Things to Do in Bonaire

Just off the western shore of Bonaire, tucked into the crook of the main island’s natural crescent shape, sits the islet Klein Bonaire. The uninhabited, low-lying island is about 1,500 acres big and only rises about 6 feet out of the water. On land, Klein Bonaire is home to a handful of ruins, small slave huts dating from the colonial era, and the island has a wonderfully deserted beach called No Name Beach. However, Klein Bonaire's greatest attraction lies just below the water. As part of Bonaire’s famed marine park, the shallow reefs around the island are lush and pristine, loaded with frilly soft corals, and teeming with schools of reef fish.

Established in 1979, Bonaire National Marine Park displays the biodiversity of Caribbean coral reefs in all of their richness and vibrancy. The park offers 6,700 acres (2,700 hectares) of reefs, seagrasses, and mangroves and is home to rare species such as the green sea turtles and queen conch.

Since so much time on Bonaire is spent enjoying the water and sand, it’s nice to escape to the hills for a minute and get a view of the island. At Seru Largu, or “Large Hill,” visitors are met with a sweeping view of the island’s western shoreline, where the small island of Klein Bonaire hovers just off the turquoise coast. Wild goats, and sometimes iguanas, are visible up on the hill, as is the massive monument with its signature, yellow and white cross. Since Bonaire’s landscape is dusty and dry, the view looks out over fields of cactus and sand running out to the coast, and is one of the island’s best places to watch the sunset or stars come out. Every year on New Years Eve, island locals gather up here to watch the clusters of fireworks, and at any time of year it’s a highlight of taking a small group tour of the island.