator QD Post

With this adapter you can inflate tires, or anything else with a Schrader valve stem, from a SCUBA tank using a first stage regulator and BC inflator hose.

www.divegearexpress.com

Most shops have them for $10
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Food Is great. You can also go to Van Den Tweel supermarket. (39 Kaya Industria, Kralendijk, Caribbean Netherlands)
That is great for making sandwiches, fruit, snacks if you have a refrigerator in the room.
The breakfast and lunch service can be a bit slow if you want to get 4 dives a day, so a bag lunch might be better.
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Safety is less of a concern in the more remote dive sites (South of "The Lake" and north of "Andrea 1").
My general rule is to leave the car open and anything in the truck is either going in the water or might get stolen. I have not had the misfortune of getting anything stolen, but The Bonaire Reporter bi-weekly news in English has a "Police report" section that you can read to get an idea.
Bring a towel and clothing you won't mind losing and change from dry to wet clothing (and back to dry after the dive) on the beach.
Some people get a "dry box" for small stuff. All the shops sell them for less than $15.

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You can get 3 day dives and 1 night dive in Bonaire every day. I recommend getting two tanks per diver before the dive shop closes in the evening. One for the night dive and one for the morning dive before the shop opens.
The tradeoff for cheap diving and the freedom of time management means that you have to be personally responsible and capable of executing shore dives independently. (Bring Booties with decent soles)
There is no divemaster, there is no boat captain with a stopwatch. You can wake up early and be in the water for a sunrise dive. There is no SCUBA police so the depth, time, navigation and gas management are your responsibility.
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There is, in my opinion, a great sense of accomplishment in diving on your own.
Drive to a site that you have never been to, enter the water, do the dive, get out and do it all again in a couple of hours.
Compared to most other places: The Nitrox on Bonaire costs the same as air so if you ever thought of getting Nitrox certified, then do it on this trip.