Bonaire / Caribbean Netherlands
Bonaire is for people who are here to dive, and nothing else particularly matters. The island is small, flat, and not conventionally beautiful, no jungle, no dramatic scenery. What it has is more than 85 marked dive sites, over 50 of them reachable from shore, a culture of radical self-sufficiency in the water, and a protected marine park. Most visitors rent a truck, fill tanks, and repeat until it's time to fly home. It is very peaceful.
Open Water minimum. Choose sites and depths within your training and recent experience, and confirm extra operator requirements for exposed sites, night dives and deep profiles. The sheltered west coast suits newly-certified divers building confidence. STINAPA requires an orientation dive on arrival. A STINAPA Nature Fee ($40 per calendar year, per stinapabonaire.org) is required for everyone entering the sea. Buy it online at stinapa.bonairenaturefee.org; you get a QR code by email, and rangers can ask for it. Bonaire has its own recompression chamber, next to Fundashon Mariadal hospital in Kralendijk (o2bonaire.com, checked 2 Nov 2026).
Mostly little current on the sheltered west coast, which is what makes Bonaire so good for shore diving, but current, surge, entry and exit vary by site. The exposed east coast is for advanced divers only: STINAPA recommends going with an experienced guide, and specialist operators run boat dives there. Water is warm year-round.
Also good: Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May.
Diveable year-round, subject to weather, sea conditions and site restrictions. Bonaire sits outside the main hurricane belt. Rain, trade winds and swell vary through the year, so check local forecasts rather than counting on one guaranteed calm window.
Converted at 26 Oct 2026 rates. Shops charge in their own currency.
These shops give divers who use our discount code a small extra. That is the only reason they appear in this box. The full list below shows shops that confirmed their prices with us first, then shops that sent us their own photos, then everyone else, each from the lowest price.
No operators found.
Bonaire's marine park dates from 1979: a no-anchoring policy, traditional fishing only with no-fishing zones and reserves, no spearfishing, and a mandatory Nature Fee for everyone who enters the sea. The west coast is lined with named shore entries every few hundred metres, each with its own character. Night diving reveals an entirely different community, including octopuses and tarpon hunting under torches. Flamingos, the island's other icon, wade the salt flats above water.
Terrain
Sighted on patient searches, reported at sites including Salt Pier. Sightings vary.
Often seen resting and grazing on the reef. Wildlife is never guaranteed.
Regular sightings at Salt Pier and deeper sites along the south coast.
Night dives bring out octopus and tarpon hunting in torch light. Ask a shop which sites are open at night.
French and grey angelfish, parrotfish, queen triggerfish, dense, approachable, on every dive.
Hundreds of Caribbean flamingos wade the salt pans in the island's south. Pink enough to seem unreal.
Depth5–40 m
Wall dropping from 5 m to 40+ m with enormous star coral heads and eagle ray visits. The 67-step entry and exit carrying tanks is physically demanding. Assess swell, current and planned depth separately.
Depth5–20 m
Industrial pier in the south with pilings encrusted in coral and sponge, seahorses clinging to holdfasts, eagle rays patrolling the sand, dense reef fish. A working pier: no diving while a ship is there, so confirm access with a local shop.
Depth3–25 m
Pristine reef on the uninhabited islet across from Kralendijk, noticeably higher fish density than trafficked main-island sites. Boat access only; excellent for photography.
Depth5–30 m
A popular all-round shore dive with turtles, gorgonians and eagle rays, well liked by underwater photographers.
Fly to Flamingo Airport (BON), direct connections from Amsterdam (KLM year-round), Miami, Houston, Atlanta, and New York. No transit through Curacao or Aruba needed for most North American and European travellers. The airport is small; arrivals are fast and relaxed. Rent a car or pickup truck for shore diving independence, a truck with a tank rack is the classic Bonaire dive setup.
Open Water minimum. Choose sites and depths within your training and recent experience, and confirm extra operator requirements for exposed sites, night dives and deep profiles. The sheltered west coast suits newly-certified divers building confidence. STINAPA requires an orientation dive on arrival. A STINAPA Nature Fee ($40 per calendar year, per stinapabonaire.org) is required for everyone entering the sea. Buy it online at stinapa.bonairenaturefee.org; you get a QR code by email, and rangers can ask for it. Bonaire has its own recompression chamber, next to Fundashon Mariadal hospital in Kralendijk (o2bonaire.com, checked 2 Nov 2026).
Kralendijk has ATMs (USD is the official currency since 2011), supermarkets, pharmacies, and a medical clinic. The island is small, driveable in 2 hours. Infrastructure is functional and reliable; nothing is flashy. Electricity and water are stable. Pickup truck rental with a tank rack is the standard shore diving transport, book ahead in peak season.
Digicel and Telbo offer 4G across most of the island. WiFi at all dive resorts and most restaurants. Check roaming and charges with your own provider. The island is small enough that you're never truly off the grid.
Bonaire has its own recompression chamber next to Fundashon Mariadal hospital in Kralendijk (o2bonaire.com, checked 2 Nov 2026). Ask your dive shop whether it is currently operating, and don't assume it is available at once. In an emergency, go to the hospital's emergency room, not to the chamber. Dive conservatively, particularly on multi-dive shore days (some divers do 4–5 dives/day here, which significantly increases decompression risk). Marine Park wardens patrol sites; no-touch rules are enforced and fines apply. Do not anchor on coral or remove anything from the water.
Christmas–New Year and February half-term are busiest, and tank queues at dive shops grow long. Apr–May and Oct–Nov are good shoulder periods with fewer people. Summer (Jun–Aug) is low season but diving is perfectly good, occasional rain, fewer tourists, lower prices.
Conditions and operator availability change. Always verify locally before booking.
Bonaire National Marine Park is rated "Beginner-friendly". Open Water minimum. Choose sites and depths within your training and recent experience, and confirm extra operator requirements for exposed sites, night dives and deep profiles. The sheltered west coast suits newly-certified divers building confidence. STINAPA requires an orientation dive on arrival. A STINAPA Nature Fee ($40 per calendar year, per stinapabonaire.org) is required for everyone entering the sea. Buy it online at stinapa.bonairenaturefee.org; you get a QR code by email, and rangers can ask for it. Bonaire has its own recompression chamber, next to Fundashon Mariadal hospital in Kralendijk (o2bonaire.com, checked 2 Nov 2026).
The best months are Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May. Diveable year-round, subject to weather, sea conditions and site restrictions. Bonaire sits outside the main hurricane belt. Rain, trade winds and swell vary through the year, so check local forecasts rather than counting on one guaranteed calm window.
Divers come to Bonaire National Marine Park for Seahorses (longsnout & lined), Hawksbill & green turtles, Spotted eagle rays, Night life (octopus, tarpon), Reef fish density, Flamingos (above water). Mostly little current on the sheltered west coast, which is what makes Bonaire so good for shore diving, but current, surge, entry and exit vary by site. The exposed east coast is for advanced divers only: STINAPA recommends going with an experienced guide, and specialist operators run boat dives there. Water is warm year-round.
Guided dives and trips range from USD 51 to USD 1,620.92, based on operator prices verified 2026-06-24. Confirm current prices with the operator.
