Bonaire is a small island located about 120 miles off the coast of Venezuela in the southern Caribbean. It is famous for its great diving. Everyone from beginners to advanced divers will find something to their liking here. Although it has withstood an occasional hurricane in its history, it is generally considered to be outside the hurricane belt, allowing for excellent year-round diving.

Bonaire is considered by many, myself included, to be one of the best diving destinations in the world. In fact, I visited three times in an eighteen month period because I enjoy it so much. There is something to be said for returning to places you are familiar and comfortable with. People are warm. The system to access your tanks for shore diving is very easy to use. Nitrox was not an additional charge as dive shops felt it was important to encourage its use to protect their divers. It is also a very easy island to get around. Rent a truck at the airport and go.

To date, I have gone diving with ‘Buddy Dive’ and ‘Toucan Diving’ dive shops. Both dive shops were very helpful staff wise. However, Toucan Diving had an advantage, as their dive boats are stored in a protected area. You can load your things and organize your equipment before leaving the dock in calm waters. The Buddy Dive boats were on a dock adjacent to the open sea, which was a nice sight, but the boats were constantly hitting the dock as divers tried to board with heavy gear. You have to prepare your gear on the way to the dive site or at the dive site, because you just need to sit back and hang on while the boat bangs while everyone else is loading up. Another reason I prefer Toucan Diving is a particular dive master. His name is Jackson. He is always enthusiastic about the sport despite practicing it for years, and always goes out of his way to show divers the cool stuff, like the frogfish and the air pocket on the 99-foot Hilma Hooker shipwreck. Of the two dive shops, toucan diving has always been my preference.

Bonaire’s sea creatures are abundant. I started my first dive with a beautiful floating spotted eagle ray and saw several more as the week went on. There were also turtles on several dives. These will always be some of my favorites. Bonaire also has several dive sites where seahorses tend to congregate. These are definitely creatures you don’t see often, but I have seen them on every trip to Bonaire. There were also several opportunities to see frogfish as well as many smaller creatures which made for some excellent macro photography. There were many more marine animals that deserve an honorable mention, but too many to include them all here! Let’s just say diving here gets a thumbs up!

Bonaire is well known for its shore diving, and I have tried it many times. Although the freedom of shore diving is wonderful, the entrances at many sites are still quite challenging as they are often rocky and slippery. Make sure to watch your fingers because there are eels everywhere (and gloves are not allowed as Bonaire is considered a marine sanctuary)! There are several dive sites from shore that I prefer, like “Oil Slick” because you can enter via a platform ladder. We also like “Ciudad Ángel” because that place has never let me down. The old coral is a bit of a tricky entrance, but definitely worth it when you jump in and see all the squid that like to hang out here. I will always like boat diving better because I like to jump right into the water without the dangers of twisting my ankle along the way (which happened to a friend of mine before she even got in the water)! Also, if you dive from shore, make sure you don’t leave anything of value in the car, as I’ve heard of theft issues, but never experienced them.

So whether boat diving or land diving suits you, you’ll find it on Bonaire. This small and picturesque island allows for a relaxed and rewarding diving experience. Call your travel agent and pack your gear. Great diving in a tropical paradise awaits you. There is no better formula for a great diving vacation.