New here! Going to Bonaire May05 and never scuba dived before! HELP!

[RICHinNC]

If you have the money referrals a great...but they really are costly. Why not just do the whole thing there at home and come to find the diff between Finnish water in the post winter and Bonaire water??

Maybe Kate could clue them in on some good suggestions Herman?? (yes im getting the disks off soooooon)

 

[SubMariner]

If you have the money referrals a great...but they really are costly. Why not just do the whole thing there at home and come to find the diff between Finnish water in the post winter and Bonaire water??

Actually, it would be less costly than putting out the money for a drysuit and associated heavy exposure protection accessories because that's what they will need to dive Finland in May. :ice:

 

[texas-buzzard]

great place for beginners as well as the old pros. we are planning a trip in sept. been there 3 times and love it. if you fly air jamaica watch for the short layover in montego bay. not much time to catch next flight and with aj any thing is possible. we are looking at AA out of DFW.

 

[FinnishBeginner]

Thank You All for your very good advice! :yl2jump:

We decided that we take our owd-course's theory and pool here at home and then do our referals at Bonaire. We visited our Scuba Diving -centre here in Helsinki yesterday and we're going to start our course in February.

It is true that the sea in front of Helsinki is usually covered with ice in winter and it melts in late March (but in this winter we have had unusually warm so the sea was open until the last week). So it is difficult to dive without drysuit before the end of May. The visibility in waters is also bad in here.

We will be flying with KLM and have one stop at Amsterdam. And we will be staying at Lions Dive & Beach Resort. Do you have any comments about Lions Dive and the dive shop there? We don't have a car rental arranged yet; Does anyone know whether it is practical to rent a car at Bonaire after arrival?

 

[Tom Smedley]

The Lions Dive Resort is now a part of Buddy Divers. The dive operation that you will be using is Buddy Divers. They are wonderfully organized and very efficient. You may arrange a rental car through Buddy Divers or through another rental agency. They are all on the Web. It is suggested that you make reservations before your trip. Sometimes there are no cars available and to be placed in such a wonderful place as Bonaire without a car is a shame.

The house reef at Buddy Dive is one of the prettiest and has the most variety of marine life that you can imagine. You will have a wonderful time. Please do not expect a five-star hotel room. It is the tropics and the accomodations are part of the adventure - although they are nice. Buddy Dive has big and comfortable boats so the boat and unlimited shore dive package is a must.

Have a great stay. I agree that you will be much better doing the classroom and pool in Finland and the open water dives in Bonaire.