My wife and I are heading to Bonaire this August. It's our first trip to the island. Mentally, I am already there, thanks to the good support and information that I have found here at BT.

I would like to ask for advice on the following.

Given that we are going there in August, what kind of suits should we bring? We have 7mm for our dives around Illinois and the Mediterranean.

We plan a minimum of 3 dives per day and we'll be staying for a week.

Should we bring the 7's to Bonaire or should we invest in 3 or 5 mm wetsuits combines with a warming core of a dive skin?

Or shall we go with dive skins alone and rent something warmer as needed?

In terms of protection from little accidents (such as a close encounter with a jelly fish), what ointments and other over-the-counter medication would you recommend that we pack along with the mosquito repellent and peptobismol? ;-)

We always take our 3mm full wetsuits they were just about enough in March and fine in August/September when the water is warmer. Jellies are fairly rare and so we don't any ointments as such for that.

Leo, we were in Bonaire in Aug. last year and we used 3mm shorties and we were hot, we did not see any Jellies, but you can lemon juice to take out the sting.

Hi Leo, We love August on Bonaire. It is hot, hot, hot, little wind at that time, diving on the south side really rocks as the sea is like a sheet of glass. I get cold easily, but in August, I use a full 2ml and hubby and son use a 3mm shorty. Water temps are usually at least 84 degrees then.

As far as jellies go, they usually come out 8-10 days after a full moon, haven't had any issues with them luckily, but we do carry a product we get from our local dive shop for jellies, it's like a lotion that you can put on before you dive on exposed areas. Seems to help for the little harmless ones you don't see till you are right there with them. If you night dive, try not to put your light on above you when getting out of the water, it seems to attract them if they are about.

A 3 mil is more than enough. August is one of the hottest months, so make sure you have a/c. Jellies are rare but we have run into them on occasion. Hard sole booties are a must.

A good ointment for mosquito bites and other stings is After Bite; it contains medicinal grade ammonia and really helps. I use the extra strength version, After Bite Xtra, since I react strongly to mosquito and other insect bites. http://www.tendercorp.com/product.asp?page=afterbite

For protection again stings in the water, the skin will work fine. I found on my recent trip that there were more jellyfish or at least bits of them than usual; I got stung on my face a few times.

Water temp should be around 84; base your exposure protection on your tolerance to cold and how much time you will spend submerged.

Good Info, I will also be making my first trip to Bonaire in August

A 7mm in Bonaire would be like sun bathing in a parka. We're also from the Chicago area and are comfortable in a dive skin or T-shirts in Bonaire (usually Aug.-Sept.) and do 2-3 dives per day, occasionally 4.

I'll add the same two cents to the wetsuit discussion that I usually do: everybody is different when it comes to wetsuits/skins/comfort when diving in Bonaire (or anywhere else). You must find what works for YOU. Example: Gale and I have been to Bonaire 9 times, with water temps ranging from 81 to 85 (we tend to go in the fall). I almost always wear just a lycra skin (full skin). Once in a while I'll put on a 1mm jumpsuit, and for ME it's almost too warm. A 2mm jumpsuit I had was always too warm FOR ME. Gale, on the other hand, always wears a 3mm farmer Jane with a long sleeve 3mm jacket over it -- yep, 6mm on her core body. And she will often add a polartec beanie. This is what she has found makes her comfortable. Two people diving side by side in the same water, one comfortable in a lycra skin, one comfortable with 3-6mm neoprene and a beanie.

leo
where u staying? and what weeks? we are at divi last wk in aug first wk of sept. i agree with scott
my husband and son wear 5 mil my husband also wears a beanie. me, i wear a skin of some sort or just bathing suit. i don't get cold
es

Hi Elaine. We have not finalized our plans but it looks that we'll end up at Den Laman.

I considered Captain Don's, based on encouraging comments I read here, but my email requests to the resort for pricing and availability have gone unanswered.

We'll be heading out on July 30 or 31, for 7 nights. We'll fly AA from Chicago to San Juan and then off to Bonaire. No matter how we fly, it's going to be a min of 11 hours from airport to airport, barring any delays.

we are flying from san fran and taking red eye. taking continental friday night aug 22 to houston and fly out friday night and arrive sat morning around 5:10am bonaire. i believe continental also flies out of chic. we used to go through chic and than take air jamaica but they no longer fly to bon. what a bummer. could not see spending 300 dollar more for delta connection thru atlanta.

as was stated above, wet suit thickness is personal preference. i dive bonaire with a 5mil, mary wears a 3mil. we are both comfortable. we've seen people diving in bathing suits and tee shirts and others i know use 7 mil suits. i would think that it would be wise to err on the side of more warmth. but that's just my opinion...and you know what they say about opinions.

Hey everyone. Thanks for the great information, i was wondering the same things.
To everyone heading out in August, i will be there for the first time Aug 18 through 27th. Maybe a group of us can all get together for drinks of something.
We rented a house, Kas Di Oro, for our accomodations so if anyone needs a place to stay a night or two we will have room as this is a 3 bedroom and there are only two of us flying out.
I cannot wait for August to roll around, mentally i have been there for months.