We will be sorkeling mostly from shore on our trip coming up in a couple of weeks. Our fins do not have adjustable heels. We're planning on wearing sandals to water's edge or beyond, then changing into fins. I have a mesh gear bag that wil fit over my shoulder & can swim with it. Will the sandals be good enough foot protection to get down to the water?

Also, we have no wet suits of any kind. How necessary is the 3-mil shorty I notice recommended on this board? We've snorkeled a fair amount before--BVI & St Martin--in swim suits with maybe a t-shirt.

Dave, you could get by with the sandals. one thing about snorkeling- you are ususally close to shore so, if you do get chilly, come out of the water and warm up abit, then go back in.

it isnt quite like on a scuba dive where you want to stay down for certain length of time and getting cold will ruin the dive.

if you want to stay in the water for an extended time, having some type of wetsuit would be nice. the water is really wonderful, enjoy

there are all types of sea creatures close to shore, we have see eel, scorpion fish, spiney urchins, and other things in 1 foot or less of water, so stepping on these with bare feet would not be fun for either the creature or you. that is not counting sharp coral and of course in places fish hooks. so booties or something on your feet will make your dive or snorkel alot safer and comfortable.

Dave,

It looks as though your sandals are waterproof. Keep
them on until you are in a comfortable depth of water
then put your fins on. Reverse on return.

I dove for years on Bonaire in a long sleeved chambray
shirt and jeans and was warm enough. One nice thing
about snorkelling is that you have the sun heat input on
the top to balance heat lost to the water. If you have
snorkelled comfortably 'up north' surely you can wear
the same in Bonaire where the water is a little warmer.

Have a good trip!! That is easy on Bonaire.

We snorkelled without suits in January without any problems, just swimsuits and T Shirts for sun protection. Foot protection is more important with sharp coral and some urchins, it is hard on the bare feet, i wish I had booties (2 of our party did and 2 did not, what a difference!)

I tried the non-booty route for a few months here, wearing sandals into water deep enough to float in, swapping the sandals for my Force Fins (I have big feet and can't wear them with booties), and then clipping my sandals to my BCD with a carabiner. One does not look graceful doing this, and if your sandals are thong type (i.e. only secured to your foot between your big toe and the adjacent one), walking through water, especially with surge, is a challenge. I switched to titanium soled booties from Deep Sea, I think, and now use big black Turtle Fins for my propulsion, and couldn't be happier.

The rocks and coral can be pretty hard on the feet so go the bootie route. Don't use the soft sole ones, kind of like socks with a soft rubber coating on the botton but instead get the hard soled ones. Booted fins are also less likely to cause blisters on the feet.

What is the best set up for kids to wear on their feet? Are water shoes okay? Our kids are 7,8 and 10 and we will be staying at the Belmar for two weeks. I know they will want to spend a lot of time in the water snorkeling (though they never have done it yet). We will be arriving there on Friday March 16th.

Since kids don't weigh as much as we do water shoes should be fine, although the stiffer the sole the better.

Barry Baker

Kids don't usually whine as much as we do either...

ouch...

I think we become softer in our old age (in more areas than just our feet :-)). I remember when I could walk on stones and not even flinch - now if I walk on stiff or brittle grasses it can hurt.

My kids like simple reef walkers for walking over the iron shore or entering the water at the beach. Although sometimes I can't get shoes on them at all. I usually take flip-flops or sandal type shoes along for walking on roads or across crushed coral walkways.