We are going to Bonaire next Wednesday, August 18th and are looking for easy snorkeling sites. Staying at Sorobon so we will snorkel Lac Bay but any other suggestions would be appreciated. I would like to take some underwater photos and would like to concentrate on easy entry/exit locations. We plan to book a day with Renee and hopefully a night trip.
Tom

Tom,

For up close and personal photos I think Lac Bay is probably the best because the water there is so shallow.

I also got some good photos on the drift snorkel on Klein Bonaire - I HIGHLY recommend that snorkel. Take the Kantaki (sp?) water taxi over and pay an extra $2.00 for the drift snorkel. He first takes you to the beach to drop off your stuff (we also rented chairs from him for $2 each so we would have a place to sit when we exited the water) and then takes you WAY up-current and you jump in the water then drift back to where you left your stuff. We went slowly and took and hour and 45 minutes to drift back. It was GREAT!

I have a trip report at http://bonaire-02-2004.tripod.com with some pictures if you are interested. The web site is slow if you are bandwidth impaired. Bear in mind that all the pictures displayed were taken from on top of the water because I am a cork and cannot dive down (and I have tried, believe me). I think my next trip I'm going to see about snorkeling with some weight to maybe help in that area.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions.

Belinda

I do most of my shore snorkeling with Renee as she knows all the easy ins and outs, not to mention she is old eagle eyes. Torries Reef and Donkey beach are two nice spots. I also love snorkeling in front of and a little south of the Plaza Resort and around the cement pier at the Divi. A sail on the Woodwind is a really nice way to spend a morning! They do two snorkels with lunch, snack and drinks included. One stop is over to Kline for a drift and the other is usually Andrea I or II. They sail out of the Divi, but they will pick up. Have a great time and there are photo ops everywhere!! I have pictures of frogfish, a seahorse, turtles and a spotted eagleray just to name a few and they were all taken in 15 ft of water or less with the exception of the turtles that were taken on the drift at Kline.

Tom -

I second going out with Renee and snorkeling in front of the Plaza Resort Bonaire (the beach is officially called 18 Palms, I believe).

For seeing a lot of variety in relatively shallow water, I think the Plaza area is hard to beat. In 10-15 feet of water we've seen all the usual suspects, i.e., French angels, rock beauties, squid, file fish, cow fish, trunk fish, damsels, wrasse, barracuda, parrots, peacock flounder, harlequin bass and trumpet fish as well as sharp tail, spotted and chain eels.

I think for U/V photography you will like the fact that so many sightings there are in such shallow water. The light is strong and the colours pop.

Entry at the Plaza is quite easy from the beach and there is also the option of ladder entry.

Of course, there are many, many excellent snorkeling spots on Bonaire. We just wanted to share our experience with one place that seems to fit your criteria.

One other thing: start planning your next trip now...it's that good!

Charles Poteet
Dallas

I have a question about the drift snorkel.
Everyone keeps saying that you "jump in" from the boat. Is there a stairway into the water or do you have to jump from the deck? (My wife is pregnant and cannot be "jumping in".)

Thanks Belinda, Darlene, and Charles for your suggestions on snorkeling sites.
Do you have to be a guest at the Divi to snorkel from their pier? I have read several good comments on that location.
The drift snorkel at Klein Bonaire also sounds great. Joe's question regarding 'jumping in' made me wonder if you can get out of the water at any location before the beach? My wife is concerned that if she got tired before reaching the beach there would be a place to get out and take a break.
Darlene, it sounds like you have taken several pictures while snorkeling. Are you able to get decent pics while floating or do you dive close to your subject to get the best shot? I have a digital UW camera but no telephoto lens so I am assuming I will have to get up close to get a good pic.
Thanks,
Tom

On the Woodwind there is a nice ladder to go up and down from the water. I do not know about the water taxi. I am a big Woodwind Fan. I love the sailing as well as the snorkeling.
As far as getting out of the water before the beach you would have to go over the reef that surrounds the island. There are a few breaking points along the drift but I could never locate them on my own. Renee who use to own the Woodwind, has had to take some people over the reef for one thing or another but she knows how to get over the shallow reef with out doing any harm. I tire easily and I don't get tired during the drift. You can just float along effortless if you so desire and there are lots of turtles there.
We had the MX 10 and now we have two Sony P8 digital cameras. We have gotten many good pictures while snorkeling with both cameras but you do need to get up close and personal. My husband can go down about 30 or so feet while I can only go down 10 or 15. If you do a search for my trip reports you will find a few pictures at the end of them.
I don't know what the Divi's rule is but you could go in at Cha Cha pier which is public and snorkel down to the Divi Cement pier. Under their Southern most dock is real good too. Most of the pictures that I take are in the shallow right around there.

Tom- Nice to hear from someone going to Sorobon. Have you been there before? We’ve been several times.
Shallow is good for snorkeling so you can get close to the fish, the coral, etc. The shallower the water, the brighter the light, the clearer the view. Underwater photography is challenging, even maddening, but very rewarding. Good light is important.

You’ll have some of the best snorkeling right there at Lac Bay. We’ve snorkeled there several times at night, also. Easy and simple. At night we’ve seen big eels, an octopus, cool stuff. We rented dive lights from one of the dive shops.

Snorkeling areas we like, other than Sorobon, are: 1) Tori's Reef. Stay in the shallow water along the shore, and work your way north. Look in the nooks and crannies. Lots of fish variety. 2) Margate. The water is too deep for up-close fish watching, but the coral is beautiful. 3) Plaza Hotel. There's a dirt parking lot next to the beach at the Plaza Hotel. We walked onto the beach like we owned the place and went right into the water. We left our towels on their beach chairs. Nobody seemed to mind. Extremely easy to get in and out of the water. 4) Andrea 2. North of town, and north of the scuba dive hotels. There's a rock parking area, then you walk down a concrete ramp to the water. Enter and exit the water at the yellow rock. This is a little more "open water" and we think more likely to see a turtle or ray.

Kevin

Joe,

I don't remember there being a ladder on the water taxi but it sits low to the water so it is more like stepping rather than jumping - bad choice of words on my part. Go here http://www.bonairenauticomarina.com/
and click on the water taxi link to see a picture.

Belinda

Belinda,

Thanks for the link - I definitely want to do the drift snorkel on Klein Bonaire. One more print out for my ever expanding trip folder!

Gail,

You are very welcome.

My folder was over 200 pages before our first trip and I'm still adding to it for our second trip next March!

Do the drift snorkel early in your trip because it is SO good you will probably want to do it again.

Belinda

Joe - I am with Darlene on being a big Woodwind fan - its a great way to spend a day - sailing, snorkeling, eating, drinking, sailing, snorkeling..... and being waited on by Ulf, Dee or Susan - depending on what day you do out!!! Susan helps out when on the days Dee stays home with the kids!!! There is a latter that is easy to get in and out on!!!

The drift snorkel we did around Klien - we were dropped off and then Ulf went ahead and moored - where we drifted to the boat - if you get tired - you can just let the current take you to the boat - we never even got on land - nor was it very tiring - since the current moved you.

I have never done any guided snorkeling - except night snorkels with Dee - Ulf's wife - which I would highly recommend - she is now doing night snorkels of the town pier - you sign up for them at the Divi activity center -where you sign up for the Woodwind sails.

I agee with Lac Bay being a great spot for photos since it is shallow - but the surge there can move you around a bit - so it also can be challenging!!! This past trip I stayed at the Sand$ and it was great shallow snorkeling off the concrete pad where the green parrot and the sand divers buildings were located before Lenny took them away!!! There is also great shallow snorkeling in front of the old Sunset - there is a lot of concrete rubble - again from Lenny that is host to much fish and coral - very nice to hang out at!!!

Below are links to my trip reports from last October when I did an all snorkel trip - there are photos through out - I took hundreds of pics - some from the top of the water and others I dove down for the picture. I did it in 3 parts as it was lengthy.
round1
round2
round3

Kevin & Joe
Yes, this is our first trip to Sorobon and Bonaire. Thanks for the suggestions on snorkeling locations. We are 54 yrs old, in average physical condition, and basically amateur snorkelers. We have been to Caymen, Aruba, and St. Martin's but don't go for marathon snorkeling adventures. We basically try to snorkel from shore at whatever beach we wind up at and have gone out on several boat trips also. I will let you know how we did at Bonaire and where we went. My wife is a little spooked about the deep water and not being able to get out if she gets tired but I'm sure we will find many locations she is comfortable with.

Although we enjoy snorkeling, we will probably spend a few days just laying around and relaxing so we will not have visited as many locations as many people do.

Joe
I assume you and your wife are younger than us but if we can manage these snorkeling sites I bet you would think they are a piece of cake. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Can't wait to go! We leave Wednesday morning from Chicago and arrive at 2:30pm Bonaire time!
Tom

Tom,
If your wife is concerned about getting tired, look into getting a snorkeling vest. Just an example (I haven't purchased from these people, just did a google search and this is the first one I came up with): http://www.snorkeldirect.com/snve.html

I think this is a good model - a friend (Darlene here on BT) has one of the automatic inflating ones, and uses it on Bonaire all the time.

One thing about those: make sure you put it in checked luggage, because they have small CO2 cartridges. I found a page on the Delta website saying that one life vest with cartridge is allowed per person only in checked luggage - hopefully other airlines feel the same way.

Forgot the link (duh!)
Actually - a good manufacturer:
http://www.go2marine.com/frameset.jsp?servletPath=/g2m&action=GoBPage&id=70118F

Thanks everyone for the tips on snorkeling locations and the snorkeling vest. We have a snorkeling vest but it is the type you blow into to inflate. My wife seems happy with that style. I have never seen the one with the CO2 cartridge but it sounds like a good idea.

I hadn't really considered doing the Woodwind cruise but now I am going to reconsider. She may be more comfortable knowing there is a boat out there to pick her up so she doesn't drift to Jamaica by mistake.

We leave Wednesday morning at 6:15am and connect in Montego Bay - just in time to meet the next tropical storm. Hopefully it will get to Jamaica and be gone before we arrive.

Tom

"We had the MX 10 and now we have two Sony P8 digital cameras. We have gotten many good pictures while snorkeling with both cameras but you do need to get up close and personal."

Can someone inform me just how this is done? I presume that people are using regular digital cameras with underwater housings, right?