Bonaire

Caribbean

Bonaire is a diver's dream come true. Just look at the car license plates: "Bonaire--Diver's Paradise." That says it all. Located in the southern Caribbean, just off the coast of Venezuela, it is one of the ABC islands (its sisters are Aruba and Curacao). Bonaire is a small desert island, hilly at the northern end and dead flat at the southern end. It receives very little (14 inches or less) rainfall each year, making the visibility here simply amazing. Bonaire's reefs are just a three minute swim offshore. As you walk the shoreline, you can see, just a stone's throw away, a deep blue line cleaving the light green shallow water. This is the drop-off to the deep water. Everything between the light green and the deep blue is what is known as the Diver's Paradise.

Bonaire's population is 10,000 people and about 11,000 flamingos! Start to get the picture? Bonaire residents speak English, Dutch, Spanish and Papiamento The island is charming and most veteran divers will tell you there is no better or easier place to learn to dive In the entire world. Here's why. Bonaire lies right in the path of southern trade winds, so there's a constant 15 to 20 mph breeze. Since the island faces directly into the wind, there is super calm water on the western, leeside. (That's where all the dive resorts and the dive sites are). The weather is unbelievably consistent, 365 days a year, year-in and year-out!

Topside, Bonaire used to be known as an island with nothing to do at night-but that's slowly changing. There are now more than 20 restaurants on the island and the small town of Kralendijk is beginning to grow. This is not without its own charm and sophistication. Bonaire enjoys a repeat visitor rate of 60 percent. There are several major hotel/dive resorts and some 15 different condo/villa accommodations. The architecture is Dutch colonial and it blends well with the desert landscape.

Bonaire is a unique travel destination, one that most first time visitors to the Caribbean might never hear of. But, it's the fourth most popular diving destination in the world and a household word among experienced divers.