Be careful in Bonaire (Burglaries)

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This thread has been useful, even though some posters try to muddy and muffle the flow of info. After reading these Bonaire crime threads, I immeadiately made two color copies of my passport. Better to be prepared. Any suggestions on where to put the copy? One at home seems like a good idea?
That has been a standard suggestion from the US government for close to 30 years. I have 2 copies myself when traveling. One I keep in my luggage and one I keep in my wallet
 
OK....then what tips the scale the other way? This is a scuba forum. The largest on the internet for SCUBA I believe. Bonaire is primarily a SCUBA destination. If we can't use threads on here were are in trouble.

I was diving long before the Internet existed. This board isn't the end all of information. No one has the responsibility to post any more information here than they want too.

Many people seem to want to blame a particular hotel, home or resort. Good gosh - it's the theives fault. On an island this small, it's clear to me that the authorities are to blame along with those theives. I'm not blaming the police because I don't know how the laws on this island work. It's obvious that their has been a long history of petty theft that appears to have escalated to more serious burglary.

I appreciate the honesty of Liz and the risks she takes by posting on this forum. I don't always agree with her but I'm in total agreement on the issue of disclosure. Yes places should probably provide some level of protection but none of them had any security the first two times I visited Bonaire. It's not their fault.

I still think the voice of the hotel and tourist associations should be much louder. It's obviously costing a lot of money to provide individual security measures. They could and should be using more pressure on the government to fix the problem once and for all. Maybe they should get together and create their own statistics so the people on the island know how much of a problem they have. I'm confident the people don't want this crime to wipe out their livelyhoods. Change laws if necessary. Fire police officers if necessary.

Ultimately, if the people on the island don't fix this problem, the tourist will by not going. Like it or not, fair or not, accurate or not, word gets out and reputations get formed. Certainly the die hards will go but the average diver has alternatives. I for one hope the people on the island figure this out soon so we can all go back to having fun and not spending our time worrying about theft and everyday security.
 
Wow this thread exploded this morning. My apologies if I cover subjects I over read. A few excerpts and comments..
I was just thinking that if you rented an individual home or condo, there would be a lot less people around to see what you have and what room you are taking it to. But there would also be less people around to deter a break-in I guess.
Oh, it only takes one bird dog. Aren't there just a few flights arriving on certain days? A wise crook would network with lessor crooks to help watch vulnerable properties on those days.
I had some stuff stolen out of my truck, which was parked in my driveway, here in Alabama. Anybody coming to dive in my pool should leave their vehicles unlocked with the windows down. Crime is rampant here in Alabama. I quiver at night just thinking about it.
Yes, but while a comparison, it's pretty indirect. I did not have locks for my farm house for over 20 years and did have stuff worth taking but never a problem even tho my personal pickup was gone. Now I am inside Mayberry, I hate it when I forget to close the garage for a day but would expect worse if I left it open for a several with personal pickup gone. In a larger town or city, or at some destinations, I'd expect more risk. All relative.
From what I have heard/read a rental home is much more of an issue than a resort or condo. (This is a generalization but I believe it to be true)
I'd tend to agree, with the resort generally more secure than the condo.
Perhaps I should just stick with what has worked so far then.
A safer bet. Unfortunate for the those who have individual properties with significant investments wanting to rent, and they have less influence on change, but true.
They have very expensive, and I mean very expensive camera and camcorder equipment. They are staying at the Plaza Resort this trip. Don't know if they are going to take their equipment on this trip or not.
Insure, insure. I have cheaper camers but insure them specifically with no deductible, no exclusions. A homeowners policy may exclude power surges for example, but my State Farm Personal Articles Policy paid in full on my zapped laptop, and I also do trip insurance when I travel like that, mostly for medical coverages but they are double covered that way.
I originally called bs because op wrote that watch's (plural) (actually turns out to be wrist computers)had been stolen.Not a cop or detective here,but have trained quite a few,and my experience tells me who leaves a watch in their hotel room? Most people wear it constantly.Then Liz from Golden Reef Inn resort posted that in fact the op is a victim.I have meet with Liz in the past and now I believe the op.I posted to that effect.Sorry about what happened and glad that the perps have been caught. I Hope the op gets their items returned promptly.Liz says it the same people/gang from a few years ago that have returned.I knew about them years ago.That gang used to recruit kids on the island to do the deeds. I am returning back to Bonaire in April and may try to go visit Liz sometime while I am there.
Oh, ok - I see. While there are times I leave a watch in the room, they were actually computers - and it's watches (plural) not watch's (sic) possesive, so wordings can be confusing - yeah.
This thread has been useful, even though some posters try to muddy and muffle the flow of info. After reading these Bonaire crime threads, I immeadiately made two color copies of my passport. Better to be prepared. Any suggestions on where to put the copy? One at home seems like a good idea?
Always a good idea. One for home, one to be carried in a different bag than the original and kept separately. I didn't used to, but have for years now.
 
Insure, insure. I have cheaper camers but insure them specifically with no deductible, no exclusions.

I'll be there the first week of March and I'm looking into doing that very thing before I go.
 
Nice to see how deep and philosophical this thread has become, when the only question asked was what hotel was the original poster staying at? Geeeeesh.

Bottom line is that we asked s simple question, and still patiently await an answer. Will it ever come? Thank you.
 
I was wondering if anyone knew if the thefts and break-ins were more likely to occur at "resort" type of properties like Buddy's, Sand Dollar, Capt. Don's etc. etc. or is it more likely with individual home/condo rentals. I have been a number of times to Bonaire and will be there the first week of March staying at Buddy's. I have always stayed at either Buddy's, Sand Dollar, or Plaza Resort but I plan to look at some other properties while I'm there this time. There are some really nice oceanfront condos and villas rented out by their owners at prices just as good or better than the bigger resort places. Just didn't know if they would be safer or not.

Well, all of this makes me very uneasy. We are in the process of planning a group trip to Bonaire with Buddy Dive as the destination. So, I contacted them today. I wanted to find out if they were directly affected by the burglaries that have happened over the past couple of weeks. They said "No". I also asked if they have had this problem in the past. She said that they have never had one of their rooms broken into. Now she did say to use "common sense". If you leave a wedding ring, etc. on the patio/deck/etc. outside, it might get stolen. She also said that there is only one entrance to the resort which helps and that they have cameras placed through out the resort. Security works from 8pm - 6am. I asked about the security issues...ie: security turning their heads to allow friends and family to burglarize. She said that they have worked with their particular security company for a while and have not had any issues. So with this being said, I do feel a little more comfortable with the decision to stay on Bonaire. I do look forward to our trip but I will definitely take the precautions needed to insure a safe, happy trip!!!!

A.
 
I found the comments on insuring our valuables pretty funny. I don't care how much insurance you have, it's the vacation that gets ruined. You can't replace that feeling of being ripped off and you can never go back and replace your time lost. While, I'm not saying it's true, I wouldn't be surprised to find exclusion in some policies for coverage in certainly places.
 
Nice to see how deep and philosophical this thread has become, when the only question asked was what hotel was the original poster staying at? Geeeeesh.

Bottom line is that we asked s simple question, and still patiently await an answer. Will it ever come? Thank you.

does not mean that other related questions may not be asked and answered...but, for those looking for further information:

Things are a bit more specific re these incidents on the web site Bonaire Talk right now:

Topics - Bonaire Talk
If you read threw different threads there you start to get some more of the picture. As always, the more sources we use to research, the more accurate a picture we begin to see

there are posters there that avoid SB, because of all the drama here. just a fact
 
Nice to see how deep and philosophical this thread has become, when the only question asked was what hotel was the original poster staying at? Geeeeesh.

Bottom line is that we asked s simple question, and still patiently await an answer. Will it ever come? Thank you.
The OP already said No.
I found the comments on insuring our valuables pretty funny. I don't care how much insurance you have, it's the vacation that gets ruined. You can't replace that feeling of being ripped off and you can never go back and replace your time lost. While, I'm not saying it's true, I wouldn't be surprised to find exclusion in some policies for coverage in certainly places.
Yes, ruining a vacation is bad, but on the second part - check the State Farm PAP I mentioned. No exclusion for power surges, paid what I had it valued at - not what it was then worth which was like 25% of what I had it listed at, no exclusion for travel, etc. Not losing is best, but being reimbursed fully after the easiest claim I have ever filled: ALMOST PRICELESS!

So much better than DEPP or DAN equipment coverage. The trip insurance will have a lot of exclusions and deductibles, but that's not the main reason I take it - yet still, it's good to know that I have some backup coverage there.
 
Well, all of this makes me very uneasy. We are in the process of planning a group trip to Bonaire with Buddy Dive as the destination. So, I contacted them today. I wanted to find out if they were directly affected by the burglaries that have happened over the past couple of weeks. They said "No". I also asked if they have had this problem in the past. She said that they have never had one of their rooms broken into. Now she did say to use "common sense". If you leave a wedding ring, etc. on the patio/deck/etc. outside, it might get stolen. She also said that there is only one entrance to the resort which helps and that they have cameras placed through out the resort. Security works from 8pm - 6am. I asked about the security issues...ie: security turning their heads to allow friends and family to burglarize. She said that they have worked with their particular security company for a while and have not had any issues. So with this being said, I do feel a little more comfortable with the decision to stay on Bonaire. I do look forward to our trip but I will definitely take the precautions needed to insure a safe, happy trip!!!!

A.

Dork fish, your biggest threat, assuming you take reasonable precautions, is finding a corn dog while diving. Leave those alone and you will be fine. We stayed at Sand Dollar which is almost next door to Buddy Dive and they have very similar security measures in place. We followed the conventional wisdom of leaving nothing in the truck and leaving it unlocked and we had an experience that has us already trying to get back for another awesome vacation.

Have fun!!!
 
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