I’ve Scuba Dived All Across the Caribbean—but This Little-known Island Is My Favorite

I’ve scuba dived some pretty stellar sites across several Caribbean Islands—St. Martin, Dominica, St. Lucia, and Curaçao, to name a few. But out of all my experiences, one destination has risen to the top of my book: the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire.

At 24 miles long and seven miles wide, Bonaire is small. But it’s home to a large fringing reef (a type of reef that grows directly on an island’s shoreline) that supports a healthy, thriving marine ecosystem and 87 dive sites. Bonaire National Marine Park, established in 1979, protects the surrounding waters and is one of the oldest marine reserves in the world. It’s a must-visit destination for many scuba divers.

On Bonaire’s westerly, leeward side, calmer wind and water conditions offer more favorable diving conditions. There’s a string of over 60 consecutive dive sites off the west coast of the main island, plus two dozen more sites around the smaller, uninhabited islet of Klein Bonaire. That said, most dives are accessible from the shore. In fact, dive shops often use trucks—not boats—to get to them. Many sites are simply marked by yellow rocks located just off the shoreline.

One of the best-known sites on Bonaire is the Salt Pier, which is actively used by the island’s sea salt industry. The pillars of the massive pier have formed artificial vertical reefs underwater, and diving here almost feels like entering a science fiction world, with alien-like tree formations and coral growths blossoming out from the supports. I spotted a wide variety of critters under the pier: trumpetfish, triggerfish, drums intermingled with massive schools of grunts, stoic and solitary tarpons, free-swimming green moray eels, sea turtles, and more.

For night diving, head to Something Special, known for its sandy bottom and abundance of fish, thanks to its proximity to the nearby marina; it’s reachable by car. Another popular site, Bon Bini Na Kas (meaning “welcome home” in Papiamentu), is home to colorful fish like Creole wrasse and blue tangs, which swim among staghorn coral colonies and lavender stovepipe sponge. There’s also the famed wreck dive site of the massive 236-foot-long Hilma Hooker, a former drug-running cargo ship that was sunk by port authorities in 1984 to form an multitiered artificial reef.

No matter what kind of dive experience you’re hoping to have, Bonaire has options in spades. It’s worth multiple visits—even after you’ve crossed it off your Caribbean island scuba bucket list.