New to Bonaire questions

[RLarsen]

I'm traveling to Bonaire ( Buddy Dive ) for the first time Feb 16 and have a few questions.
Will a 3mil wetsuit be ok for current water temp ?
What's air temp like in the evening when walking around ? I'm deciding what clothes to pack.
Should I be concerned about insect bites ?
What's the current marine park fee ?
Any suggestions for 3 or 4 good inexpensive mom & pop restaurants. I favor those kinda places in the states too.
Sure appreciate the help !
Rex
Michigan

 

[diversteve]

What's the current marine park fee ?

$25.

Any suggestions for 3 or 4 good inexpensive mom & pop restaurants.

Not sure if they're mom&pop but relatively inexpensive local places we liked: Donna/Giorgios Pizza. Quick lunch at the sandwich shop opposite the Plaza Resort entrance. Zee Zicht across from Karel's bar on the waterfront downtown.

 

[Scubagal]

Just got back from Bonaire last weekend, it was our first trip too. You will be hooked!

I wore a 3 mil with a hooded vest (I tend to get cold easily) and that was fine. Got a little chilled on the day we did 5 dives, but that was just me, everyone else in our group thought the water temp was great. Air temp while we were there was mid 80's in the day, and in the evening I wore sleeveless and short sleeved shirts and that was perfect. Be sure to cover yourself with bug repellent. I used Cactus Juice, which worked great. The one day I forgot to put it on, I was bitten several times.

Have a great trip!

 

[Rig Magician]

I dove in a 1.5mil suit and did 4-5 dives a day. It all depends on you. The avarage water temps are in the 80's about the same as the air. As for bugs I am from south Louisiana, What Bugs!!! Julios in the center of town is really good. and there is a sandwich shop across the road from the napa that is good.

 

[ocellaris]

I'm also from Michigan so the water will seem great with a 3ml. I was there in Dec. and the divemasters were talking about the water getting cold.(79 deg) I guess it's all what you get used to. There is a wealth of information on the Bonaire talk web site.
Have a great trip.

http://www.bonairetalk.com/cgi-local/bbs/discus.cgi?pg=topics

 

[reefdiva]

As others have said, wetsuit is a matter of personal body temps as well as number of dives. I wear a 3mm and beanie during the spring and summer in Bonaire but do get a little colder when there in the winter. Be sure you have sturdy soled booties for the shore entries and a copy of Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy by Susan Porter for lots of great information! (www.bsdme.info). Great local food at ElFagoen, great ribs at BobbeJan's (open weeekends only), awesome pizza at Pasa Bon Pizza (try the fresh fish pizza!!), yummy roasted chicken for take away on Saturday mornings at the Carneceria. I have never been bothered by the bugs but my husband is so he uses "Ben's". Most restaurants have bug spray available for you too! Current Marine Park fee is (I believe) 25 dollars and includes entrance into Washingotn Park. Air temps will be fine for shorts and short sleeve shirts in the evening. Take a look at www.bonairetalk.com for lots more info. Have fun!

 

[Boat Chick]

I just got back from Bonaire. The water temp ranged from 78F to 82F. I wear a skin, a full 3mm and a beanie. My husband normally wears a t-shirt and shorts, but this time he wore his skin and 1mm shortie and was fine. So as others have said, it really is a personal thing.

I also second the hard soled booties for shore entries and exits...makes it much easier! Bring some tweezers in case you fall on an entry or exit and land on an urchin, for the first time in seven trips I got a spine in my hand...then later that day noticed a spine in my foot (must have gone through the bootie) - I "slipped" getting out:11:

I use Avon's Skin So Soft repellant, works pretty good if I remember to use it!

I also highly recommend getting the book Bonaire Shore Diving Made easy

In addition to reefdiva's suggestions for dinner, the Brossiere [sic] in town has good lunch sandwiches as well as La Flambouyant in town, they have great French Onion Soup and Quiche for lunch. Dinner is a little pricer. Swiss Chalet is reasonably priced as well and has great food.

Have a great trip!

 

[D_O_H]

I was actually quite comfortable last time with just a dive skin and no thermal protection. The water was in the low 80s and the air was a touch on the humid side in the mid 80s. I tend to not get cold though. My wife, who freezes constantly, dove in a 3mil and a beanie and was quite comfortable. For what it's worth, I've heard the water is currently running a bit colder than it was when we were there (78-80).

The air temp tends to be very warm. I wore nothing warmer than shorts and a t-shirt the whole time and was never not hot day or night. My hyperthermophile wife was never cold either, and that's saying something.

We've never had much trouble with bugs, but I understand this can change dramatically if it has been raining recently. I'd bring some good DEET based bug spray.

I think your other questions are well answered above. Have a great time. We're heading back tomorrow for a week at the Divi and I can hardly wait.

 

[blawler1]

The water will be 78 to 82 as always in winter. I only pack my wetsuit to wrap the cases of Polar we bring back.

There are a number of good reasonable restraurants including previusly mentioned Donna & Gioggios, we haven't tried their pizza, but we have sampled many of their seafood and pasta dishes and have never had a bad meal also, the new location is really nice with an oceanview south of downtown. The Rib Factory in the Mall upstairs across from Karel's is great for as the name says, babyback ribs as well as mexican food at reasonable prices and also a great oceanview. Wattaburger, next to the City Cafe downtown, is good for reasonbly priced hamburgers and fries, Dutch style. The "Stop Light" Pizza (this is't their name but they have one out front) about a quarter mile south of the the traffic circle, has great pizza and serves a family sized lasagna that is out of this world.

 

[CLEAR BLUE]

We were in Bonaire in November. A 3ml suit was fine and I'm usually cold. Alot of the other people were wearing shorties. A definite YES on the hard soled booties. As far as eating goes - something we did several times was go to the supermarket and we bought food to cook ourselves. Stoplight Pizza and Wattaburger were good, too. Could also get some good food at the City Cafe and at Bongos which is the outdoor restaurant at Eden Beach. Have a great trip and safe diving!