20 Best Things to do in Bonaire

Written By: Gail Clifford | Published By: Weekend Notes| May 28, 2022

https://www.weekendnotes.com/best-things-to-do-in-bonaire/

Bonaire, the “B” of the ABC Islands in the southern Caribbean, is part of the Netherlands, and just 50 miles north of Venezuela. It’s a multi-cultural, multi-lingual island whose friendly residents make it easy for visitors. The sign at the airport is one of the first indications of their great hearts, “Once a Visitor, Always a Friend.”

Founded in 1499 by Spanish explorer Alonsa de Ojeda and Italian explorer Americo Vespucci, they claimed it for Spain. This is one explanation for why so many on the island speak Spanish.

Since 1636, the Netherlands has governed the island. Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, the BES Islands comprising Bonaire, St Eustatius, and Saba have been considered an “overseas island and territory.”

They are not part of the European Union but otherwise have the rights of other Dutch citizens. This is one explanation for why so many on the island speak Dutch.

The majority of tourists and trade in Bonaire hails from either the United States or countries that use the U.S. Dollar (USD). As a result, the BES Islands made the decision to switch from the Netherlands Antillean guilder to the U.S. dollar in 2011. There are no foreign transaction charges.

While the island is best known for its outstanding scuba diving, most visitors discover there’s a lot more to see and do on Bonaire. Its six-day-a-week cruise-ship landings allow new visitors to see the colourful port filled with souvenir shops and rapidly growing restaurant selections.

Diving
Diving has been the primary source of tourism since “Captain Don” Stewart’s 1960s introduction of the first dive operation at the former Flamingo Beach Club. Originally a detainee camp in WWII, mostly for German POWs, it is now the beautiful Divi Flamingo Resort.

Captain Don’s work didn’t stop at getting divers to the area. After an early scolding for taking a piece of coral (in the ’60s), Carel Steensma, a KLM executive on Curacao, and Captain Don combined their ideas and formed what is now the Bonaire National Marine Park. With 57 recorded types of coral and over 350 types of fish, it truly is a diver’s paradise.

Captain Don was instrumental in the ’70s in setting up the Council of Underwater Resort Operators (CURO),” says Roger Haug, Dive Operations Manager at Captain Don’s Habitat. CURO’s objective is to “improve the quality, safety, and environmental awareness of all divers on Bonaire.” CURO remains active today.

Bonaire’s National Marine Park currently offers 89 dive sites, most of which are accessible from the shore. Bonaire has won the Shore Diving category of Scuba Diving Magazine’s Annual Readers’ Choice Awards for 26 consecutive years.

If you’re an experienced scuba diver, you can explore the island from any resort or Airbnb. At the Courtyard Marriott Dive Bonaire, they have no beach access but offer a dive package that includes “unlimited air” for your shore dives. Serviced by Dive Friends, they have six places on the island to stop and exchange your oxygen or nitrox tanks.

They also have flat-bottom boats that will take you on boat dives directly from the resort to dive sites on the west side of the island and Klein Bonaire. They have the only all-female crew we experienced on the island with the captain, divemaster, and divemaster in training.

If you prefer the comfort and ease of having an experienced divemaster with you to show you the best parts of each dive, check out Toucan Diving at Van der Valk Plaza Beach Resort. Their excellent dive team matches you with available divemasters based on personality and experience.

If you’re in between, go for the Divi Flamingo Resort. They have three boats that accommodate a variety of group sizes. The resort offers standard rooms, handicapped accessible rooms (Wounded Warriors visit each year), and deluxe RCI reservation run suites with full kitchens. Although they tore out all the bathtubs with the last renovation, it’s a beautiful resort with prime access and an excellent restaurant, spa, and even a casino.

Roger Haug says, “Once you’ve become a certified diver, you must have the right knowledge to plan your own dives and to execute those safely according to your training level. That way we don’t need to babysit you and you can have diving freedom.”

All of these resorts are excellent. Airbnbs are available for the true a la carte method of diving. These resorts offer single-day dives, based on availability, and people frequently join the Van der Valk’s Thursday night dive. Bring your flashlights.

Another consideration to take into account is your rental car. Ensure you set up well in advance with an established company and buy windshield and tire insurance. They’re right when they say, “Our roads are not the best.” Their “total coverage” isn’t total; it only includes collision, so talk it over with your insurance agent before you leave home.

One diver just shared this tip, “Go for a dawn dive. You’ll need a torch to start. But as the sun comes up, the reef wakes up. It’s magical.”

I’ve seen a rainbow fish curl itself into a cocoon for the night. It looked like something right out of a Disney movie. I’m definitely going for a dawn dive on my next trip.

Conservation
Whether speaking to coral and fish, flamingos, donkeys, or birds, the people of Bonaire become passionate speaking of protecting what’s currently on the island. More than 350 bird species and 460 fish species have been identified on the island. Approximately one-third of all electricity is generated from solar panels. If you’re interested in conservation and sustainability, this is a great island for you.

Snorkeling
Bonaire has not only the best shore diving experience in the Caribbean. It’s the best snorkeling, too. Van der Valk Plaza Beach Resort offers a class on fish identification, and there’s an identification card in the lobby gift shop. Whether you go to become an unknowing expert on tropical fish or to make a game out of how many different fish you can spot or just for the beauty of the experience, you should definitely make time to snorkel on Bonaire.

Land Sailing
Just outside Kralendijk on the road to Rincon, you’ll spot a track with sails breezing by and feel like you’re in a marina instead of the middle of a desert surrounded by cacti. Welcome to land sailing.

These enterprising people have embraced the adventure of attaching a sail to a surprisingly comfortable three-wheeled go-cart.

Complete with handlebars to steer, you must add tension to the rope to speed up and release to slow down. There’s no other break needed. One safety and explanatory briefing is required but it only takes about a half turn around the track to get the hang of movement. Less if you have any actual sailing experience.

The top of the key is the place most people stall, the slowest part of the track. You have to forget to be afraid as you speed towards that turn; maintain tension on the rope and just lean into it. The speed is clocked at the bottom of the key, with the current record holder north of 30 mi/hr. After screaming through at about 20 mi/hr., you’ll realize just how fast that really is.

Helmets are required and it feels quite safe. The cousins running the track the day we were there, Le and Guanio, were well prepared to lift tipped sails and to stop you when you were ready for a pit stop. There’s even a sign on the track for when to release the rope.

It’s an absolute blast and worth the trip out of town. Plan to spend about an hour for the safety briefing and the experience.