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Diving Bonaire: Wet suit needed to snorkel?
Bonaire Talk: Diving Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives 1999-05-18 to 2000-12-28: Wet suit needed to snorkel?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Michael R. Boyne on Wednesday, January 19, 2000 - 2:03 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

My wife & I only snorkel. Every picture I have seen of Bonaire shows everyone in a wet suit. Is one really needed for just snorkeling? We've been to St. John in May and the water perfect. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Also is the snorkeling good in front of Buddy Dive Resort?
Thanks, Mike

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linda Richter on Wednesday, January 19, 2000 - 2:19 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

All depends on how cold you get or how much sun you can take. Many northerners find the water perfectly balmy and got without.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Lorraine Meadows on Thursday, January 20, 2000 - 1:02 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

We don't usually wear our diveskins when we snorkel on Bonaire. Sometimes a cotton tee to keep the sun off our backs, although I sometime see people snorkel in skins for various reasons , but when we night snorkel we do because it's warmer.
You can rent ones if you feel the need. The water is like a bathtub, it dosen't chill you when you jump in. Have a great time!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Antonio Ferrer on Thursday, January 20, 2000 - 7:14 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

When I go on a longish snorkel trip, like a boat drift snorkel in Klein Bonaire (1 hour or so in the water) I prefer to wear a shortie (a dive skin would be equivalent). On shorter trips I wear a T-shirt or nothing (i.e. just swiming shorts).

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carolyn Matheson on Monday, January 24, 2000 - 7:54 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I would recommend wearing SOMETHING protective while snorkeling for two reasons: 1) the sun can be BRUTAL for those of us who are fair-skinned, and 2) your depth perception is somewhat skewed and you may get closer to the coral than you planned-a coral scrape can be like a bunch of little paper cuts or worse. Ouch! Re snorkeling in front of Buddy Dive-there is virtually no place anywhere along the shore where you can't see SOMETHING interesting! Just ask at the dive shop (or other snorkelers)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Clay Lansdown on Tuesday, January 25, 2000 - 2:54 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

What looks like a wetsuit on snorklers could be lycra diveskins. They won't really help from a warmth perspective but will protect you from the sun and stingly critters. They are much cheaper than wetsuits. I see them advertised for as little as $40. We wear them under our wetsuits since they seem to make it easier to put the wetsuit on and they provide protection from the sun on boat rides out to the dive sites.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Josie on Saturday, January 29, 2000 - 4:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Last year I bought a diveskin that has an inner fleecy layer, and found it provided some extra warmth during a long snorkel, while also providing good sun protection. Whilst it cost as much as a shorty wetsuit, it's light and not nearly as bulky.

Actually, I decided to buy a shorty wetsuit, for a little more boyancy, but found that as I'm short but have a looong torso, I can't find anything to fit. Most of my body fits a men's small (I'm a 5-2" woman), except for the shoulders, which are WAY too big). So, I'm going to just go with the dive skin again. Looking foward to being there in two weeks!!!

 


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