Although there are great scuba diving sites throughout the Caribbean, like the 5,000-foot trench on Little Cayman, Bonaire has long been known as the best place to dive in the region. For nearly three decades, the island has been voted No. 1 for shore diving by the readers of Scuba Diving magazine. Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino and its on-site diving operation, Divi Dive Bonaire, received numerous Readers Choice Awards in 2025 in categories such as the quality of the resort and its dive boats.
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) gives Divi Dive Bonaire five stars for its 50-plus years of operations, plethora of diving opportunities, and programs for all experience levels.
The resort has an ideal location, right on the ocean and a five-minute walk to the nearby town of Kralendijk, not to mention top-notch accommodations. The resort has over 100 vibrantly decorated rooms that have either a patio or balcony, with views overlooking the ocean or the pool and garden area. When it's time to eat, you can watch fish swim from the beachfront bistro — one of three restaurants at the resort, which also has a pizzeria and a buffet with cuisine theme nights. There are also two freshwater pools, two bars, a casino with slot machines and table games, a fitness center, and a spa for massages and mani-pedis.
Bonaire is a Dutch municipality in the southern Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, near Curacao and Aruba. Getting to the resort is easy, as the island's Flamingo International Airport (BON) is only one mile from the resort.
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The Scuba Diving In Bonaire Truly Is A World-Class Experience
Bonaire has one of the best shipwreck dives in the Caribbean and boasts a marine habitat with 350 species of fish and 57 species of coral. Of the island's 85 dive sites, 54 are accessible from shore. Right off the dive dock, you can see parrot fish and anemones in the Calabas Reef. The dive center offers shore and boat diving, night diving, gear rentals, and an assortment of PADI courses, including an introduction to scuba diving for anyone 10 and up. (More experienced divers can take courses to become a certified wreck diver.) Six dive boats rotate which sites they visit for variety. Only one boat is allowed at each site and the maximum number of guests is 18, so you won't feel crowded.
The resort offers numerous vacation packages that include accommodations, dives, and round-trip airport transfers. If there's a non-diver in your group, there's a small island just off Bonaire called Klein Bonaire that's one of the best snorkeling sites in the Caribbean for its colorful sponges, corals, tropical fish, and sea turtles.
Bonaire's waters have excellent visibility. Additionally, the island is located outside of the Caribbean hurricane zone, putting it at lower risk than other destinations in the region. Marine life remains constant year round. The 6,000-acre Bonaire National Marine Park — featuring seahorses, eagle rays, dolphins, and sea turtles — is a stunning spot to visit, but do note that this park charges divers $40 to support marine conservation.
What To Do In Bonaire When You're Not Diving
The resort area offers plenty of non-diving activities, too, like kite surfing or kayaking in mangroves (choose a clear-bottom kayak to see the fish and root systems). Those who don't want to get wet can take a glass bottom boat tour — it's actually a "semi-submarine" that doesn't dive but has an underwater viewing area so you can see the marine life on the reef. You could meet donkeys on a Tuktuk tour or look for flamingos at Washington Slagbaai National Park's salt pond. Birders will want to try spotting the hundreds of bird species at the national park and Pekelmeer Sanctuary. Keep an eye out for the prevalent Caribbean parakeet and the critically endangered yellow-shouldered parrot, which are mostly found on the island's north side.
Many visitors go caving while vacationing in Bonaire as most hometowns do not have a selection of 400 caves to explore. A guided tour is recommended, and the truly adventurous might want to book a night cave snorkeling tour. There are some good hiking trails, spots for rock climbing, a photography tour, and an unusual golf course. Due to the high water use entailed in keeping grass green, Bonaire's Piedra So course does not have green fairways. Instead, native vegetation grows on this ecologically designed 18-hole course. Another island activity is horseback riding, which is offered in two locations with a choice of a ride along a lagoon or in the rural countryside (which locals call kunuku).
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Read the original article on Islands.
