Hi...okay, reservations made for early December for friend and I.......at Divi...what I am wondering is..if we rent a car and go around to various beaches etc....are they public in the sense of Aruba being (supposedly!) not privately owner ie someone can walk in the ocean from anywhere "legally".......is this making sense? Are we going to be limited to Divi's beach area or how much freedom do we have to check out all the other places? And if we have to use "public beaches" ie not in front of a hotel, is there an easily buyable/obtainable map of such areas once we get to the island? Thanks for any answers ahead of time

Maps are easily available and free. You'll find them at many locations around the island, including (I believe) the airport. Try this one for a head start: http://www.skyviews.com/bonaire/index.html.

Entry to the ocean from public areas is free. Entry to the ocean for diving at some resorts might entail a nominal fee; snorkelers can usually walk right into the water.

You are in for a much more tranquil, relaxing treat than Aruba. Slow down and enjoy the natural magnificence of the Caribbean.

Charles Poteet
Dallas

Are there beaches in Aruba? There is not much in the way of beaches in Bonaire but there are many rocky shores you may enter the water from. Maybe a pair of stout sandals would be advised for the snorkeler, or even booties.
All shore diving sites (OK for snorkelers too) are marked with yellow rocks by the side of the road.

(Message edited by seb on October 7, 2003)

Even better !!!! As Charles stated, with the exception of the resorts, all the beach snorkling/dive sites are clearly marked with large piece of coral painted bright yellow and have the site's name printed on them. All sites have parking and un-restricted access to the beach. You have but to park and walk.

As you will be walking across coral on the beach, you WILL need something substantial protecting the bottoms of your feet.

Everyone here is not a Charles, C-man Kritagent.

Everybody was Charles when I posted Seb.

Check the date/time of our messages and will notice we posted at the same time.

Here is another link to a good map of the dive sites on Bonaire. Also keep in mind that the beaches in front of houses is "private." You don't want to go walking through someone's yard to get to the water You may also want to check out the "Snorkeling Bonaire" Topic here on BT. You can read others snorkeling reports Have fun!

http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/index.htm

In addition to the great info above, once on island you can purchase the book Shore Diving Bonaire by Jessie Armacost available at dive shops. It is also helpful for snorkeling. Also, it really is advisable to have some sort of hard sole booties to get into the water as the shore line is not sandy.

I second the recommendation for Jesse Armacost's book, for snorkeling as well as diving. And you'll definitely need those booties (or teva's or something you can take off once you're in the water, if you have full foot fins): although I've seen it done, it's NOT fun walking over the coral/rocks bare-footed!!

And there is private shore-front on Bonaire, incidentally. Plus some of us get a bit peeved when people decide to go through our property to get to the water if they don't ask and we don't know them (that's to answer the "public" question).

Jake

Jake, would that include women who walk up and onto your backyard and peer through your kitchen window?

Yep, unless they are good looking and naked. Haven't had that happen yet though ;-)

Jake