We are heading to Bonaire for the first time and from reviewing the board, it looks like we should snorkel the mangrove. We want to do it with a guide. Who should we book it with? Any help would be appreciated.

Check with Buddy Dive. They put on regular weekly mangrove tours.

Karl

Most dive shops have someone who will do the mangrove snorkel. We went with Mananita at Bon Bini dive and had an excellent afternoon. I was also eternally grateful to Renata, at Bon Bini for insisting that we wore a full wetsuit rather than a t-shirt and shorts. We would have been burnt to a crisp otherwise!

Hi Angela,
My mom (age 70+)has done several private mangrove snorkels with Caren Eckrich, Marine Biologist owner of Sea and Discover www.seandiscover.com info@seandiscover.com

Mom went to a short briefing/class first, then spent several hours in the mangrove. She saw upside-down jellyfish, large starfish, and tons of juvinile fish of many different species.

I have not yet found time to go with Caren, but it is at the top of my list for our trip in Feb/March.

Let us know how you like the mangroves!

Scott

Jerry Ligon, the naturalist at Bonaire Dive and Discover next to Sand Dollar Condos, began the mangrove snorkelling on Bonaire and still does group and individual guided trips.

Bonaire Dive and Adventure....and Jerry is great as is Karen...good tip re sun protection as well. I went a few times and especially enjoyed the two inch baracudda...

Is it also possible to dive in the mangroves?

I hope André doesn't read this thread...

Peter - you can certainly dive in the mangroves too - probably better for filming that way, but go early in the day, as their is very fine silt on the shallow bottom, and it takes forever to settle down and clear if someone kicks it up. The deepest you can get is about 2-3 meters, incidentally - so combine more weight with a lot of experience in maintaining your buoyancy (which I think you have) and you should be okay.

Jake

Jake - We will certainly give it try and thanks for the tip on going early in the day. I hope it will produce some interesting footage.

What about the Lac Bay area? I was told that many creatures hide in the sea grass.

I agree with Scott and Sharon that Karen of Sea and Discover is fabulous.

I recently spent one hour with her and learned more than I ever knew about corral, sponges, and fish behavior.

She makes things very understandable for a lay person and highly interesting.

Karl

We think Jerry is great too! We've known Jerry for about 6 years and have learned a lot from him. You can't go wrong with either Caren or Jerry.

Scott

You can't go wrong with Caren or Jerry. We took a class from Jerry on Fish ID and really learned a lot. My kids took Caren's week long class and I kept wishing I was with them!! Boy did they have fun and I was amazed at all they learned. Both are great people. My girls can't wait to go to Bonaire mainly to see "Miss Caren" and her new baby girl Bonny!!

Thanks for all the great tips. We are leaving in a week for 2 weeks and can't wait. Angela