Bonaire Dive trip

[Rhino434]

I wanted to jump in on this thread. If you have never been exposed to what happens in most parts of the world, especially most metropolitan areas of the United States, you might be upset to see that thieves are looking to steal from vehicles parked in remote areas (like many of the Bonaire dive sites). If a bag sits on the seat of a locked vehicle... a thief will break a window (with no one around) because the reward may be worth the risk. If you leave the windows down and don't leave anything of real value in the vehicle, they walk by... looking for that locked vehicle, cause they figure there is a reason it is locked up. I know of which I speak, because I investigated crime for 32 years. So, don't think theft is rampant in Bonaire, unfortunately it is pervasive everywhere. Use you head and follow the advice on this blog about not leaving anything of value behind, and your windows down.
Now, the coral. I have dove all over the world, and yes there are many better areas... but Bonaire's draw is the freedom we have to dive anywhere we want, at any time, with the beautiful ocean and sea life at our fingertips! I love Bonaire, and have gone back more than once. Will I go there every year like some of my fellow bloggers... no, but this is still a paradise! Enjoy God's creations.

 

[spyfish]

Richard,

I think you may have misunderstood the portion of my post you responded to.

In stating that I had left some items of value in our truck while diving, I intended to point out that they did NOT get stolen, i.e. evidence that the talk of rampant thievery on the island is exaggerated.

We always leave doors unlocked and windows down in our truck while diving. Anything we leave in the truck (flip-flops, shorts, sunglasses) are items that we have no issue parting with or replacing in the event they do get stolen.

Cheers.

 

[Boardndave]

I was there 6 months ago. I'd say 5% of the reefs are struggling, at best. We didn't see or hear about any crime. I did see some suspicious kids at 1000 Steps, but nothing happened and I felt safe the entire vacation. Can't wait to get back.

 

[chauncy19]

Bonaire crime talk goes on and on. been going yearly for better part of 12 years. an always present threat --seems petty mostly. been hearing about it since I went. never been a victim but it does make you paranoid. crime i am sure is everywhere but Bonaire seems to "us" like a paradise but has problems like everywhere else. obviously follow recommendations but seems alot of it is a crap shoot.

 

[MegaBMan25]

Crime is present everywhere in the world. Unfortunately also in paradise. Its seem sterotypical to say the people on Bonaire are thieves. The people i have encountered were friendly and helpful.

On the point of windows being broken, and items stolen. Follow the guidelines for valuable items that they tell you. Also, think about it, most people lock up their valuables. So it stands to reason that if the vehicle is locked and are windows up, the thief will think "hey, there is something valuable inside and i want it and then might sell it later and it cost me nothing". I have not been a victim of this crime while there.

Again, it is a shame to assume all the people there are thieves. It is a shame that such small percentage of people who are criminals make the rest of the people on the island look bad.

 

[herman]

For whatever reason there is something about Bonaire that causes people to go way overboard on this subject. This is a classic example, at first it was crime all over the place and windows broke everwhere, then it was talked to someone that say they were robbed and saw one truck window broken. Gear may or may not have been stolen. Not to dismiss the possibility that the window was broken by a criminal but I have broke 2 truck windows in my own trucks over years so just because a window is broken does not mean is was for certian done as a criminal act.

A while back we had a member (who eventually got banned) who ranted on and on about how bad Bonaire was and how much safer everwhere in the world was. With a little digging (this was his second attempt to trash the island, but unfortunately for him I have a long memory and have been on the board since it began) I found his post from year(s?) earlier where he had admitted he had been there once, barely left the resort and had no problems while there, yet he insisted on going on and on about how bad it was...then there was another member who had never been there yet ranted about how bad it was and at the same time claimed Coz was totally crime free.
None of us who go to the island often claim there are no problems, there are but we also don't see anywhere near the amount of problems some report. I for one, have been on island over 25 times since 99 with groups ranging from just my wife and I to groups as large as 24 persons. In all that time, I have not to my knowledge had my truck gone though once or recall seeing a single broke truck window. I typically leave shorts, Tshirts, towels, old shoes, hats and water in the truck on most every dive. In all those trips I have had one gas stealing incident happen. Our LSD takes large groups to the island every year, I have not heard of any problems while on the island from them. So unless we are just super lucky and blind or there is something not right in the post complaining about the high crime rate.

 

[gypsyjim]

I have a hunch that Bonaire draws a certain type of attack, specificly because so many divers rave about the island, and the diving.

By jumping on a soapbox and attacking such a popular destination a certain sort person can get into the spotlight, and draw attention to themselves.

If passing along a warning was the true goal they would post their alert, and move on, rather than try repeatedly to gain the spotlight, as we saw that now banned poster do over and over.

 

[MegaBMan25]

herman
I agree with you completely.

 

[jewelofnile69]

Yes, half of the reefs at Bonaire are DEAD. Viz is ok about 50 feet this past week. Crime is horrible and I saw tons of trucks that had been vandalized and robbed. Police do NOTHING about theft or stopping crime. Diving was fun but would not come back. I heard that Cayman has way better diving as does Malaysia and Indonesia.

Thanks for giving me a good laugh (along with everyone else's responses). I needed that while I'm bored at work this afternoon. I've been to Bonaire 3 times and we'll be taking our 4th trip in February of 2013 (well, it will be my husband's 5th). We'll be going with 2 other divers....one who has been there 3 times and one who hasn't been there. We'll also be meeting up with a larger group of people (10 in all) with a mix of # of visits between them with the one with the most having over 20 visits to the island and who has been all over the world shooting for diver magazines and Bonaire is still his favorite place.

Same story...different dance. All I can say to you is PLEASE!! Get off your horse and quit trying to draw attention to yourself. I've been to other places and the diving in Bonaire is just as good if not better. And we were there this past February and the coral even looked better than the February before. The least amount of vis we had on any given day was 65 feet and it was usually closer to 80 feet with some days up towards 100 feet. Oil Slick, 1000 Steps, Old Blue (Tolo) and Karpata on the north end looked awesome. Other divers said the sites at the park were better than they had been in the last 5 years and looked just awesome.

As for crime/theft...it sure as hell is better than Chicago or even Madison, WI!!! In all the trips we've been there, I've never once left anything in the vehicle that I didn't care about losing. That's why we bring cheap flip flops, sunglasses, hats, and covers (shirts/shorts) with us and wouldn't cry IF anything had ever beens stolen. The worst story I ever heard was someone getting their beer stolen. We even left our dive equipment in the back of our truck in Rincon while dining at Rosie's and had no issues!!

As to the food, it is a heck of a lot cheaper than dining in downtown Chicago and about as expensive as dining in Milwaukee or Madison, WI. Do you come from a small town? Then it sure as heck is more expensive. The food is good...not great (well, Wil's has great food). Agree with the comment about getting the mixed grill (or as we call it, the "meat platter") at Casablanca. You can feed yourself for 2 days (2 people) on that thing and it's cheaper than anywhere in the states. If you hit up a grocery store right off the bat and eat lunches and maybe one meal in your room, you can save a lot as well.

Now I ask...have you even BEEN to Bonaire or did you just hear some stories from people and are now just making assumptions? Or are you the same person that was banned before?

I've been on other dive vacations and lots of other plain vacations...Bonaire is my favorite place to go...it truly lives up to it's title: Diver's Paradise. I'll be going back...

---------- Post Merged at 01:09 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 01:02 PM ----------

Oh, also wanted to mention this guy Rich in MI who does a weekly podcast on diving (some great stuff). Anyway, he recently did a podcast on Bonaire and talked about how it was one of his best diving experiences in awhile (and this guy dives a lot). If you scroll down, he did a live podcast from Bonaire and then the week following (5/1 and 5/8): http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=89155&cmd=tc. Pretty neat stuff. If this guy who knows his diving said the diving was great then it must have been great!

 

[gypsyjim]

Herman, I will see you on crime ridden Bonaire @3 1/2 weeks!


As for crime on Bonaire, a friend of ours did lose a pair of cheap sunglasses she left in the truck when we were there with Cardzard's SB crew 3 years ago. Not a big deal, but it was a good reminder that sometimes somebody does look through the truck while it is parked.

About the way they do if I park my car on a town or city street overnight. Closer to home I once found a wino, or homeless person had gotten into my van, and was expecting to spend the night there.