We love to snorkel, free dive, have been spoiled by beauties of St.John (10 years ago) and Sipadan.
How does snorkeling post Omar compare to Bonaire?

From reading the posts here I understand that shallow snorkeling has not been as enjoyable due to the corral damage, would the same apply if we did freediving?

I have been to St john, and while it was awesome snorkeling,the coral is spectacular, nothing compares to what we have seen on Bonaire. This will be our third year in a row and we have been to many places in the Caribbean to snorkel. There may not be huge fans or tubes in the shallows but the things that you do see.....OMG its the BOMB!!!!!!!

My wife is an avid snorkeler. We've enjoyed St. John only once, where she saw some truly marvelous things.

February will be our 15th trip to Bonaire. At 62, she will snorkel 3-4 hours a day, generally right in front of our hotel. We will most likely do a trip on the Woodwind as well. Her choice would be Bonaire, hands down.

Me? I sit on the beach, splash about in chest-deep water, read semi-trashy novels, and listen to her detailed snorkel reports. And my choice would be Bonaire as well for everything else -- atmosphere, international flavor, beauty, ambience, restaurants, etc.

We love St. John, USVI, have been there many times (were married there), and we love to snorkel. We've seen some great things over the years in the USVIs and BVIs (Anegada!), as well as the Turks & Caicos Islands and the east side of Grand Cayman. In my opinion, most of the USVI reefs have suffered serious degradation over the past 10-12 years, certainly any that you snorkel to from the beach.

We've been to Bonaire twice over the last two years, and quite frankly, we think it's the best snorkeling in all the years we've been traveling to the Caribbean. The number and variety of marine life is better in Bonaire waters. We briefly saw dolphins in June of this year! I'm not sure when we'll go back to STJ and Anegada (BVI), but it won't be for the snorkeling, it will be for the great beaches and good vibes. For snorkeling, we'll go back to Bonaire, there are still a few things we want to see - like a spotted eagle ray!

thank you for the replies and opinions.
Sorry to hear St. John's down slide, it's been lovely there 10 years ago for the snorkeling from the south beaches.