Here are some comments on the sites we snorkeled. For other aspects of our trip see "Lee & Martilyn's Trip Report".

Karpata: We snorkeled here twice. The in/out is very easy from a concrete dock. The first time we swam North and at the start I wasn’t too impressed, but after about 10 minutes, we came on wonderful stands of elk horn coral with lots of fish in shallow water that made viewing easy. On our second snorkel we headed South. There was a great assortment of soft corals. In fact, this was the only place where we saw fan corals. Unfortunately, the water was deep and not good for fish viewing. However, after about 10 minutes we came upon a reef in shallow water that went on for quite a way. Lots of fish to look at.

Ol’ Blue: Easy in/out. We went North and found a wonderful variety of coral and sponges but in deep water so no fish viewing.

Andrea II: The best entrance to the water is marked by a pile of coral with a yellow rock on top. At this site, wearing foot protection until you can get into water deep enough to put on your fins is a good idea. Lots of coral and many varieties of fish in shallow water.

Andrea I: Snorkeled here twice. The best entrance is marked with a board on a pile of coral saying “enter/exit” As with Andrea II, foot protection is recommended. We went North both times. Another excellent spot with a great variety of fish in shallow water. I saw my first ever Blue Parrot fish here.
Also spotted a Tiger Grouper and a Barracuda (Had them both for dinner the night before) and on our way back to shore, a turtle came swimming by.

Sand Dollar (Bari Reef): Easy in/out from a small sandy beach beside the dock. Didn’t see anything you could call a reef. Mostly sandy bottom with the drop off not too far off shore. Going South there was a lot of rubble in close to shore that had some fish swimming around, but not really worth the time with so many other great places. We did spot two Joltheaded Porgies hiding out under the dock.

Tori’s Reef: We must have been looking in the wrong spots because we didn’t see anything worth getting wet for.

Windsock: Snorkeled here twice. The first time we went to about the middle of the beach and found an easy in/out (after tip toeing through the donkey droppings) Swam North as far as the steel pier and found lots of fish in shallow water. The coral wasn’t much but the fish viewing was great. The second time we parked just North of the steel pier where there was an easy in/out by a large concrete block.
We had to swim South to get around to open water because it was too shallow to swim over the reef.
Went North from there and found this to be another great sight for fish viewing.

Klein Bonaire: We took the water taxi over to Klein. Chickened out on the drift snorkel mentioned elsewhere on these pages and just stayed at the beach where the boat lands. Great sandy beach, but the snorkeling was only so-so.

My wife and I have been to a number of Caribbean islands, and IMHO Bonaire cannot be beat for snorkeling. Nothing I’ve seen equals the easy of driving, the numerous shore access points and the quantity and diversity of the sea life.

Very informative snorkeling report. So glad you loved Bonaire!Masha danki!

Lee -

Thanks for taking time to make the report, especially since you included specifics about your entry/exit points...always of interest on Bonaire.

We concur with your assessment of the snorkeling on Bonaire vis-a-vis other Caribbean locations. Just don't tell anyone!

Charles Poteet
Dallas

Lee, You missed out on the drift snorkel at Klein. It was the most spectacular snorkeling we did in 2 weeks! The reef there is better than anything else we saw, and we also ran into three turtles. But hey, it just gives you a good reason to go back! If you could do Karpata, you could easily do the drift at Klein. The current isn't overpowering--just strong enough to keep you moving without having to do a lot of work. On the other hand, the days we were on Bonaire, the water was so rough around Karpata we didn't even try to go in. Hope you try the Klein drift on your next visit to Bonaire. Believe you will really be glad you did! Thanks for the info on the other sites you snorkelled!

Larry,

I absolutely agree with you about the drift snorkel at Klein - shhhhhhhhhh :-)

Belinda