Bad Ending to Otherwise Good Bonaire Trip

[The Chairman]

It just seems funny that locals would target tourists

All locals, no matter WHERE you go, target tourists. Some do it legally, and some illegally. %90 of all Bonairians are honest people who would never think of taking ANYTHING no matter how convenient. There are no more or less criminals per capita on that Island then anywhere else! The problem comes when unscrupulous resort owners ELSEWHERE promulgate the myth to keep people away from the Diver's Paradise and coming to their resort. Every now and then I meet someone who was actually ripped off in Bonaire. That's about right for every resort destination.

ScubaBoard prides itself on NOT trying to add to the hysteria. We don't want to know the hype: we want the real deal! That's why the user added content is so valuable. Look at the list of those who went to Bonaire on this thread, and see just how many have actually been robbed? Rather than buy in to some urban legend, you can READ the exploits of many a traveler and get to meet your hosts before you ever get there.

Liz has impressed me in how she is going to resolve a few issues at her resort. While I might be going to Bonaire for the diving, you can bet that I will be trusting HER to provide for my safety at night.

 

[jd950]

I don't know whether petty crime on Bonaire is overstated or not, but I believe it to be a "problem." That said, it hasn't kept me away, as reasonable precautions are pretty manageable. But I have to agree that break-ins of occupied rooms/apartments in the middle of the night are a different matter. I have now seen at least a few such incidents reported over the past couple of years. I hope local authorities take this more seriously than they do the petty theft issue. It would not take too much of that to make me think twice about going to Bonaire.

Liz, congratulations on stepping up to this issue and addressing it at your end. It could just as easily have been a different property and I appreciate your response. Maybe other properties need to look at their security as well.

Is there some sort of association of rental property owners and dive ops on Bonaire? If so, do they have any clout?

 

[dvrliz1]

JD,

Thanks. Yes, there is an organization, Bonaire Hotel and Tourism Association, AKA BONHATA. I am one of the board members. We are working vigorously on this problem. We are doing all we can possibly do, the way you need to do it (politically correct of course), writing letters to the government, inviting and talking directly with the government and police, etc.

We are actually seeing a results such as much better police presence in the late to early morning hours (A few months ago if you called at 4am and said you were robbed, the police would tell you would have to wait until after 7am for someone to respond, as they had a truly skeleton crew). With this unfortunate incident, there were 4 policeman there before we were (we got to the inn at 5am) and their effectiveness was shown as the returned many times over the next 5 hours with information, questions, etc. Interviews were done, fingerprints were taken, etc.

They recovered some items within hours, and just a couple of days ago delivered the individuals passport that was found. So we are seeing some response to our requests, which is good.

Today I stopped by the BONHATA office and asked that "crime" be placed on the agenda, specifically relating to drugs. So we will work on that one next.

There are some programs we are in the process of working on and supporting, that I don't want to divulge right now, but will ask the board at the next meeting (next week), what I can divulge. There are some great things in the works, and unfortunately we cannot make them happen overnight on Bonaire.

You can check out Bonhata's facebook page (logon to facebook and then search Bonaire or Bonhata) and their direct website is www.ilovebonaire.com



Liz

 

[tarpon]

Darren,
Sorry to hear of your experience. Would like to suggest that you post this on the Bonaire Talk Forum so that others who frequently travel to Bonaire will be more aware.

 

[laurelgsc]

Bonaire is a wonderful place that I would never pass up because of petty theft. I have had many unfortunate events take place over the years, all in the US. I have been to Bonaire 2 times so far and never had any problems, who wants my sunglasses, sunscreen, water bottle, smelly clothes or shoes.
As for my valuables, I don't bring any, always take extra credit cards, etc... out of my wallet, don't bring my purse or my cell phone, no laptop. I bring my SCUBA gear, diving clothes, toiletries, camera that I bring on all my dives. If the petty theft scares you off of Bonaire, then there is more space for me to enjoy.
I am coming to Bonaire for trip #3 this summer for two weeks. Oh BTW on the last trip to Bonaire someone did steal my cell phone in the Atlanta airport before I left. : (

 

[BigBubbaJ]

And did not leave anything in the truck all week, right?

No beverages?

No land camera?

No first aid kit?

No cell phone of two-way radio to call for help?

Nothing, right...?
​

Where did you hide your shoes and clothes?

Not to take this too off track.. I was just saying that IMHO Bonaire is relatively safe.
We left the windows open. I left my sunglasses, my gator ade, my shoes and everything else that didn't dive with me in the truck. Sunblock, anti-fog, etc. At one point we did leave a housed underwater camera in the truck, and it did stay put.
We did not bring the cell phone nor the camera with us while diving. Those stayed in the nice safe at the Golden Reef Inn.
My first aid kit- I did not bring it. Strange now that you mention it, especially since both of us (Waterskier1) are rescue divers. We did actually hve some injuries... but the site we had issues.. at NuKove there was a GIANT aloe plant which took care of all the first aid that was necessary for our entry scrapes!

Don - I think you need to go to Bonaire! It is awesome diving, and wonderful people.

 

[BigBubbaJ]

Not to mention... we never brought ID, nor wallets.

We kept 10 bucks in the ashtray...

Good times! Can't wait to go back!

 

[DandyDon]

Not to take this too off track.. I was just saying that IMHO Bonaire is relatively safe.
We left the windows open. I left my sunglasses, my gator ade, my shoes and everything else that didn't dive with me in the truck. Sunblock, anti-fog, etc. At one point we did leave a housed underwater camera in the truck, and it did stay put.
We did not bring the cell phone nor the camera with us while diving. Those stayed in the nice safe at the Golden Reef Inn.
My first aid kit- I did not bring it. Strange now that you mention it, especially since both of us (Waterskier1) are rescue divers. We did actually hve some injuries... but the site we had issues.. at NuKove there was a GIANT aloe plant which took care of all the first aid that was necessary for our entry scrapes!

Don - I think you need to go to Bonaire! It is awesome diving, and wonderful people.

I thanked Herman quietly above for correcting some of my misconceptions, but kept quiet after that. Oh well - okay then I could probly...

Take Beverages: I like to carry mine in thermoses, but could opt for cheaper, less desirable to steal choices.

Not take a land or video camera: Keep the dive camera inside the housing and with me for dives, then remove for any land shots on return. Still have to change batteries, but maybe they'd be spared.

Risk it with a first aid kit and CPR mask. Aloe plants are nice, but they're not the same as alcohol or OTC ointments, and I always keep my CPR mask handy.

I hate not taking a Cell phone/radio. I farmed with no one around to help for decades before we got those so I can, but kinda hate to now. All travels have some risks tho.

Take towels, Tshirts, shoes, hats, and water bottles in the truck. My glasses are bifocal, but I'll insure them and keep a spare pair in the room.​

There are still a lot of concessions there you know, maybe more so for a country Texan as we don't put up with much - but when you leave the States, you leave the States.

Otherwise, to answer: "When was the last time you rented a car in say Coz, went miles from town, went diving and left stuff in a locked car. Never I wager." Yep, every time I dive Cenotes. Would also do it at the Punta Sur snorkel park, but haven't done that yet. There is still some risk of a break-in on Coz or at a peninsula Cenote park, but very little. Generally too many people around, and the tourists are generally off-limits for such.

But back to the hotel situation. The suggestions in post #1 are great for any trip, and for this island: Glad Liz is taking some action. Convictions under Netherlands law sound iffy, but no room break-in is acceptable and I hope some changes are made.

Good luck!

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

Darren. that was an awful end to your trip but glad to hear no one was hurt and your losses weren't more severe. Good tips/info for being more aware of trying to prevent this from happening.

Liz, a lot of people in your shoes could have tried to ignore this situation but you addressed it head on and KUDOS for everything you are doing to prevent any future thefts. We have not been to Bonaire yet (it's on my list) but we have like most people heard about the potential for car thefts. I like to think I'm a light sleeper but your story and Darren's is pretty freaky. That being said, I'll still come to Bonaire at some point and I'm sure I'll love it. We had a great time in Curacao and never felt unsafe. People pray on tourists everywhere and burglary and car thefts are not isolated to Bonaire. The most unsafe I've ever felt was in Belize City, where armed guards where posted outside the hotels and where we were offered drugs from some guy selling everything under the sun near the cruise shops just a block from our hotel. That's a place where I wouldn't recommend walking around after dark. It was lovely taking an evening dunk in the pool surrounded by high walls and barbwire. Barbwire adds a nice touch of confidence.

 

[herman]

Guess this has been beat to death but one last thing from me, Don, you have an open invitation to join me on Bonaire. It would be my pleasure to show you the island. Next trip in in mid July.

Well almost the last thing, what I do with my bifocals...&^$#^%#!! old age...I just put them in a hard case and into a BC pocket. They are made to take sweat and that's nothing but salt water. A quick rinse from the 2L rinse bottle no one took and they are good to go.