By City Girl (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Friday, July 11, 2008 - 3:22 pm: |
Hi everyone! Normally I would do massive amounts of research and read through everyone's trip reports, but I am taking the NY bar exam in 2 weeks, and then leaving for Bonaire 3 days after the exam (sadly, only for 1 week). So that doesn't leave me much time to research and prepare, so I thought I'd utilize this great resource.
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By City Girl (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Friday, July 11, 2008 - 3:41 pm: |
Oops. I just realized I put this post in the wrong folder, but I don't know how to move it to the catchall discussion folder.
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By mary pequinot (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #731) on Friday, July 11, 2008 - 4:27 pm: |
I would definitely suggest your own booties and skins, particularly if you plan to continue snorkeling. Hard booties are a MUST on Bonaire-I once cut the arch of my foot on some coral on the shore. It took weeks to heal. I live in Michigan, so don't know about local dive shops in Manhattan.
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By SCUBAchef (BonaireTalker - Post #16) on Friday, July 11, 2008 - 4:51 pm: |
I still don't get the need for a wetsuit while just snorkeling, save the luggage space for something else. The booties are definitely needed. I wore the regular neoprene ones with a fairly thick sole and it was still painful at times; like walking a quarter mile over golf balls. Is there a rigid-soled bootie out there? And about rental cars: I was prepared for the $575 security deposit when I rented a car, but it only ended up being $200, I believe. That was a nice surprise. For snorkeling, a little Picanto will get you everywhere you want to go except the National Park. For that we just upgraded to an SUV (Tucson) for a couple days; it wasn't a problem.
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By Becky H - majorly into PBD (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1769) on Friday, July 11, 2008 - 5:39 pm: |
I would recommend a full suit of some kind (either lycra or a 0.5mm neoprene) for snorkeling for 2 reasons... 1) sun protection... after all Bonaire is 3 feet from the sun and 2) I've been rolled by a few waves while exiting the water and have gotten quite cut up, I shudder to think how bad it would have been without my 0.5mm neoprene - Yikes!
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By mary pequinot (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #732) on Friday, July 11, 2008 - 5:41 pm: |
There are hard soled booties-and they really are a necessity on Bonaire.
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By mary pequinot (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #733) on Friday, July 11, 2008 - 5:42 pm: |
Oh, and one more thing-skins protect against jellyfish and coral stings, should you brush up against some. I once made the mistake of wearing a shorty. Never again.
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By Jennifer Parmley (BonaireTalker - Post #75) on Friday, July 11, 2008 - 7:04 pm: |
My mom and I both wear swim jackets and tights while snorkeling. They work quite well. Hard soled boots are a must!!
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By David Johnson (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #428) on Saturday, July 12, 2008 - 12:11 am: |
You can typically buy most (all?) of what you need on the island.
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By Vince DePietro (Bellevue Condos ) (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1553) on Saturday, July 12, 2008 - 5:34 am: |
David..All good tips but between you & me I don't believe there are any snakes on Bonaire
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By Pietri Hausmann (BonaireTalker - Post #24) on Saturday, July 12, 2008 - 6:28 am: |
it is the law on Bonaire that to get your driving license you must drive a stick -shift vehicle - therefore the general unavailability of automatic transmission vehicles..
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By PegiSue*-French Angel Fish, 10-4!! (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #5878) on Saturday, July 12, 2008 - 8:40 am: |
Everything said above and....
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By Aqua Paul (BonaireTalker - Post #30) on Saturday, July 12, 2008 - 12:37 pm: |
I don't know if you can rent open heeled fins but if you can an old pair of running shoes work instead of booties if you don't want to buy. I have used old running shoes and threw them away when I got home.
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By kirk parnell (BonaireTalker - Post #13) on Saturday, July 12, 2008 - 7:18 pm: |
Leisure Pro does have a store in NY City. It is on the second floor at the address on their website. I was there on business from Louisiana and stopped by. It's small but it is there.
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By David Johnson (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #429) on Saturday, July 12, 2008 - 8:03 pm: |
Vince, yes, of course. Snacks is the word I had in mind. And, at least to me, snakes are not a snack.
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By Seb (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #3389) on Saturday, July 12, 2008 - 8:54 pm: |
There are a number of dive shops in Manhattan. I use Pan Aqua Diving at 43rd and Tenth. They have a fairly good selection of stuff on hand, and knowledgeable and helpful people.
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By Traci (BonaireTalker - Post #35) on Sunday, July 13, 2008 - 9:55 am: |
For the gear, Leisure Pro in Manhattan has some of the best prices in NYC. They have Fins, mask, booties and skin protection. Many of my diving friends shop there but as suggested earlier only for non-technical items. So as a snorkeler you should find everything you need.
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By Ross Canant (BonaireTalker - Post #94) on Monday, July 14, 2008 - 9:46 am: |
Best Bonaire booty on the market IMHO....
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By Skip C (BonaireTalker - Post #98) on Monday, July 14, 2008 - 2:01 pm: |
Hi City Girl,
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By Kimo (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #200) on Sunday, August 3, 2008 - 10:08 pm: |
Hey everyone, I second PegiSue... Did she mention to relax and drink lots of Brights with lime??
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By Bill Perkins (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #206) on Monday, August 4, 2008 - 4:49 pm: |
I would definitely wear some kind of wetsuit or skin. I buy all of my equipment at www.scubatoys.com. They have the best prices and service. I once bought a wet suit and called them because it didn't quite fit right. They said for me to keep it and they would send me a smaller one and for me to keep the one I liked and send back the other one. They sent in a computer for repair that I hadn't bought fro them.
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