Hi there, off to Bonaire in one week and just realized my husband and I have full foot fins. Is it possible to shore dive with these or will I need the open heel fins with booties? Just trying to avoid an unexpected last minute expense. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Shore entries vary and I would think you could enter the water with your fins on in some areas but it would be hard to do in others. We are bring open heals and aqua socks so we are not restricted in our site location. I've never been to Bonaire but do a lot of shore diving and it is the way to go.

For most shore entries you will definitely need the booties!

One solution that is inexpensive, is to get some surf/beach shoes, put a strong string/cord loop (with a plastic clip on the strings if you don't have a clip on your gear) through the loop at the backs or through a strong spot in the material, wear the surf shoes into the water until you are ready to put on your fins, take off your surf shoes, clip them onto you, then put on your fins.
Reverse the process for your exit.

Most of the shore dives on Bonaire have lots of coral rubble and ironstone at the waters edge. There are a few sites that have somewhat sandy entrys but only a few. The best option is to use good HARD soled booties and open heel fins, the next best option is the Linnea suggested.

Mark, I suggest that you consider replacing the Aquasocks with hard soled booties. With the weight of a tank and weights, the ironstone and coral rubble can be quite painful, even with the soft soled booties. Its not a pretty site to fall with all that gear on. At many of the dive sites you have to work your way through fairly narrow channels in the coral to get to water deep enough to snorkle in, so a stable footing is important. Hard soled booties are the way to go.

1) I'm frugal (a.k.a. cheap) and don't want to buy a second pair of fins.

2) I don't want to carry a second set of fins to Bonaire and really like my full-foot fins.

I've done shore dives for years with full-foot fins and recommend, "Don't do this". I've tried wading in with my Teva sandals and then putting on the fins - another bad idea. Sometime, probably after I injure myself on a shore dive, I'll wise up and get booties and open-heel fins.

I would recommend some type of beach shoes with thick soles. We have just returned and my husband has old dive booties for his fins and they were ineffective on the coral, etc. The rest of us had heavier duty booties and didn't have any problems. Go to a sports store and buy some water shoes - they run around $10 in the US but they will save your feet. They fit easily into the pockets of your BC