About VIP Diving
More Than Diving
Our slogan is represents our goal. To give you the best experience on Bonaire we can. We love introducing new divers to the wonders of the ocean, showing off our beautiful underwater world of Bonaire, and making diving as safe, convenient, and fun as possible. This means we take care of all the logistics of diving, keep our groups small to ensure you have all the personal attention you need and that your experience is free from any troubles. That is VIP Diving.
Our Sustainability Efforts
VIP Diving has been recognized and awarded for its sustainability efforts for more than a decade now. We take our responsibility to Bonaire, our ocean and our guests seriously. This starts at the shop where we are saving and reusing water where possible.
The water from our rinsing tanks for regulators and cameras is being used the next day for rinsing other less sensitive dive equipment and finally used for watering the our front garden. The water from our air-conditioning units (which we don’t use too often) drips into small herb gardens or collected to water plants around the building. Fresh water on the semi-arid Caribbean island of Bonaire is scarce as groundwater is generally brackish and, apart from the spring at Fontein, there are no perennial streams and springs.
Bonaire is taking steps towards changing to green energy. Currently Bonaire has 12 wind turbines, which allow wind power to make up 40-45% of the average annual electricity.
VIP Diving wants to go further than that, so we installed our own solar panels which we continue to add to and expand! The solar energy from our roof makes it possible to use green energy for most of our activities, without using polluting batteries for storage. By using the most energy when the sun is shining, we take maximum advantage of our solar panels. In this way we choose the greenest mix of energy use possible! Of course we also do everything to reduce our energy consumption, for example by using LED lighting and drying our laundry in the sun.
Waste Separation / Recycling
Waste separation and recycling are not as obvious in Bonaire as in most Western countries, But Bonaire is making important steps. VIP Diving follows the developments and will participate in a waste separation where possible. We have separate bins for paper, glass, plastic and – nicely crushed – cans. We also try to avoid pollution on the island, for example by using reusable batteries in our shop and collecting non-reusable batteries. We ask our guests to take them home for proper disposal. In this way, they don’t end up in a landfill on the island where they can pollute the environment.