Bonaire has been high up on our list as one of the top places to go for a scuba diving vacation. It’s one of the best shore diving destinations in the world with pristine reefs thriving with marine life. In fact, all the surrounding waters are part of the Bonaire National Marine Park. This means that all coral reefs and marine life are protected within the park.
We first visited Bonaire on a cruise ship excursion and were intrigued by the yellow rocks marking the dive sites all along the coast. It was enough to stick with us and help us make the decision to come to Bonaire for a week of scuba diving. As we researched in various dive forums, Buddy Dive came up again and again. See our review of the Buddy Dive Resort here.
The island is literally filled with resorts and dive operators so while we enjoyed Buddy Dive there is no shortage of options in various price ranges. Just get to the island and get geared up and you will enjoy the diving!
Bonaire National Marine Park
The marine park includes the entire coastline of Bonaire, Klein Bonaire and Lac Bay. The protected area also extends 200 feet inland creating a haven for marine life. This makes it a wonderful place to dive with colorful coral reefs full of life, big and small. A paradise for scuba divers and snorkelers alike!
But before you can get a taste of what these crystal-clear waters have to offer you must buy a mandatory nature tag. You can get one from your dive operator or activity center: $45 for scuba divers and $25 for all other water activities. The tag is valid until December 31 of the year of purchase and you can use it to enter the Washington Slagbaai National Park for free. Just show your receipt and a picture ID.
Also, all divers must attend a dive orientation from their dive operator before getting in the water. A small price to pay to see what lies below the surface!
Scuba diving in Bonaire
Only 3.5 miles wide at its widest point Bonaire is not a large island. Most of the popular dive sites are along the western side just around the capital Kralendijk. These shore dive sites are mostly 30-40 ft offshore and easily swimmable from the shoreline although entry can be challenging as the coast is rocky and rugged.
Klein Bonaire, a small uninhabited islet, is only a short boat ride off the west coast of Bonaire. This is where you’ll find many additional sites accessible through most dive operators and charters. You can dive all around the island and we tried all sides. Klein is nice but we actually thought there was more life close to the shoreline of Bonaire where we did all of our shore dives (and some boat dives too).
While there are dive sites on the eastern and northern coast, the currents and waves can be challenging, and these are for experienced divers or thrill seekers. We like to be lazy divers, just slowly drifting with our camera taking pictures. Why fight the currents if you don’t have to (but to each his own)!
Bonaire itself is pristine. Part of the Netherlands, it has been active and outspoken about conservation for years. This along with some restoration programs has paid off in keeping the reefs in great shape. We had literally never seen reefs filled with marine life the way we did here. Many of the nicest reefs were just 20-30 ft from shore and started at a depth of 10-15 ft. This allows for long shallow dives with spectacular sightings.
While there is no doubt entry and exit via a boat is easiest, you can access all the shore dive sites directly from the coastline. Most rental cars are pickup trucks and many operators offer you a pickup for hauling your tanks around. We saw many drive-thru tank filling stations too.
All the dive sites are marked with painted yellow rocks next to the road. Just pull up, gear up and dive in. We did find some of the entries challenging. Even our guide when asked about the famous 1000 Steps dive site said he did it once. But after hauling his tanks and gear up the steps would not do it again!
If you are going to stay at a hotel or a resort, see if you can find one with a house reef. Buddy Dive Resort has a spectacular reef which we enjoyed immensely. And it was super convenient to dive just outside our room! See our post: Scuba Diving Vacation at Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire
While mostly reef diving, there’s also a popular wreck, the Hilma Hooker. This 236-foot freighter lies on its side close to shore in 60ft-100ft of water and makes for a great dive. It’s also part of Bonaire’s National Marine Park.
See our post: Tale of the Hilma Hooker Shipwreck in Bonaire
Top side activities in Bonaire
As difficult as it was to say goodbye to the reefs, we appreciated the opportunity to explore a bit more of what Bonaire has to offer. Aside from roaming around Kralendijk’s colorful city-center, we also ventured out to see some of Bonaire’s top side attractions. Starting by a must-do visit to Bonaire’s other national park, the Washington Slagbaai National Park, we also, enjoyed taking a drive along Bonaire’s southern end.
See our post: Scenic Drives to Take in Bonaire
Conclusion
Honestly, we have to say that Bonaire’s reefs were so full of life and so easily accessible it made for an amazing dive vacation. Ideal for beginners and experienced divers alike. Little to no current (although some east side sites are more challenging) diving was easy as was picture taking.
We can see why divers often vote for Bonaire being a top dive destination! You can easily see so much marine life on each dive, it’s awesome! After all, this is where we saw our first seahorse (we saw four!) and to top it off, we spotted a cleaner shrimp at work on a damselfish!
This time around we didn’t see turtles or sharks or mantas although they do frequent these waters. We did see dozens of cleaner shrimps (a rare sighting for us usually), scorpion fish, eagle rays, trumpetfish, huge tarpons as well as the local redlip blennies and other little creatures making each dive fabulous!
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