I will be coming to Bonaire in early August (I can hardly wait!), and I'm planning on buying a wet suit before I come. What kind should I get? Full or shortie? Also any other tips for a novice diver would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Sheran,

I lived on Bonaire for a couple of years and I always used a shortie for my diving. Even at night. So I would recommend a shortie. But I do know that there were others who used a full suit. So it depends if you are cold quickly or not during your dive! Although a shortie will do fine,if you want to be 100 % sure of not getting cold, buy a full suit.

A 3 mm full suit will also protect you from pika pika, small little organisms that are sometimes in the water. They are harmless but can cause you to itch. I do agree with Marielle, a shorty is sometimes plenty if you are not diving 3 times a day...enjoy ps in August, the water is quite warm.

If you get a 3/2mm full suit, you can always unzip it and let water in to cool off, and you will be prepared for lower temps if you encounter them.
Clay

Now a comment from the chilly people.

I use a two piece (farmer john and top) that many old dive buddies from the cold New England area use to dive in 55 degree water (or colder) burrr! I found that I tended to get cold at the end of my first dive of the day and had to cut back on my diving for the rest of the day even in Caribbean waters. With the two piece I am happy and warm no matter how long I have to wait for my dive buddy to take a picture. I've noticed many of the women dive masters also use a two piece. You can always skip the top when you are doing something more vigorous like our monthly underwater cleanup dives.

Jake has been using a vest with a hood under a shortie which seems to keep him that extra snug for multidive days.

Keep in mind you can't use gloves here so if you are use to them, you may find you are quite a bit colder without them. I know I am.

I am pretty wimpie, but I got by with just a regular dive skin (we were just there). It was a little chilly on night dives, but once you go under you forget all about it.

have been diving many places and used my 3mm always until bonaire never needed anything but a regular suit which as spoiled me. the water is so good and so comfortable a wet suit was no need for us at all 4 of us never used a wet suit for the whole time we where there last august. best diving ever.

We use 3mm shorty wet suits with long sleeves no matter where or when we snorkel...they keep you warm, better buoyancy, protection in the water, etc., etc...if you plan any night dives or snorkeling you may need a wet suit because the water temp drops at night...Vince

Whether you will need a wetsuit depends on how sensitive to cold you are. I have been to Bonaire more than 10 times and I use a polartec shortie, but I also have friends who dive there in shorts and a T-shirt, and others who wear a full suit. The big advantage of polartec is that you don't need any extra weight to compensate for the suit's buoyancy. Rather than buying, see if you can rent a wetsuit top from a local divestore. When you get to Bonaire try diving with and without the suit. Take a dive skin also. They are relatively inexpensive and can also be worn under a suit. You may find that a skin alone is enough.

Regarding diving in tropical water, I do reccomend consulting Rodale's Scuba Diving, August issue, or
"http://www.scubadiving.com/training/instruction/staywarm2/". It is VERY instructive, and very
appropriate to Bonaire