Scuba diving in Bonaire

Bonaire diving is shore diving at its best: more than 80 marked sites line the island's sheltered west coast, most reachable by driving up, gearing up at the tailgate, and walking in. The entire coastline down to about 200 ft has been protected as the Bonaire National Marine Park since 1979, and decades of strict rules show in the health of the coral and the tameness of the fish. Rent a pickup, load it with tanks, and dive on your own schedule — that's the Bonaire routine.

The signature dives

1000 Steps is the island's best-known shore dive: a limestone staircase (closer to 70 steps than a thousand, though it feels like more on the way back up with a tank) leading to a sandy shelf and a gently sloping reef where turtles are regular visitors. The Salt Pier, south of Kralendijk, is a photographer's favorite — sunlight slicing through the pillars, schools of snapper and grunts, and sometimes tarpon — but it closes whenever ships are loading, so check before you go. The Hilma Hooker, a cargo ship seized with a large drug haul and sunk as an artificial reef in 1984, lies on her side in about 60–100 ft and is an easy, rewarding wreck. Klein Bonaire, the small uninhabited island just offshore, is reached by boat and ringed with pristine reefs such as No Name and Knife.

Conditions and season

Bonaire sits south of the main hurricane belt, and its west coast is in the lee of steady trade winds, so it's a genuine year-round destination. Water runs roughly 78–84 °F, and a 3 mm suit covers most divers. Visibility is typically 60–100 ft. Currents on the west coast are usually gentle, which is a big part of why unguided shore diving works so well here. The windward east coast is rough and only dived on calm days with local guidance.

Good to know

• Every diver must buy the STINAPA nature fee tag, valid for a calendar year, before diving the marine park.
• New arrivals complete a marine park orientation before their first dive, usually through a dive shop.
• The rules are strict and enforced: no gloves, no touching or standing on coral, no anchoring (moorings only).
• Shore sites are marked by yellow-painted rocks along the coast road; don't leave valuables in your vehicle.
• Night dives are a highlight — Bonaire's reef lights up with octopus, tarpon hunting in dive lights, and, in some seasons, glowing string-of-pearls ostracods.

Who it suits: confident, self-reliant divers who like freedom and lots of dives per day, plus photographers and macro fans. Newer divers can get the same access on guided shore dives.