Bonaire Scuba Diving & Snorkeling
Bonaire's pristine reefs and diverse marine life are unique to the Caribbean. Because the waters around Bonaire are designated as an official marine park, diving Bonaire is like diving the Caribbean the way it used to be - untouched and unspoiled.
The island's location in the south Caribbean gives it an arid climate with little rainfall; consequently, the waters are exceptionally clear of silt, calm, and divable year round. It is an ideal destination for underwater photographers. Water temperatures average a warm 78-84°F (25.6-28.9°C), with visibility often averaging over 100 feet(30m), and frequently, up to 150 feet (55m).
Diving on Bonaire is a shore thing: Just rent a four-wheel-drive vehicle and head out on the island's bumpy roads to any of 50-plus yellow dive markers. Whether you suit up with tanks or just take out the snorkel, you'll appreciate the healthy reefs of the 20-year-old marine park, one of the first and finest in the world. The southern shores of the arid island are marked with beaches of coral rubble and limestone sand; the northern with steep cliffs.
Although entirely fringed by reefs, the windward side of Bonaire is usually too rough (if not dangerous) to dive—with the rare exception of the site named Lighthouse at the southern end of that coast.
Head instead to the more than 90 other tagged sites around the island— Country Garden, Angel City, Ol’ Blue, and 1000 Steps among them.
Only the uninhabited Klein Bonaire ("Little Bonaire") just offshore requires a short boat ride; there, you will find a reef just like that which fringes the larger isle. Look for octopus dens (marked by empty shells), seahorses (territorially tethered to one gorgonian or another), eels, and scads of tropicals—including plate-sized yellow tailed snapper and schools of angelfish. Conservation laws keep anchors off the bottom (and use mooring buoys instead), and outlaw any spearing of fish, collecting shells, or harming coral.
Bonaire National Marine Park It is necessary for all who use the waters of the Bonaire National Marine Park to pay a Nature Fee of $10.00 per year ($25.00 for scuba divers). At the time of payment, you will receive a specially designed tag indicating your support for nature preservation and a receipt. Keep both, as they will also provide you with complimentary admission to Washington-Slagbaai National park throughout the year your tag is valid. Tags are available at all dive operations, hotels, resorts, windsurfing operations, sport fishing charter boats, sail/snorkel/water taxi operations and marinas.