July 4th, 2019 | reading time: 3 minutes
Bonaire: divers paradise and much more
Martijn Eichhorn
Sales agent and appraiser in real estate (diving instructor and mountain biker)
Sunbelt Realty Bonaire
Tourists with an eye for detail have seen it for many years.
The license plates on cars on the island have a slogan: “Bonaire Divers Paradise”.
Diving the reefs surrounding our tropical island started back in the day with the arrival of a remarkable American. In 1962 a man by the name of Don Stewart stepped ashore and the story goes that diving on Bonaire was born. Captain Don, for his friends and the rest of the world, single-handedly initiated a new industry on the island: dive tourism. As boat captain, dive pioneer, businessman and entertainer, this visionair understood like no other what endless possibilities Bonaire has to offer as vacation destination. He cleared his dive mask to get a bright view to the future and started with the exploitation of an hotel dedicated to divers. And the rest is history.
For decades Bonaire has a worldwide name and fame as “shore diving capital” and annually serious numbers of divers and snorkelers come to enjoy the lukewarm crystal clear waters and breathtaking marine life at one of the 84 well marked dive sites on Bonaire and Klein Bonaire. Nowhere in the world is diving or snorkeling so easy and relaxing.
Visit the website of the Bonaire Marine Park: Stinapa Bonaire
Nowadays other activities have been discovered on Bonaire. In case you still think that all guests of Bonaire spend all day underwater with a scuba tank strapped on their backs taking pictures of fishes, you are wrong. The visitor 2.0 also comes to the island for windsurfing, kite-surfing, sailing, kayaking, cycling, mountain biking and hiking. The picture perfect site Lac Bay with its shallow bay is the ideal location to learn how to windsurf. The unspoiled mangrove area is the maternity room of local nature & marine life and can be visited with a guide using a kayak. Kite beach Atlantis is the hang out for trendy kite surfers. National park Washington Slagbaai up North is worth a visit and make sure to climb Brandaris hill, the highest peak of our island with panoramic views. Pick one early morning for a hike on one of the marked trails. For mountain bikers, there is more than 185 miles of unpaved roads and trails to explore. Bonaire has so much to offer! Take in consideration that the level and number of restaurants for all kinds of budgets has increased accordingly and one must realize:
Bonaire is a super holiday destination with vibrant activity life even after sunset. We live with nature and we live from nature.
Bonaire has developed into a vary divers vacation destination under the sun. Accessible year round (we are below the hurricane belt) with direct flights per week from Newark, Atlanta, Houston, Miami using United Airlines, Delta Airlines and American Airlines or from Amsterdam using KLM or TUI.
Bonaire will stay “divers paradise” however with a much greater diversity than just scuba diving.
Want to know more about vacationing on Bonaire or about available accommodations?
Visit our website: sunbeltbonaire.com or email rentals@sunbeltbonaire.com
