Packing for Bonaire - question

[reefdiva]

I did buy a pair of 1mm reef gloves just in case. I guess I'll take them but it sounds like I may not need them. Maybe for night dives, just in case I decide to pet a jellyfish (accidentally).
Any input is welcome. It'll be my first trip to Bonaire.

Leave the gloves at home. If you are found wearing them without a specific doctor's letter and approval from the Marine Park Headquarters you can be fined and have your gear taken until you leave the island.

 

[donnad]

thanks for all these wonderful tips and suggestions!! is it way cheaper to buy trail mix,snacks at home and bring in luggage than to buy it there?

 

[gypsyjim]

Agreeing with gypsyjim:

I'm working on my shopping list for Bonaire. I leave on July 11 also. I probably wouldn't have taken bug replant. I'll add that to my shopping list. Bugs usually don't get me to bad but better safe than sorry.

You guys even have me thinking about some sunscreen. Typically, I just keep getting darker in sun but this is closer to the equator than I've been.

I did buy a pair of 1mm reef gloves just in case. I guess I'll take them but it sounds like I may not need them. Maybe for night dives, just in case I decide to pet a jellyfish (accidentally).

I don't have a skin but I do have a 3/2 jumpsuit and a 3/2 shorty. From what I've read, I guessing that I need to dive the jumpsuit for pretty much all dives for protection from marine creatures instead of only the shorty.

I wasn't planning on taking any food. I figured that I would pick it up locally.

Any input is welcome. It'll be my first trip to Bonaire.

Lose the gloves, they will only get you in trouble. Even when I did wreck training in the Hilma Hooker I was not allowed to wear gloves.

A skin is all my kids and I wear. Used to dive Bonaire in just swim suits till my son had a run in with jellies (which he lost) on a night dive.

We bring no food down with us. Prices on an island are always going to be a bit steeper than home, but we haven't found them horribly so, and there are several good super markets on Bonaire. If you incur luggage overage charges to save a few pennies on food you are not going to make it up on those pennies saved
I struggle to get four sets of gear to come in just under the 50# limit, and bringing nothing I don't really need is my plan. Does require me wearing a rather heavy back pack/carry on , cause cameras and a small laptop are essentials for us.

 

[StreetDoctor]

I really don't see the need for a SMB on Bonaire. All boats dives are only done a hundered yards or less from shore and all dives are done on a reef drop off near shore so there is never a time you are more than an easy swim into shore if you really can't get back to the boat. On Boniare swimming to shore is always an option unlike other places where you can be miles from anything.

If you plan on doing any diving on the east side I disagree. Big waves and strong current. I always carry an SMB/finger spool.

 

[DiveMaven]

I almost forgot! Don't forget to bring a mesh "boat bag" with you. We forgot ours last year and had to buy one since it makes carrying gear to your truck much easier. We also used the mesh bag for when we went to the grocery store instead of plastic ones.

 

[gypsyjim]

If you plan on doing any diving on the east side I disagree. Big waves and strong current. I always carry an SMB/finger spool.

This is true, but very few seem to dive the East side. Diving is so much easier and there is so much to see on the more accessible sides that most people rarely bother to do the East side.

 

[KY_BOB]

You guys have been and I haven't. The gloves will stay in Kentucky.

 

[donnad]

ok........so.....about the mesh bag.......we have mesh dive bags that will hold all our gear and have a dry pocket inside, etc..........however.......i thought that if we leave that bag in the truck while diving we're risking it getting stolen. (the bags aren't cheap/junky) please advise. also......what about the "wild" side diving? worth it?? what's different over there? one more question........i read somewhere that the site called 1000 steps has some sort of fungus or something all over everything from 40' down to 130' plus.......so........skip that site?? thx all

 

[Warmwater Wank]

Donnad it's going to take you about a dive and a half (if you are real slow) to figure out how easy it is to dive Bonaire. Stuff wise, "Less is More" (hmmm, maybe that's why the Amstel bottles are so small...). The less extra stuff the better and yeah, if you leave a nice bag around your truck it may or may not be there later but other than some water and food what else do you need in the truck? Everything else would be in the water with you. What you'll figure out is it's not very far to most of the best dive sites, easy to zip back to your room if you need to.

My suggestions on what to bring are based more on what's available to buy than about price. The markets are not Safeway style (lots of Dutch labels!) and you won't find the same variety of stuff as in US, which makes it kinda cool--you know, like you're on a REAL VACATION! It's an easy trip. Lot's of folks yammer about CRIME but really, it's friendly and, what no one mentions much, it's not overflowing with folks--population for the whole island is around 15K, give or take (and Bonaire is about 4 times larger in size than Manhattan). Have fun, you'll be an "expert" giving advice (and fighting off PBD) as soon as you get back. // ww

 

[DeputyDan]

ok........so.....about the mesh bag.......we have mesh dive bags that will hold all our gear and have a dry pocket inside, etc..........however.......i thought that if we leave that bag in the truck while diving we're risking it getting stolen. (the bags aren't cheap/junky) please advise. also......what about the "wild" side diving? worth it?? what's different over there? one more question........i read somewhere that the site called 1000 steps has some sort of fungus or something all over everything from 40' down to 130' plus.......so........skip that site?? thx all

The mesh bag was for carrying your gear to the boat on boat dives - not for shore dives....