Snorkeling in Bonaire

[akscuba]

On the last day of our Bonaire trip, my BF and I are planning to snorkel, at probably 3, maybe 4 sites.

After looking through our dive book, I’ve tentatively picked out the following sites as potentially good snorkel sites. Can you guys give me any advice that would help me narrow this down to the top 5 Bonaire snorkel sites? Have I missed any on this list, or are any of these not so hot compared to the others? Are any of these especially good?

We're going to dive most of these if we can, so we can always change our minds once we get to Bonaire, but I'd love to have a list of a few that we think we might want to do going in.

Thanks!

R

Wayaka
Boka Slagbaai North
Karpata
Ol’ Blue
1000 Steps
Weber’s Joy
Oil Slick Leap
Andrea II
Alice in Wonderland
Tori’s Reef
Cliff
Bari’s Reef
18th Palm

 

[herman]

I would do Old Blue, 1000 Steps, Andrea, Oil Slick, Oil Slick (I like OS ), and Witches Hut. Another one I would suggest is Windsock. The reason is there is shade for the off water times. As a general rule, the northern sites have less of a sand area before the reef starts.
Alice in Wonderland (one of my favorite dive sites) has a wide sand area before much reef starts. In contrast Oil Slick is 15ft deep directly off the platform and reef comes all the way to the rocks.

 

[dvrliz1]

Ok, living here, I have 3 favorites, well four actually.

Andrea I/II (actually 2 sites, but fantastic)
18 palms, belnem and windsock are all the beach across from the runway...also excellent
Tori's Reef..hint..most divers go out to the mooring and decend. You should enter in the small inlet. Once you exit the inlet take an immediate left and snorkle south. There are huge heads of coral that act as nurseries. I've seen at least 6 different kind of morays, different stages of french and queen angels and so much more.

You might even want to consider taking a water taxi to Klein with some snacks and plenty of water/liquids and hang out on the white sandy beaches of Klein and enjoy snorkeling there...

Such difficult choices...

Those are my favorite sites...I also enjoy Witches Hut and Oil Slick as well.

Enjoy!

Liz

 

[akscuba]

Thanks for these suggestions!

Haha, between the two of you, we've got:

Oil Slick, Witches Hut, Andrea I/II, Tori's reef, Ole Blue, 1000 Steps, Windsock, 18 palms, and belnem which is 10 sites So at least we narrowed it down from 13!

Well, I guess what this tells me is that I can't go too wrong, and we can maybe just see when we get there.

Why is it that you liked those sites (other than the shade at Windsock)? Is it the amount/diversity of wildlife, the view on the surface...?

 

[spectrum]

Another serendipitous answer to a question I had.

Thanks!
Pete

 

[herman]

Thanks for these suggestions!

Why is it that you liked those sites (other than the shade at Windsock)? Is it the amount/diversity of wildlife, the view on the surface...?

My suggestions are based on 2 things, the distance, depth and quality of the reef at the site and the shade that is available. To me, shade is not much of a factor if everyone is diving but when snorkeling most of the time some are in the water while some get out, having shade means a lot. Old Blue, Windsock and 1000 Steps have some nice shade, the others have some. While on the subject, also consider a big hat for snorkeling, the sun on Bonaire can cook you in short order. Sun screens wash off and are not good for the reef. Having the top of your head and neck burned is not fun, been there, done that and did not want the Tshirt.

 

[dvrliz1]

I have to agree with Herman as well. These sites also have easier entry/exits. Belnem is great because it is shallow snorkeling and you can see alot. My husband and I spent 2.5 hours in the water as there was so much to see. Definitely wear a skin or t-shirt so you don't get sunburn while in the water.

Liz

 

[Jetwrench]

Soft Coral Garden(unmarked site)
Witches Hut

 

[undercbon]

Akscuba,
By the last day of your trip I would bet you will have added to your choices of places to snorkel. One of Bonaire's best features is accessibility to sites almost everywhere. My favorite dive/snorkel site changes weekly. It would be fun on your return to see a post of what you ended up doing.
Have a great time!

Add to your list a snorkel from the green dock on the water road to north of Yellow Submarine......