Will any of you who live in Bonaire or just visit Bonaire frequently post your top 10 favorite SHORE dives in Bonaire. My husband and I each have a little over 50 logged dives a piece and have been diving in Jamaica, Cozumel, and lakes in the US. We will be in Bonaire for 8 days and would like to know the best dive spots (we have seen them rated but would like comments from frequent visitors and those who live on the island). So many places to dive in Bonaire but so little time! Thanks in advance.

Oh I love this question! I just came back from my very first trip to Bonaire, but oh I have some favorites : ).

Easy shore dive (beach, sand, or minimal surge):

Eighteen Palms - in front of the Plaza Bonaire. My best dive the whole trip because I saw so many amazing things and the reef is in good shape. At 60 feet there is a sandy arena separating the double reefs and there I saw six tarpon, many schools of fish, barracuda...it was like feeding time at the zoo!

Ol' Blue - one of my favorites because of the diversity of sea life and because it has a nice little beach for a surface interval.

Pink Beach - on Bonaire's "best" beach. Garden eels at 111 feet, just hundreds looking like seaweed or something. Also lots of iridescent sponges, big groupers, eel, and flounder.

Hard shore dive (rocks, broken coral, surge):

Alice in Wonderland - I don't know why they call it this but everything is bigger and brighter and it feels like you are alone in this strange underwater world with things you've never seen before, like nudibranch and sharptail eel.

Hilma Hooker - very cool wreck, and if you trust your buddy/instructor and are curious about the inside, go on in. You can see the head and the engine room as well as some large tarpon.

And don't discount Klein Bonaire - some beautiful sites, like Forest and No Name

Me, Me !!!!

Alice in Wonderland, dive out to the 2nd reef and turn North (right). Your will see why it was named AIW...

Lake City - weird fish hang out here, weird divers too (grin)

Front Porch (Playa Leche) - was the dive site for Sunset Beach Hotel. Sunken tug at 80 ft, visit the tug for awhile and then start swimming towards Sand Dollar (South)... when you get to the coral slide area start up to around 40 feet and multi-level your way back to the starting spot. One of my favorite nite dives.

Wind Sock Steep - nice beach, easy entry, good place to get some rays and wave at the folks arriving and leaving.

Hilma Hooker - nice wreck but don't forget to visit the reef and your up. This reef stays in better shape than most.

Tori's Reef - inlet for the Salt Farm. Easy entry and great reefs.

1000 Steps - make it a boat dive unless you like climbing the side of a hill with your dive gear.

Ask you friendly neighborhood dive shop or ask the folks coming out of the water.

My least liked: Bachelor's Beach.. too much trash too little reef.

Pink Beach (forgive me).. I enjoy a looong surface interval on Pink Beach but it is just too darn far to snorkel to the drop off.

OK. I gotta ask now that you've hinted around, Kelly H. I can't dive it now and unfortunately will not get back until 2002 at the earliest...help me out, please!! What would you see after turning right at the second reef? WHY is it called Alice in Wonderland?!

Okay Amy I won't keep you in suspense that long (grin). The coral formations on the outer reef are shaped like stylized mushrooms. I keep looking for the caterpillar with the water pipe. They are in every size and shape, my favorite are the multi-layered ones that look like pagodas.

Kewl!! Makes me want to see it fer real!!

Thanks for sharing!!

You are most welcome, sharing is what it is all about.

Kelly,

What is the depth of the outer reef at Alice in wl and how wide is the sand between? I have never done one of the 2nd reefs but may give one a try on my next trip. Any other 2nd reefs worth doing. I tend to keep my dive profile on the shallow side and long on bottom time. I can and will do the deeper dives if there is a reason other than going deep just for the heck of it, we always do the hooker a time or 2.

Herman, as long as you turn North (right) the outer reef is approximately 20 meters at it's deepest. The distance between the reefs is approximately 60 meteres with a smooth sand bottom at 30 meters that is home to garden eels.

Before starting my dive I take a compass heading for the outer reef then enter and swim down to a comfortable depth and take my course across. The outer reef will appear as a dark area and soon outcroppings of the reef will appear. I then move up to a depth of 20 meters and follow this profile to the North. The mushrooms coral heads will be everywhere. When I reach my turning pressure I cross back to the inner reef and swim at a reduced depth hopefully to my starting point. Nice thing about Alice is if you miss your entrance, decent exits abound.

Thanks Kelly, I will have to give it a try. I have been wanting to see garden eels anyway, now I have an excuse to go a bit deeper, ha ha..

Herman that is as good an excuse as I have heard. Enjoy the dive, I always do.

Hey, I saw the "N" word in one of these posts! N-U-D-I-B-R-A-N-C-H! My only goal in diving! Frogfish, Seahorses, yeah, they're great, but I'm on a constant quest for the little guys. I usually have my macro setup on my Nikonos, always expecting to find one of the colourful (or not) critters. Incidentally, I do have some pretty good slides of frogfish and seahorses. And a few nudibranchs. Anyone seen any of interest on Bonaire? This is our 5th trip so we're familiar with the divesites and will take anyone's suggestions to find these beauties.

Freda,

Real nudibranchs are very rare sightings on Bonaire (lettuce leaf slugs and flamingo tongues excepted). I once saw a Sea Goddess nudibranch (about 3.5 years ago), and a few months ago we came across a black one with yellow gills (don't recall the name).

Jake