Bonnaire for elderly lady?

[jstuart1]

Would you consider Bonnaire for a trip for yourself and your 84 year old mom? I would like to go there for diving but I always travel with my 84 y/o mom in law. Are there handicapped accessible places for lodging, shopping etc? How are the medical facilities (just in case), is it reasonably safe? We have been to St. Croix and aside from very limited handicapped facilities had a great time. My husband isn't comfortable with her going to mexico aside from on the cruise ships. So I am looking for other places to go. I don't know anything about Bonnaire so any info would be helpful?

Thanks
Judy

 

[Outlaw14]

Hi, I too have an elderly mother, in her 80's and slow moving, and I would not consider Bonaire for her. I did not check out the medical facilities, or investigate handicap friendly accommodations, I just don't think there's enough on Bonaire for an elderly person to do. The downtown shopping area would probably work for her, but it's not that big and could be done in a day/or an afternoon if moving quickly. That area is all one level so no climbing. But aside from lounging on a beach near where you stay I wouldn't advise it. Many of the more adventurous activities would be too much for my mother. Many of the beaches are rather rocky, but near a big hotel would be fine. I love Bonaire and I am sure others will have more to say, but I would just never take my Mother there. If it weren't for the diving, I probably wouldn't visit there again. Just not enough to do, unless looking for just total relaxation on a beach. Good luck.

 

[jstuart1]

Thanks for the info. St. Croix is kind of that way too. Lucky for me Mom doesn't remember where she has been. She can see the same thing every day and not remember it. She doesn't go out without me and is content just to drive around and look at the scenery. Mom is towards the end of the middle stage of Alzheimers. She doesn't wander yet and travel seems to do here good. At home she won't hardly get up anymore but anytime we travel she's up and ready to go with me. I'm trying to keep her traveling as long as I can even though at times it's a bit of a challenge. Any suggestions where you would take your mom and still dive? The cruise ships were great but I got spoiled to diving the same place on a smaller boat every day.

 

[herman]

There are several places that have ground level accommodations on Bonaire but I don't recall ever seeing things like wheel chair ramps. All of the places I have stayed have tile floors. These are very slick when wet, I have slipped on them myself. An older person would stand a good chance of falling. Most beaches require some walking over stones and loose coral rubble. Many of the shops and restaurants have several steps to enter and again, I don't recall any ramps. There is a hospital on island so medical help is available. The least of your worries would be crime, Bonaire is safer than most US cities. I would not consider taking an older person to Bonaire unless they were still pretty mobile.

 

[Damselfish]

I don't think I would pick for Bonaire for this. Maybe Grand Cayman? High quality of medical facilities and I didn't make specific note, but may be somewhat better about accessibility than is typical in the Carribean. (When I picture shops downtown I still think there's going to be a few steps in many places, but I'd bet the major hotels do letter.) The number of cruise ships that come through might help some.

Or possibly Aruba, not quite as good a dive destination as some other places, but since it's rather Americanized and handles a large number of tourists of different ages as well as a fair number of cruise ships, might also be friendlier in this regard. Also has a bit of nice sightseeing.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

You may want to go to the HSA website. The handicapped scuba association makes yearly trips to different destinations that are by nature of the trips required to be accessible. They have been going to Bonnaire every year for the last 10 yrs or so to the Divi Flamingo Resort. My understanding is that the first time they went they asked the resort if it would be possible to make a few ramps to aid the divers. Well when they got there there were ramps EVERYWHERE they thought it would be needed! And they have continued to upgrade every year. I can't speak as to things to do not having been there yet but it's on our places to go list. My fiance is in a chair and can't dive thanks to her doc not giving his ok and but she loves to sit in the sun and go out on the boat. I also just last week spoke with Bay Islands Beach Resort in Roatan, Honduras and they are also accessible. In the states there is Admiral Dive center in Key Largo and Atlantis Dive Center also in largo. Hope this helps. Many of these places that are HSA recommended would likely fit your needs.

 

[Dee]

Judy...Have you thought about CoCo View Resort in Roatan? We have a handicapped gentleman in a wheelchair that goes on our trips. CCV sets up a ramps for him wherever needed. Does your Mom need constant supervision? If not, there are several areas where she could sit in the sun or shade. There's also a nice seating area in the clubhouse. You'd be able to dive as much or as little as you'd like.

Call or PM me if you'd like more info.

 

[jstuart1]

Mom can be left by herself in the hotel room for the morning but not anywhere outside of there. She doesn't talk well anymore and would not remeber how to get back to the room. In the room with a tv and a window to look out she is fine. If I leave a small suitcase out, by the third day she is packing it with her clothes every day. If I night dive I have to leave her a note she can refer to otherwise she gets confused and scared. Neither one of us is much for hanging out on the beach. Mostly just sightseeing and shopping.

Dee I don't think hubby would be comfortable with me taking her to Roatan. He doesn't like cozumel either for her. I like the cayman suggestion and maybe Belize.

 

[diversteve]

I can't speak for Belize, but Grand Cayman would work. I can only recall one shopping center(strip mall) in Georgetown that had a flight of stairs to go up, most of the others were on the ground level. A couple have back entrances at street level from the parking lot and a few steps in front. There's sidewalks in Georgetown - dodging thousands of cruise ship tourists during the day will be the bigger problem.

As I recall there's also sidewalks along most(all?) parts of Seven Mile Beach where there's any kind of commercial development. Most of the restaurants are near/in strip malls so at most there'd be a couple steps up to a patio. The only place that I can recall going up a lot of stairs was the Hard Rock, but they may have an elevator too.

Not that you necessarily want to stay there, but the Hyatt is fully ADA compliant. Also Comfort Suites has elevators. Most of the private condos along SMB are on ground level also.

Some areas of Cayman, like Sunset House are downhill to the water. But there's a driveway and ramps down to the water's edge. And the restaurant (and MyBar!!) there is accessible. Probably the only place you couldn't go with mom is the Cathy Church gallery, it's down a flight of narrow stairs and kind of tight inside. I wouldn't stay there though, it's a diver's type of place, not much else to do in that area.

I wouldn't do Bonaire, I can't recall any of the resorts that had completely paved walkways - we saw a lot of them. The North resorts are high above the water so there's steep ramps at some of them. The exception would be Sand Dollar or maybe Buddy's. Downtown would be fine, there's wide sidewalks and the promenade along the waterfront. Condos to the south are mostly perched on small cliffs with stairs between levels. We stay at BelMar, but they have a 15' drop to the water just off their pool area - no fences. And unless you get a groundfloor unit, it's all narrow, twisting stairs. The exception in the south might be the Plaza, the resort, pool and restaurant have easy access.

hth,