Hubby and I are spending a month in Bonaire in February. We originally planned to snorkel the whole time but are considering refreshing our extremely rusty diving skills and then doing a little diving. Can anyone recommend a favourite dive operation that will do a good job of this? Also we have to consider what gear to bring for maybe a dozen dives. All our stuff will need to be serviced prior to our trip. Any thoughts? Thanks

I would use a dive operation close to where you are staying especially one with a good house reef. All the dive operations are very professional. We also service all our gear every year.

Rather than complicate your air travel with a lot of gear you might not use, you can rent any equipment you'd need very reasonably from most operators. As for a refresher on dive basics, most PADI dive shops in the US offer quick refresher courses for around $100US. You can probably find the same in Bonaire. I usually view the PADI OW video tape series before every dive trip.

You can easily get a refresher in the pool at your local dive center prior to leaving for your trip. Prices will vary, depending on level of refresher needed. We charge $35 for a basic pool refresher - go over all your open water skills and focus on buoyancy. $75 for 2 pool sessions - more thorough than above, and 2 knowledge development sessions to review dive tables and other areas. Then, you can add to Open Water dives on the second refresher for an additional $50 - but, depending where your located (ie, Northern areas) you may not want to venture that far out!!

Mike