Diving in Bonaire
Favorable geography makes Bonaire the shore diving capital of the Caribbean. The island's boomerang shape shelters the west coast from prevailing easterly trade winds and ocean swells, no rivers flow from the arid landscape to mar visibility, currents are mild to non-existent, and reefs begin downward slopes just yards from shore. Hurricanes are extremely rare, as Bonaire sits south of the Caribbean's hurricane belt, and weather and sea conditions have minimal seasonal variation. Humans have also played a role in the island's rise to diving fame. The Bonaire National Marine Park was established in 1979, and the island's entire coastline is protected. All divers must purchase a marine park tag, which funds the park, and are asked to perform an initial checkout dive to fine tune buoyancy before visiting area reefs. There are more than 60 dives sites on the western side of the island, and another 25 on the low-lying, uninhabited island of Klein Bonaire, which lies less than 1,000 yards to the west. A coastal highway gives access to many sites, which are marked by yellow-painted rocks at turn offs and parking areas. A number of rental car agencies offer compact pickup trucks fitted with tank racks, and these are often seen parked all along the coastline. A number of dive resorts are clustered along the shoreline to the north and south of the town's main town, Kralendijk. Resorts offer a combination of shore diving on house reefs and daily boat dives to sections of the coast that cannot be easily reached by land, as well as sites on Klein Bonaire. Many resorts and dive shops offer shore diving packages that provide unlimited tank rentals and air fills.
Physical descriptions of Bonaire's dive sites often seem repetitive, as many sites share similar characteristic. In general, sites begin on a beach, rock-covered shore or low coastal cliff, where near-shore shallows from 10 to 50 yards in width lead to the upper end of a sloping reef at depths of 25 to 30 feet. Some sites have scattered coral heads in the shallows, many have sand or rubble, and a few offer luxuriant coral growths right up to the waterline. From 25 feet downward, slopes are covered in thick growths of hard and soft corals that hold a wide range of tropical fish and other marine life. At depths of around 100 feet, many reefs level out into a deeper sand sledge that extends offshore to a second drop that is beyond the depths of scuba. Not all sites follow this common pattern. On the island's north coast, sites within Washington Slagbaai National Park begin in narrower coves tucked between rocky headlands. Along the island's southern coast, some sites offer sufficient current to stage a drift dive. The wreck of the 230-foot Hilma Hooker is easily reached from shore, and a pair of piers attract marine life. The long-time favorite, Town Pier, now requires a guide for access, while the expansive network of pillars at Salt Pier harbor a diverse array of life. A small number of adventurous divers visit the island's eastern shore when conditions permit. Here, sites such as White Hole offer drop offs, clefts and caverns that attract turtles, rays and schooling fish–plus, one of the best chances to see sharks.