Do any of the dive shops offer snuba rentals?

No, Snuba is all about walking on the bottom with your helmet in place. Walking on the bottom is not done in the Marine Park...

I never realized the negative to snuba. I just considered it as an adjunct to snorkeling that allowed one to swim down and stay under for a longer period of time. I suppose what you are saying is that people are using snuba with weight belts...Horrors!

john, I see from your profile, that you are not cirtified. When you come to the Island try Discover SCUBA! For $70 u.s.d. your instructor will show you how to operate the gear, then take you out to the top of the reef, and enjoy!!! If you decide to get certified, that dive will count as your 2nd OW/Dive...

I am John's wife and actually, we are certified, but because of age and back conditions, we only snorkel now and we enjoy snorkeling a lot. We are looking forward to our first trip to Bonaire in Feb. and it seems to be THE place we have been looking for--lots of shore snorkeling. We have lots of experience both diving and snorkeling--not newbies! Thanks for the info, though.

We are in our earlly 60's! Diving is good for the body!!!

Ron, I have friends in their mid 30-s who love to dive, but due to physical limitations they are no longer able / allowed to dive. Please accept that people are different.

Ron.. I'll bet you do feel better after diving. Well I'm sure you have some arthritis & from what I've read hyperbaric treatment has been shown to ameliorate the symptoms of it. My wife has R.A. which is more severe then osteo & she does feel much better after diving (assuming no falls when getting in)..

Yeah Vince, I feel great after diving! I'm quite sure that the hyperbaric treatment has an efect! It is a shame that some people can't enjoy the peace and freedom of the sea.

Cynde, I feel the pain that your friends have, not being able to dive. Being a former Marine, It is hard for me to process the word CAN'T...

John -

Don't apologize for going to Bonaire (or anywhere else) "only to snorkel."

We have snorkeled in Hawaii and several locations in the northern Caribbean, and we have found nothing that even comes close to Bonaire for quality and quantity of excellent, easy, uninhibited snorkeling.

As experienced snokelers, you undoubtedly have a good frame of reference. Because of that, I think you will recognize more quickly than most the quality of the Bonaire snorkeling experience. Please do let us know in a trip report.

Bon bini na Bonaire!

Charles Poteet
Dallas

Hi Johns Wife, I agree with Cynde (aka Boat Chick) and Mr. Poteet. I too feel compelled to say that there is no such activity as "only snorkeling"

While I share Ron's enthusiasm and wish that everyone could try diving, I also know and accept that not everyone can. Also, after 20 years working in scuba diving, I have come to the conclusion that there are many people who do dive - that shouldn't.

There have been times that I couldn't dive or my diving activities were extremely limited due to medical conditions. Some of that time has been spent on Bonaire and the snorkeling/freediving was...... INCREDIBLE! Better to be active doing something we can do, rather than dwelling on what we CAN'T or in some cases shouldn't do.

Well it is about time for me to close this dive shop and head home please, never again say ....... "only snorkeling"?

Sorry for rambling, I'm gone,

Having been in the "snorkeling only" category for the last...oh...six months due to a broken vertebrae, it does feel good to get in the water and swim and look at the fish, heck, I had to settle for hanging off the front of the dinghy and pointing things out for a while! lol!

John & wife, you will have a wonderful time. Allow yourself to enjoy a healthy chuckle as you watch a turtle swim right over an oblivious diver.

There are many reasons some of us choose to snorkel rather than dive--health, finances, etc.. Personally, I just like to stay above it all.

"only snorkeling" is just my idiosyncratic speech -- not reflective of an attitude. I love and treasure snorkeling above all else to do in this world. It is my passion. I usually snorkel for hours at a time. If I didn't have family connections in NA I would move to a snorkel destination, probably Bonaire, for the rest of my life. I even plan to snorkel my way through Alzheimer's when I'm 90!

Hey Ron....I think yo uare showing your age of OLD....snuba is more of a skin diving with surface supplied air....your buddy.,..MACHO

Snuba (a portmanteau of "snorkel" and "scuba") is a method of underwater swimming in which the swimmer uses the swimfins, diving mask, weights, and breathing apparatus commonly used in scuba diving, but the air tanks which are usually strapped to the back are instead laid horizontally in 5'-long rubber pontoon rafts that remain on the water's surface. Snuba is typically used as a form of "introductory diving" (diving done in the presence of a professional, insured guide, and following a very short lesson, but not requiring a SCUBA certification).

Ed(Macho), Been a while for me with SNUBA! In the 60's, off of Maui, SNUBA was a weight belt, hardhat, and airhose. A catamaran, that would hold 60 people, would supply the air to their guests for a lenght of time for cash! They would walk on the bottom!! BAD!

I googled it and see the changes in the past years, and for the good, if I must say! I still haven't seen it on Bonaire yet. It is so cheap to dive with all the gear, and your not limited to 20fsw! Back then, it was 32fsw...

But your right, showing my age! SNUBA to me now is NEWBA!!!

When is your next trip? Would like to be on Island the same time for some diving. We go every May and Oct. every year... Maybe???

looks like July and October right now...might go in early November, that has become the time of choice,,,,through Veteran's Day and around the 4th of July...usually 10 days

We go the 2nd & 3rd week in October, maybe see ya...