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Bonaire is always described as a divers paradise - the Mecca of the West Indies. After 46 years under the water I finally got the chance to visit this paradise. I have read at least a dozen articles on the diving in Bonaire and the word that seems to be obligatory when you write about it is ‘Awesome!’. I must say that the diving did not quite live up to the expectations engendered by that word. Don’t get me wrong, the diving is great and I not only would, but definitely will go back - but awesome - not really.
I definitely would have to include Bonaire in the top ten or so diving areas of the Caribbean and West Indies, but definitely not in the top five. The diving is magnificent (just didn’t want to copy everyone else and say awesome) but, while there are a multitude of dive sites almost all clustered along the western shore, in actuality, there is really only one long reef that follows the shoreline with pretty much the same thing to see all along it’s length. That’s not to say there are not areas ‘better’ than others, but basically you could see everything with one ‘long’ drift dive, and you’d be hard pressed to tell one area from another. Even the areas around Klein Bonaire are all similar to the reef along Bonaire’s western shore. The one exception is the south side of Klein where there are some very beautiful coral formations falling steeply to the depths.
For the beginning or intermediate diver Bonaire is truly a paradise underwater with most of the varieties of flora and fauna found in the caribbean found easily and shallow with cliffs or dropoffs that start extremely shallow and descend for usually about 50 to 80 feet giving the less experienced diver an introduction to wall diving without the usual depths involved. Also, because the reef follows the entire coast just feet from shore in some areas, shore diving is the mainstay of your diving experience. It is just so easy to cruise around the island in your pickup loaded with gear and stopping to dive any place you see that appears interesting. This is the true draw of Bonaire - the easy accessibility of the diving - and there are no bad places. So, having said all this, come take a look at Bonaire!
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