Diving Bonaire

PO Box 3119, St. James, Barbados, W.I.
Tel: 1 (246) 434 3434 E-mail: info@skyviews.com

Bonaire has often been described "a diver's paradise" and as having without question the best diving in the Caribbean; on closer inspection, it is clear why this island has consistently maintained this reputation - for the last 20 years the waters around the entire coastline have formed the giant Bonaire Marine Park extending from the high water mark to a depth of 200 feet (60m). Strict and conscientious environmental preservation laws and practices have ensured that Bonaire has one of the most pristine coral reef environments on Earth. Diving is easy; many of the 80+ official named sites can be accessed right from the shore - in many instances you just plonk your tank in the water, swim out 50 yards, put the tank on and drop down.

diver with angelfish

Since much of Bonaire's diving can be done straight from the shore official dive sites are marked out with bright yellow stones with the name of the site on the stone. It makes locating dive sites a breeze and has the added bonus of helping you to figure out exactly where you are on the coastline! Bonaire has a good 15+ official named snorkelling sites, all of which are, without any exaggeration, absolutely exceptional. Even "unofficial" spots are particularly good with abundant flower, elkhorn, finger, brain, star and plate coral formations with a diverse and colourful variety of reef-dwelling fish.

snorkeller

Further afield there are a number of famous dive spots on Klein Bonaire, a smaller and intentionally undeveloped island a short boat ride off Bonaire's West Coast. There some excellent snorkel spots here too. The few dive sites in Bonaire that require boat rides or a little more than just falling off the shore into the water are all worth the extra effort. Many hotel-based dive operations offer frequent diving & snorkelling trips to Klein Bonaire.

What happens if you come to Bonaire, love the snorkelling, but want to learn how to dive?. No problem. Bonaire is very well organised in this department; although only 60 % of visitors to Bonare are certified divers, a considerably greater proportion of those leaving are certified! Bonaire's dive operators offer many courses for beginners to the old pros. One of Bonaire's terrific advantages is that much of its best coral reef environments lie in only 30-40ft (10-13m) of water, allowing long dives plus avoiding the hassle of several decompression stops that deep diving necessitates.