My wife and I are going to Bonaire in January for two weeks. This will be our first trip and we are eager to snorkel. We need help to know what kind of equipment we will need. The mask, fins, and snorkel are obvious, but do we need a wet suit or hard sole booties? What brands would you recommend for all of these? Do you know of any good sources? Thank you.

Booties..........absolutely. Bonaire shore is rocky and there are some urchins. Wet suit.....probably not unless you're extremely cold natured, tho you might want a lycra type skin for sun protection (tho a pink back and legs are quite attractive and seen quite often on Bonaire). I'm quite the fan of shopping your local diveshop if you are near one, but there are quite a few online stores (discountdivers.com, leisurepro.com, and others). You could also buy what you need on Bonaire. I found prices there to be generally reasonable and selections pretty good.

Good luck

el joe

I agree with Joe, good hard soled booties are a necessity in my opinion. The ironstone and coral rubble are murder on the feet. A dive skin is also very useful for sunburn protection as well as minor scrapes, fire coral and the occasional jellyfish tentacle. If you are snorkeling, it's not likely you will need any more thermal protection as you will get a lot of heating from the sun.
If you don't already have a mask, spend some time and try on every mask you can get your hands on, a good fit is very important. Price is not a good measure of how well it will work. I use an inexpensive mask for diving because it fits.

Don't buy a diveskin you haven't tried on. It's nice to have a wee bit of exposure protection, from the sun and stuff in the water as well. DO try to find a good mask, and try to find a pool to try it out in before you go. You do want good thick soled booties, I prefer boots that cover the ankle, and strap backed fins to go with them. I also like a long snorkel so I can stick my head underwater. I have not tried the "dry" snorkels.
You might want to consider buying your stuff on the island if you can't try it out at home or get good personal assistance.

(Message edited by seb on April 8, 2004)

We have invested in really good gear for snorkeling and are enjoying it. I like having snap-on fins because of ease of putting them on and taking them off and because you do need really good booties, as stated above. I get cold because we spend so much time in the water so I use a light wet suit instead of a skin. It's a must to buy a good mask and snorkel and check them out in the water. I also enjoy diving down to take pics (my husband likes to float above and just watch) so if you are going to do that- get good fins (scuba) - it's worth the investment IMHO :-)
Michelle

Richard,

I use a dry snorkel because I hate getting mouth or lung fulls of salt water. If you go the dry snorkel route DO NOT buy and Impulse dry snorkel - I got one for Christmas and it closed up every time I turned my head to the left but let water in when I was just floating along so that I was constantly spitting out salt water.

DO get an Ocean Master non-flex dry snorkel. I had one of them before I got the Impulse and I never had problems with it letting water in or closing up when I wanted to breathe. I LOVE snorkeling with my Ocean Master because I never worry about if the water is rough because I know it will work as advertised.

Hope this helps.

Belinda

What fins or types of fins do you recommend? We will go with the strap on type fins and booties, but I have not seen a good discussion as to what is a good fin for snorkeling. We have fins, but more for diving than snorkeling.

What fin type, manufacture, and model do you recommend??

ken and sue

(ps . . we have maskes, will buy fins/booties here before we go, and buy a wetsuit or skin suit in Bonaire).

Ken,
I REALLY like Force Fins. You'll get alot of people out there that hate them (I think they've just not tried them. Or it may be that they can't keep up with their buddies that DO use them). They're very short (great for travel--they fit easily into a daypack...and it closes) and they shoot you along like a bullet--if you want to go that fast. Modelled after predatory fish tailfins. Great for fighting surge or current. I have the Pro model, which is a bit stiffer than the original model but of the same design. Online you may be able to find the basic for 60-80 bucks, the pro for 40-50 more.