I am completing my owc on Bonaire April 20 through April 27. Will be traveling with a group from the dive center I started instruction with. What is the water temp this time of year and do you recommend any type of wetsuit? My instructor suggested a shortie. Any input is appreciated. Can't wait to get to Bonaire. This has been a 12 year dream of mine.

The water temperature is about the same all year round; check the ReefCam page. Your comfort depends on your own metabolism. I dive with a tee shirt and jeans for 90 minutes and don't shiver at the end. Niki Harris and Dara here use full wet suits with hoods and are cold in 30 minutes. Best to bring at least a 1.5/2 mm jump suit for protection from the coral, et al, and thermal comfort too. A thin hood helps--that old 40% heat loss through the skull bit we all learned in ow class.

Rick

If you do shore diving you will need a full wetsuit for protection if you fall over in the surf. We use 3mm to stay warm during multiple dives.

We completed our open water dives in January in Bonaire. Our dive shop (WannaDive) supplied a wet suit as part of the package which was really nice (I know some of them charge for it). It was a 3mm shortie and it was perfect. One piece of advice: make sure you have strap back fins instead of full foot fins. It is alot more comfortable to walk on the coral beaches with diving boots (actually we used regular aqua shoes)than bare feet. Have fun

Glen, :-) you outed me with my full name and every chilly detail! Oh Yeah, it's no secret... Actually, I guessed correctly that I might figure in your answer before I clicked on the full text!

You'll be impressed to know that I am in the midst of buying an even thicker wetsuit for this year! I just want to stop shivering!! We tried doing a vigorous swim for a while, but I got more tired than warm. Bob keeps saying 'dry suit,' but I refuse. He also says 'hot water pipes,' but those seem to be only in my dreams.

I will be in Bonaire March 22 (first trip). I'm really concerned about being cold. I wear a 2mm when I dive Cozumel in the summer and I am comfortable to getting a bit chilly after a long dive.

I bought a 7mm suit for my trip to Bonaire this month. I just don't want to be cold. It ruins the dive for me. I keep looking at the water temperature and it's only 77 deg C. That is cold to me.

Thanks for all the help. I am going to get a 3mm jumpsuit based on your imput and the private responses I received. It seems this is a good versitile suit for lots of reasons.

Niki,

You would think being from Oregon you would be used to the cold!! Of course, I'm from Washington, and I chill easy too! My husband and I went on a Manta Ray night dive in Hawaii recently and I just about froze to death! Wah! We're leaving for Bonaire on Thursday, and I am definitely taking my full length 3mm suit just in case!

Dani, I never have been diving off the Pacific Northwest coast. Only the Caribbean! Lucky you, Bonaire in two days! Thursday, I'm going to Iowa. Hmm... Who's got the neater trip?