I'm looking for some Bonaire shore diving sites which are easy and shallow, like in the 30-50ft. range. I've been checking out shorediving.com, but few have any mention of depth. Thanks.

The majority of them can be in the 30-50 foot range. Typically the reef drops off anywhere around 15-25 in most spots, and you can just go down as far as you wish. Plenty of things to see in that range.

I think you will find that the area around 25-30 feet seems to be sort of a nursery area. This is the area where the terrain changes from broken coral to living reef. There is an amazing amount of life in this area; it's especially a great area for UW photography.

Jim,

Jesse Armacost's "Bonaire Shorediving Made Easy" gives info for each "official" site as well as a number of unmarked sites including ease of entry, best place to enter, distance to drop-off, depth at drop-off and typical depths for the dive, likelihood of currents, etc. Each site is rated as easy dive, intermediate or advanced.Info on unique features of the divesite is given. We have found it invaluable. You can buy it in most dive shops on the island or order it online.

-David

Jim,

On my last trip to Bonaire, I did 21 dives on 17 different sites, and least 90% of my time was spent between 30-60 feet. The only exceptions were the Hilma Hooker (shipwreck), a couple of the double reef sites (Invisibles, Alice In Wonderland), and I think Forest on Klein Bonaire (black coral forest). Even on these (except Hilma Hooker), much of the dive was in the 40-60 foot range.

Steve Holcomb

Jim,

I agree with Steve that you can easily stay within those depth limits at most shore sites. We dove Bonaire for several years while my daughter had a Jr. certification with no problem staying within her depth limits.

-David