Is Bonaire good for beginner divers?

Yes, partly: 13 of the 29 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Andrea II, Buddy's Reef and Kalli's Reef. The others need more experience or a higher certification.

What is the water temperature in Bonaire?

The water is usually between 26 °C and 29 °C over the year.

What marine life can you see in Bonaire?

Divers regularly see turtles (all year), eagle rays, stingrays, barracuda, tarpon and frogfish.

How do you dive Bonaire?

The nearest airport is BON. Ways to dive here: shore diving and day boats.

Bonaire

29 documented dive sites, 13 of them for Open Water divers. Known for turtles, eagle rays and stingrays.

Best months: Dec–Jun
Water: 26–29 °C
Levels: Open Water, Advanced, Experienced
Diving from: Shore diving, Day boats
Nearest airport: BON

When to go

Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.

Pick a month

Best
Good
Possible
Closed
Not documented yet

Bonaire in October

Good season

Sea: 30 °C; at the surface
Air: 31 °C; 27 °C at night
Rain: 80 mm; one of the wettest months
Wind: 21 km/h; on average

The warmest water of the year.

Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.

Peak season Dec–Jun. Below the hurricane belt, but the Caribbean storm season (peak Aug–Nov) can affect conditions.

Source: zubludiving.com

Dive sites in Bonaire

From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.

Open Water friendly

usual dive down to 18 m13 sites

Andrea II

Shore-dive coral garden with large shallow coral formations and Reef Renewal Foundation coral trees planted to help restore the reef.

Open Water
Reef
Turtles

Buddy's Reef

Buddy Dive Resort's house reef, perfect for beginners, where black crinoids perch on coral heads and a resident tarpon greets most night divers.

Open Water
Reef
Turtles

Reef

down to 32 m

Kalli's Reef

Popular stretch of reef named after a Bonaire National Marine Park manager, and a good spot for seahorses and turtles.

Open Water
Turtles

Windsock

Open Water
Reef
Turtles

Reef

down to 30 m

Bari Reef

Named #1 in the entire Caribbean for fish diversity, with over 300 species surveyed here through REEF.

Open Water
Tarpon

Reef

down to 40 m

Barcadera

Boat dive opposite the marine park HQ, with elkhorn coral shallows and schools of algae-eating blue tangs.

Open Water

Wall

down to 46 m

Captain Don's Reef

Klein Bonaire reef with a mooring plaque honouring pioneer diver Don Stewart; a must dive for all levels.

Open Water

Reef

down to 30 m

Chachacha Beach

Simple Kralendijk shore dive used for courses and great for night dives, when even eagle rays visit.

Open Water
Eagle rays

Reef

down to 40 m

Corporal Meiss

Yellow-stone shore dive where schools of barracuda hunt on the reef and eels and octopuses hide among the corals.

Open Water
Turtles

Reef

down to 27 m

Eighteenth Palm

Double reef where southern stingrays and spotted eagle rays are often seen on the sand, and tarpon have been seen sleeping by day.

Open Water
Eagle rays

Reef

down to 35 m

Jerry's Reef

Klein Bonaire reef known for turtles, stingrays and spotted eagle rays among elephant ear sponges and black coral.

Open Water
Turtles

Reef

down to 40 m

Leonora's Reef

Klein Bonaire reef dropping steeply from 7 m, with coral tunnels that are great subjects for underwater photographers.

Open Water

Reef

down to 30 m

Munk's Haven

The most westerly site on Klein Bonaire, with a gently sloping bottom suited to snorkelers and beginning divers.

Open Water
Turtles

For Advanced divers

usual dive down to 30 m12 sites

Hilma Hooker

A 1984 cargo-ship wreck lying on its starboard side on a 30 m sandy plateau, its holds reachable through large openings.

Advanced
Wreck
Barracuda

Playa Funchi

Washington Slagbaai National Park site where horse-eye jacks cruise the blue and the shallows teem with small, curious fish.

Advanced
Reef
Turtles

Salt City

Part of Bonaire's southern double reef system, with a good chance of seeing turtles and eagle rays.

Advanced
Reef
Turtles

Wall

down to 37 m

Southwest Corner

Klein Bonaire corner known for propulsive currents and colorful reefs, with hawksbill and loggerhead turtles passing by.

Advanced
Turtles

Willemstoren Lighthouse

Advanced-only site at Bonaire's southern tip with lots of schooling fish, lobsters under the corals and the occasional turtle or tarpon.

Advanced
Reef
Turtles

Reef

down to 30 m

Bon Bini Na Cas

Boat-only site beside 1000 Steps where schools of blue tangs and Creole wrasse are common and a large overhanging cliff forms a cave complex along the shore.

Advanced

Reef

down to 30 m

Sampler

One of Bonaire's most popular dives, on Klein Bonaire's north coast, with notably friendly angelfish and yellowhead jawfish on the sand.

Advanced

Reef

down to 30 m

Alice in Wonderland

A chance to really experience Bonaire's double reef, crossing from one reef to the other.

Advanced

Reef

down to 40 m

Weber's Joy

Shore dive south of 1000 Steps, also called Witch's Hut, with rock beauties, angels and butterflyfish; good for wide-angle photos.

Advanced
Octopus

Reef

down to 30 m

Ebo's Reef

Giant orange elephant ear sponges topped with black crinoids and lavender stove-pipe sponges, reached by a short blue-water swim.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 23 m

La Machaca

Shallow shore wreck dive off Habitat: a 45-foot, locally built boat at 50 feet, about 30 yards from shore.

Advanced

Reef

down to 40 m

Yellow Submarine

Advanced
Turtles

For experienced divers

usual dive down to 40 m4 sites

Cai

East-coast reef for experienced divers with a guide, where turtles, eagle rays and moray eels thrive and large schools including tarpon roam.

Experienced
Reef
Turtles

Reef

down to 45 m

White Hole

East-coast reef hole about 120 by 75 m with a white sand floor, home to large tarpons, with turtles and rays nearby.

Experienced
Sharks

Reef

down to 40 m

Boka Bartol

Bonaire's most northern dive site: remote, very healthy coral where barracudas and eagle rays are often seen.

Experienced
Turtles

Reef

down to 35 m

Lighthouse Point

Southern site where a sandy shallow slopes into a dense hard and soft coral reef garden, with a drop-off at 15 m.

Experienced
Turtles

Marine life

When the big encounters happen, month by month.

Species	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
TurtlesSource: blog.padi.com

Peak season
Seen

Also reported here, season not documented yet:

Eagle rays
Stingrays
Barracuda
Tarpon
Frogfish
Octopus
Squid
Groupers
Moray eels
Reef fish
Whale sharks
Manta rays
Dolphins
Seahorses
Garden eels

Where is Bonaire?

View on OpenStreetMapLocation: Bonaire (Wikipedia)Map: Natural Earth

Nearest airport: BON
How people dive here: Shore diving, Day boats

Somewhere quieter?

Bonaire is one of the busiest dive hubs in the world. These destinations dive in a similar way and see far fewer divers: Grenada, Roatán & Bay Islands and Fernando de Noronha.

See all alternatives to Bonaire →

Bonaire: frequently asked questions

When is the best time to dive Bonaire?: The best months to dive Bonaire are Dec–Jun. Peak season Dec–Jun. Below the hurricane belt, but the Caribbean storm season (peak Aug–Nov) can affect conditions.
Is Bonaire good for beginner divers?: Yes, partly: 13 of the 29 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Andrea II, Buddy's Reef and Kalli's Reef. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
What is the water temperature in Bonaire?: The water is usually between 26 °C and 29 °C over the year.
What marine life can you see in Bonaire?: Divers regularly see turtles (all year), eagle rays, stingrays, barracuda, tarpon and frogfish.
How do you dive Bonaire?: The nearest airport is BON. Ways to dive here: shore diving and day boats.

About this page

Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.

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Photo: Sarah Lee on Unsplash

Photo credits

Hilma Hooker dive site, Bonaire, Kris Mikael Krister, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Andrea II dive site, Bonaire, LASZLO ILYES from Cleveland, Ohio, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Buddy's Reef dive site, Bonaire, (c) Jay Brasher, some rights reserved (CC BY), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cai Bonaire dive site, Lac Cai, Bonaire, Paul Arps from The Netherlands, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Playa Funchi dive site, Bonaire, SNORKELINGDIVES.COM, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Salt City dive site, Bonaire, LASZLO ILYES from Cleveland, Ohio, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Willemstoren Lighthouse dive site, Bonaire, García-Hernández, J.E., de Gier, W., van Moorsel, G.W.N.M. et al. The scleractinian Agaricia undata as a new host for the coral-gall crab Opecarcinus hypostegus at Bonaire, southern Caribbean. Symbiosis 81, 303–311 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-020-00706-8, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Windsock Steep dive site, Bonaire, SNORKELINGDIVES.COM, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash