The final island of the three of ABC for our trip to this part of the world, and we saved the best til last. Bonaire is the most natural of the three islands, you’ll find no big hotels on this island, just raw beauty, air-BNBs, boutique hotels and diving and snorkeling galore. Get ready for to see plenty of sea!
Orientation
Shaped like a boomerang, the island is the smallest of the ABCs and so very simple to get around by car. The capital – Kralendijk – is a sleepy little place that has the usual colour of the Caribbean;
there are few beaches on the island, rather the rocky coastline sports numerous shore dive / snorkel sites both to the north and south of the capital, just look out for the handy yellow coloured stones that mark the jump-in spot
…also beware of crossing divers when driving around!
The eastern side of the island is a little bit more beachy and home to windsurfing and kite-surfing, so if you prefer to be on rather than in the water then head here.
One thing to note about renting a car on Bonaire – as petty theft from cars is a bit of a sport on the island the advice is to leave the car unlocked, windows open and the car empty where ever you leave it…it’s not going to go anywhere, and once you get used to this practice it is actually quite liberating!
Where to stay and to eat
We based ourselves just a bit out of Kralendijk, close to the airport at the excellent boutique hotel – The Summer Dreams Ocean Club – perfectly located just by the sea,
with friendly locals:
a terrace on which to catch up on relaxation and beautiful sunsets:
an infinity pool if you have not spent enough time in the crystal clear waters of the surrounding sea
and owners who also double as gastronomic chefs to satisfy your taste buds after a long day in the sea.
Don’t worry about proximity to the airport, there are only a couple of flights a day, and in fact a huge 747 coming into land overhead makes for a spectacular sight.
If you can tear yourself away from the hotel then there are a couple of good spots in town that are worth a visit for dinner – Mona Lisa for home cooked Caribbean and seafood dinners
and the Blue Garden Brazilian Grill for fruit caipirinha and self cooked steak on a hot plate that was delicious.
Lunch has to be at the excellent Cactus Blue on Donkey Beach…a portable eatery where you will find filling burgers and the specialty Lion fish sandwich…don’t be squeamish about eating a Lion fish, they are invaders to the waters around Bonaire and scourge of the seas, so getting rid of them will only help the environment…and they are very tasty too!
Snorkeling
As hinted above a stay in Bonaire is all about getting into the sea and exploring the depths.
For us it was a snorkeling frenzy…load up the car with our gear, drive up to the ubiquitous spots marked with yellow stones (you can get a map of all the sites at many tourist info places), jump out of the car and jump into the water.
Some of our favourite spots were in the south, including: Invisibles where the sealife was anything but invisible:
the stunning Salt Pier that has barracuda and shark-like Tarpon under the pier itself
and with a bale of turtles gracefully swooping around the crystal clear waters.
In the north the entrances to the sea were a bit more adventurous – down steps and along cliffs for spots such as 1000 Steps (fortunately not that many) and its corals farms:
Karpaza, where Lyssa got to play with some scuba divers:
and then back down near the airport to Windsock where if you time things right you’ll be buzzed by a low flying 747.
Slaves, Salt, Flamingos and Wind
To be sure, there are a few other things to do on the island…you can see the history of the island with the evidences of the slave trade that last up until the mid nineteenth century – the slave houses, that today look idyllic, placed just beside the blue waters and along white sands,
but were a torment to the multiple slaves who they housed in conditions where they could hardly stand let alone sleep.
Continuing into modern times you will also see the mountainous pyramids of salt that are produced by the lakes of the island,
along with stunning pink lakes.
Heading to the north west of the island you can visit the Washington Slaagbai National Park and skirt along the Goto Meer where you’ll find flamingos aplenty preening and showing off for the tourist paparazzi.
As we said about, you can also make your way across to the east coast and Soroban Beach for a spot of windsurfing or just simply to relax on one of the islands few sandy beaches.
Klein Bonaire
Although not as stunning as its little cousin in Curacao, Klein Bonaire is still very much worth a visit, and is much closer to the main island with just a short 15min boatride to reach it.
Head to Eden beach to pick up the water taxi at 10.30 / 12.30 / 14.30 every day (with an extra boat at 9am on weekends).
Where you will end up is a beautiful bleached white strip of sand to relax and play on…which could very much be your own if you time things right;
lovely warm waters to drift along in and healthy corals that are well protected from any passing storms, with schools of fish swimming all over.
For those of us from NL you can pick up your flight back to Amsterdam with KLM…a tropical departure and a chance to say a last goodbye to these wonderful little islands in the Caribbean…enjoy!!
