Many people here say short wet suits have kept them warmer than no wet suit. We are going our first time in March. Why not be warmer and just get long wet suits? Would long wet suits just be too warm and will we regret getting a long one instead of a short one while spending the days alternating between on the beach with lotion and in the water several times a day? How long can one not be cold in 80 degree water in a short suit vs. a long suit?

Short suits are just silly. Get a long suit. In the unlikely event you get too hot, let some water in, you'll cool off pronto. You will also be protected from abrasions. First our dives were stopped by running out of air; now they are stopped because we get cold.
Moving up from a 3 mm to a 5mm this year
Seb

Although this is the snorkeling section, I should have mentioned that we only intend to snorkel at this time. Would these comments be applied to just snorkeling as well? Thanks!

Bryan -

You might consider no wet suits at all, just normal bahting suits with a tee-shirt or similar item for minimizing sun burn.

I don't know if y'all have been in a location as close to the equator as Bonaire before. We have been to several areas in the northern Caribbean, as well as Hawaii, and there is no comparsion with the sun effect: it is significantly and materially more intense in Bonaire.

For that reason, we've never considered wet suits because we never became chilled in Bonaire (unlike Hawaii where our tolerance when we were much younger was about 1/2 hour).

So, depending on your overall tolerance for cool, you might be able to skip the wet suits all together. I certainly don't want you to be uncomfortable, but I do want you to take into consideration the effect of the sun at this latitude.

Regardless, take and use plenty of sunscreen lavishly. This is not your normal northern or mid-Carib sun climate.

Then you have to be prepared for one other final consideration: when will you be able to come back? It is almost inevitable that you're going to fall for Bonaire...hard!

Know you'll have a great time.

Charles Poteet
Dallas

We snorkel a lot on Bonaire and use short wet suits as it makes it more comfortable in the water. You can snorkel with just a T shirt but you can stay in longer with the wet suits.

Joe and I have some "built in", natural "insulation" of our own, so we don't require the need for wet suits. We use our swim suits only. I am in the water 6 - 8 hours at a clip sometimes. The sun is extremely intense, as Charles mentioned, so be certain to either cover up (wet suit or t-shirt/shorts) or lather up completely. T-Shirts to protect yourself in the beginning is good if you don't use a wet suit. You will absolutely fall in love with Bonaire. It is a treat to behold. Very close to the equator, indeed!! Be extremely careful and mindful of the sun and what it can do. Have a great time! Carole

I have a long sleeve 3 mil shortie and I would freeze without it. I can only last twenty minutes before shivering If I only wear a bathing suit. When I wear a shortie I am good for a couple hours at a time!
My husband never gets cold and at most will put on a t shirt for a night snorkel.

a long sleeve shorty is gonna be plenty warm if thick enough...

but you have another problem with snorkeling and that is sun exposure so maybe full length is a better idea...

i think the full lengths are hard to get in/out of and can not be opened for cooling like the long sleeve shorty...and it's MUCH easier to go pee in the shorty ;)

A lot depends on where you dive and what kind of diving you do. I like diving WARM & shallow (under 30'). Being a large tall person (6'6" 250lb) I found it almost impossable to find a full length suit that would fit. My shorty takes up less suitcase room, drys faster and is easier to get in and out of. I figure that not a lot of heat is lost from my knees to the top of my boots!

Bryan,
I only snorkel and have just bought myself a long wet suit. I was chilled this past January in my shorty. I look forward to being warmer next year.

My wife and I are both snorkelers and we’ve been doing it for many years. We’ve both had lightweight long wetsuits for about 5 years. Mine is about a .5 (that point 5) and my wife wears a 3 as she gets colder than I do. For the following reasons you will never see me snorkeling without a long wetsuit, with the exception of the day I’m flying home, as I don’t want to pack a wet wetsuit.

1. We have never be hot or even warm wearing a wetsuit when in the water (out of the water is another story, wait to put it on to the last minute and take off right away to prevent overheating)
2. I’ve never had sunburn while wearing a full wetsuit except on the edge of my ears.
3. I’ve swum through piles of common jellyfish, blue moons, and pieces of unidentified jellyfish with barely a flinch while other swim screaming away.
4. Nothing has ever fallen out of my swimsuit pockets wearing a wetsuit.
5. We can stay in the water close to twice as long with a full wetsuit than without, that means I can snorkel for about 2 hours.
6. It’s allowed us to venture into the exciting world of night snorkeling without freezing our tails off.

Certainly others may have different experiences then we have and I’ll admit it’s not my favorite thing to pack and drag around with me. But the joy of many more hours in the water, without sunburn, without being stung by jellies far out weighs the drawbacks.

You lose heat through your head and your extremities faster than any other part of your body. Covering your extremities up will help you enjoy even more precious time watching schools of squid, and your favorite underwater creatures.

Have a great time!

Snorkelguy Scott

I purchased a short wetsuit and do find that it keeps me warmer. When snorkeling at the Plaza, I like to get out of the water, sit on the beach or at the bar for awhile and go back in. I find the short suit a little less cumbersome than a full suit. Also, I don't overheat while out of the water. I'm pleased with mine, but I don't mind looking silly :-D

We have been diving and snorkeling at length in Bonaire and never put a wet suit on. There are 7 of us who go together and the most any of us have is the lycra skin. No one has ever used a wet suit, either diving (as deep as 100') or snorkeling. Don't use sunscreen, though, as it washes off and kills the coral.

I use a full length wetsuit and lightweight hood snorkeling and diving when in warm water. For several reasons, to protect myself from stinging marine organisms, to protect my legs from the steps when getting out of the water onto a boat, to protect my legs when bracing myself on the wooden steps on the piers when wrestling my fins off, because I can always pull the neck away from my neck and let some cooler water wash through if I get warm, and the hood to help keep my hair out the way and because my mask is permanently set up for a hood because I also cool water dive and a hood is a must then.

Because I dive as well as snorkel, I always have both my lycra and 3mil full suit. I wear the lycra when snorkelling to prevent both sunburn, to stay warm and the rare yet possible contact with fire coral and/or stinging jellyfish. The one time I didn't wear it I encountered a juvenile jellyfish - it was barely a 1/2" but it did sting me.

Thanks for all the advice! I heard that it can be hard to dive down in a full length wet suit (vs. a shorty) while snorkeling (to take a picture, for example) because of the great buoyancy of a long suit. Is this true?
(By the way we'll be at The Plaza from March 21-28!).
Bryan, Liesl, Amy(7) and Lauren(7).

Bryan, It's more bouyant, but you can use lead (1 kilo should be enough).