We did a 7 day liveaboard around Glover Atoll with a few dives around Turneffe in October of 2023. Here is a video from 26 dives on that trip
Our trip was on Aggressor III. Departing from Belize City we did 4 days at Glover Atoll primarily south east side, and then headed over to Turneffe for a day and a half of diving there. Aggressor as usual was a great diving boat, wonderful crew, great food, 4 dives a day plus night dive, and they let you have long dives.
We saw some cool rare fishes
Whitespotted toadfish, endemic to Belize, Turneffe AtollBatfish, Glover Atoll, belize
We dove in two cenotes and explored several Mayan ruins around Tulum in Mexico, after doing some diving in Cozumel in August 2023.
Cenotes are sinkholes resulting from the collapse of the limestone bedrock. It is estimated that there are 10,000 cenotes around Yucatan peninsula. Some forming vast underground systems – a big draw for cave divers. We dove El Pit and Dos Ojos cenotes. Both are considered caverns – meaning one can always (or most of the time) see ambient light from outside. Here is a short video.
Here is what entrance into El Pit looks like. We were extremely lucky as we were the first to arrive to the site and were the first ones to go down. The surreal beauty of the undisturbed hydrogen sulfide layer in the crystal clear water with shimmering rays of light coming in made it an incredible dive.
Cenote El Pit entrance, Tulum, Mexico
Dos Ojos is a part of a cave system, and has two routes. We went for the Barbie line. Diving here is along the line, and while we could see a little bit of light coming from outside, most of the route is through the overhead environment but there are no narrow passages – it is rather spacious.
Cenote Dos Ojos entrance, Tulum, Mexico
We really liked our introduction to cenotes and definitely can see why so many cave divers flock to this part of Mexico. We dove with Flying Fish dive operator in Tulum. They are very professional, gear is in excellent condition, and they were really helpful in deciding where to go as we were new to cenotes and had some concerns about “not seeing the light”. Had excellent experience.
Exploring Mayan ruins from Tulum as a base
There are many Mayan ruins around Yucatan peninsula. We have explored four of them using Tulum town as our base
The nearest one is in Tulum itself. Mayan city of Tulum is located on the cliffs along the coast. It was a major trading center, built and occupied between 13th and 15th century and abandoned in 16th century, later than many other Mayan centers. It is a beautiful site and unique in being right on the coast unlike other sites hidden in the jungle.
Tulum Mayan ruins and sea, Tulum, Mexico
Tulum can get very busy with tourists even in low season. It is very popular with both cruise ship travelers and those staying along the Riviera Maya coast. The site is an open space, not shaded by jungle, and definitely a hat and sunscreen are essential.
Tulum ruins, Mexico
We took a day to explore further Mayan sites of Chichen Itza and Ek Balam with a stop in Vallabolid for lunch.
We had hired a car for our stay in Tulum and explored all the sites on our own. Chichen Itza was one of the largest Mayan cities in its day. It gets very busy with tourists with bus loads of cruise and coast visitors arriving to the site in mid morning. We tried to get ahead of the crowds (even in low season). Chichen Itza is about 2 hour drive from Tulum on a vary good road via the city of Vallabolid. Confusingly, but helpfully, Chichen Itza is in a different time zone from that of Tulum, an hour behind. So one has an extra hour to get to Chichen Itza early.
Chichen Itza ruins, Mexico
Chichen Itza was occupied between 7th and 13th centuries, and served as a major regional center at its peak. At its height, Chichen Itza population is estimated at over 50,000 people. There are huge temples and public spaces, a gigantic ball court, procession ways, and just stunning examples of Mayan architecture.
Chichen Itza ruins and traders, Mexico
Having visited the site about twenty years before, the change was striking. Tourism is important for local economy. There are big areas with vendors selling every kind of Mayan souvenir one could imagine within the territory of the archeological site – though to be fair the stalls are in a distance from ruins themselves. One cannot climb any ruins anymore – and for a very good reason given the crowds. Despite the crowds, it is still an incredible site and definitely a must on Mayan history circuit.
Chichen Itza ruins entrance gate, Mexico
We were quite successful in beating the crowds in Chichen Itza and were departing as more and more buses with tourists were arriving. We headed to Vallabolid. A small city by Mexican standards, it has a historical city center with a nice square, cathedral, and pretty renovated historical buildings. We had a lunch in one of the restaurants on the square taking in the atmosphere.
Vallabolid main square, Mexico
Our plan then was to visit cenote Zaci in the town of Vallabolid and reportedly a good place to swim and cool down, which we felt we really needed after walking around in humid heat of Chichen Itza. We drove up to the cenote Zaci which had good facilities, well set up for visitors. But then solid rain started coming in so we decided that we should go to another Mayan site we saw on the map called Ek Balam and hopefully escape the rain by going there.
Ek Balam ruins, Mexico
It was the best decision ever to go to Ek Balam. Ek Balam is about half an hour drive north of Vallabolid on a good road. We had the site almost to ourselves with only a couple of other visitors. Ek Balam was a significant center, capital of its region and at its peak had a population of 12-18 thousands. It has defensive walls, impressive gate, a ball court and multiple temples and public structures. There is a huge 30m tall and 127m long acropolis and one is still allowed to climb it. The view from the top is absolutely breathtaking with jungle shrouding ruins of Ek Balam.
Ek Balam view from acropolis, Ek Balam, Mexico
One of the more remarkable discoveries in Ek Balam was the tomb of the ruler Ukit Kan L’t Tok‘ located on the acropolis. For centuries the entrance was covered by a stone wall and as a result was not discovered, preserving the carvings and contents of the tomb. Archeological excavation in Ek Balam started in the late 1980s and the site was open to visitors in 1997. It is truly incredible to imagine all the secrets jungle in this region holds, and all the history yet to be discovered.
Ek Balam tomb on acropolis, Ek Balam, Mexico
On our last day in Tulum we decided to explore another Mayan site – Muyil and lagoons next to it. When we visited in August 2023, Muyil was quiet and did not have many tourists. There are signs that the site is expecting to increase the number of visitors as now it is no longer possible to climb any of the structures. Muyil was a significant trade port in its day connecting the coast to Coba and other major cities inland. Only a few structures have been excavated and the work is continuing to uncover more. In the mean time with few visitors and buildings still covered by jungles it has a sense of mystery about it.
Muyil ruins, Mexico
After visiting the site one can continue into the jungle and through a nice elevated walkway through a mangrove forest to Muyil lagoon. At Muyil lagoon there are private boat operators who take you on a tour on the lagoon, then through the canal connecting Muyil lagoon to a much larger Chunyaxché lagoon. And from there, one gets off the boat and floats on a canal through the mangroves, using life jacket as a flotation device. The lagoons are perfect turquoise blue. And the canals, are the same canals that Mayan people have used centuries before to transport goods from the coast inland to the port of Muyil. It was a really fascinating experience.
Muyil lagoon, MexicoChannel from Muyil lagoon to Chunyaxché lagoon, Mexico Chunyaxché lagoon, MexicoChannel in Chunyaxché lagoon, Mexico
We visited four Mayan ruins – two busy with tourists and two almost to ourselves, and explored the channels that Maya built through mangroves between lagoons. We felt we did pretty well on our Mayan emersion in Yukatan and resolved to visit more Mayan sites in Belize and Guatemala to learn more about this incredible civilization.
We stayed in town of Tulum itself as most of our activities were all around the peninsula. On the last day we finally made it to the beach where big resorts and beach bars are. At the time there was quite a bit of sargassum which has been arriving in larger quantities lately all over the Caribbean. But in Tulum, even if there is sargassum at sea, there are lagoons and cenotes to swim in and many land based adventures. Not to mention great food, huge range of accommodation options and very friendly people. We had amazing time.
We did two days of diving in Cozumel in August of 2023, after our diving trip to Malpelo in Colombia and before heading to Tulum. Cozumel is famous for strong currents and drift dives. But with all the warm water and El Nino, or for whatever reason, the currents were very weak when we were there. Diving was very nice with good visibility, warm water, incredible huge coral formations and quite a lot of fish. Cozumel Marine park was established in 1996 and conservation efforts have been successful in restoring fish populations. Here is a short vide with highlights from the dives.
We dove with Tres Pelicanos dive center. They were excellent and well organized. There are many dive shops in Cozumel. We would see half a dozen dive boats around each dive site – quite a shock after Malpelo. This was a low season and we were told that during the high season there would be at least double or triple the number of divers that we saw in August.
splendid toadfish with a shrimp, Cozumel, Mexico
Logistics
We flew to Cancun and took a ferry over to Cozumel. There is an international airport in Cozumel, but it has fewer flights. The connection from the airport, by bus to the ferry in Playa de Carmen works very well. There are two ferry companies and there is a ferry going to Cozumel every our.
Cozumel harbor and ferry terminal, Mexico
In Cancun one can stay in the main town or in one of the resorts along the shore. We stayed in town in one of the many small hotels – ours had 4 units in it. Since we were only there for a couple of days, we did not hire a car. We walked around the main town and its shops and restaurants. And one afternoon hired a motorbike to explore the island.
Even during the low season in August there were two or three cruise ships in Cozumel every day.
Cruise ships, Cozumel, Mexico
On one of the days, after finishing diving we hired a motorbike and went around the island. There is a road that makes a loop around the southern part of the island. I tis a very good paved road with not many vehicles on it once you get out of the town itself.
Sargassum on the east shore of Cozumel, Mexico
Along the eastern shore there are several beaches. It was quite windy and the water was pretty rough when we were there. There was also fair bit of sargassum washed up on the shores. The beaches are sites for turtles laying eggs. There is a large turtle conservation program on Cozumel and sites were all marked. There are also special tours where one can help conservation program.
East side beaches and turtle nesting sites, Cozumel, Mexico
We drove through the Punta Sur eco beach park. The road inside of the park is not paved but it is a good compacted road and two wheel drive or motorbike works fine.
lighthouse in Punta Sur eco beach park, Cozumel, Mexico
On the main road, next to the entrance to the Punta Sur eco beach park, there is a Bob Marley Bar – also known as Rasta Bar and Reggae beach bar. Having lived in Ethiopia and Jamaica we were very determined to make it there for a drink. Unfortunately, we did not read the sign and did not realize it closed at 5pm. By the time were done with Eco beach park and ready for a sundowner, it was closed. Maybe for the next time then.
Bob Marley beach bar, Cozumel, Mexico
The next day we headed to Tulum to try diving in cenotes and explore Maya ruins.
Malpelo is an island in the Pacific ocean about 500km west of the coast of Colombia. We dove there in July 2023 on Ferox liveaboard. The video has the highlights from 7 days diving. We have never seen so much marine life – huge schools of all kinds of fish, whale sharks, Galapagos sharks, white tip reef sharks, silky sharks, even eagle rays trying to mate.
Ferox is an excellent boat with a fantastic crew. It only takes 12 divers. Diving is from two rigid inflatable boats in groups of 6 with each group going to a different site. Ferox was the only liveaboard on site so basically, you dive in a group of 6 and don’t see any other divers. There are 3 dives a day and no night diving. They are very serious about safety and given conditions, only take experienced divers.
Ferox liveaboard,Colombia
In July 2023 the water temperatures were higher than usual. At the surface and down to 10m water was C32 and higher. Thermoclines started at about 25m and the lowest temperature we had was C27. We brought with us 5mm wetsuits but ended up diving without wetsuits. This warmer water bleached some of the corals. Though we heard that in some areas they already started to recover as water cooled a bit. Hopefully cooler water arrives in time to let them recover. We still saw amazing quantity of marine life.
Bleached coral July 2023, Malpelo, Colombia
People familiar with Malpelo conditions said that fish life for schools of fish we had was as good as what one saw in normal temperature. But there were fewer sharks as they must have gone deeper. We did not have currents, sea was flat (except during inbound crossing) and visibility was very good. This allowed us to dive all the sites around. We understand that often currents are very strong and it is not possible to dive all of the sites, though then one gets to see more sharks. This being rainy season most days were overcast but we did have sunny days or sunny dives. We felt that every dive was fantastic and we saw more fish life than we saw anywhere else in the world that we dove. We definitely plan on returning once water cools down and El Nino clears out.
School of bigeye jacks, Malpelo, Colombia
Malpelo island is a very impressive looking island and is a top of underwater sea range. The island is hosting the largest colony of nazca boobies. We took a ride around the island to have a look at the birds closer and also see some of the very cool geology and caves that Malpelo has.
Nazca boobies, Malpelo, Colombia
And to top it all up, on the way back we saw whales near Colombia shores.
Whale near port of Buenaventura on Colombia Pacific coast, Colombia
Logistics and Cali
Ferox leaves from the port of Buenaventura. Divers are picked up from Cali and are taken to Buenaventura by big comfortable bus. Cali has a good international airport and is well connected. We arrived a day before and had some time to explore Cali – known as salsa dancing capital of Colombia.
View on Cali from San Antonio church hill, Colombia
Cali has a nice downtown with leafy streets, areas with older buildings around San Antonio Church hill that now house many cafes and bars, and a promenade along the river with statues of cats lining it. Food was delicious and people are very nice and friendly. And salsa is definitely everywhere – people practicing in a park on Saturday morning or dancing away in street bars (and we did not even make it to a proper salsa dancing club!).
Promenade along the river, Cali, ColombiaOne of the cat statues along the river, Cali, ColombiaA bar on the promenade at night with music and salsa dancing in the street, Cali, ColombiaSan Antonio church at night, Cali, Colombia
We happened to be in Cali on Colombia Independence day and Cali had a parade so we went to see that. There were military and security units of all kind marching, as well as rescue, police – including mounted police with horses, K9 with dogs and even carrying puppies, and there was even a military music truck with salsa music. Atmosphere was very festive with lots of families with children, many with flags and dressed in Colombia national colors. Most popular outfit for national colors was definitely national football team jersey. In all our time in Cali we felt completely safe.
Independence day military parade, Cali, Colombia
We had a look at the parade and then headed to get on the bus to go to Buenaventura to catch our liveaboard. The drive was about 3 hours with a stop at one of the picturesque restaurants in the hills along the road. Road is very good and scenery quite spectacular on the way.
View at the mountains and Cali in the distance on the road to Buenaventura, ColombiaView on surrounding hills from a restaurant along the way from Cali to Buenaventura, Colombia
At some point two lane road (i.e. one lane each way) merges into a new toll road with two lanes each way. Both roads are good – but this tall road is really impressive especially considering how many tunnels had to be made to make it happen. I counted about a dozen but then lost count. Mountain scenery along the way is pretty.
toll road from Cali to Buenaventura
The first look at Buenaventura is not the most pleasing. The outlying areas of the town are slums on stills in mangroves. People said safety can be an issue in Buenaventura – it being a port city and drugs and guns challenges Colombia and countries around deal with. We proceeded directly towards the pier to get to the liveaboard. It did not seem that Buenaventura has much going for it as a stop destination.
Buenaventura slums, Colombia
The bus stops at the main square and then we walked about 100m to the pier. Ferox crew transports the bags. Police was visible and there were many people around as we arrived on a holiday weekend – it felt safe.
Buenaventura main square, Colombia
Buenaventura is the largest commercial port in Colombia on the Pacific side. The tourist pier as it is called, is located next to this commercial port. Tourist pier is a functional if scruffy looking establishment. There are many small boats going from this pier transporting locals to towns and villages along the coast (there is no road along the wild Colombian west coast) and taking tourists (mostly Colombian) to resorts and beaches in the area along the coast.
Entrance to the pier, Buenaventura, Colombia
This being a holiday weekend there were many Buenaventura residents enjoying entertainment on the waterfront
Ferox crew picked us up with the tenders from Ferox and we headed for our new home for the next week on board Ferox liveaboard. With a 32 hour crossing to Malpelo to start with.
It was an incredible trip. We were really surprised that Malpelo is not more known in a diving world (we had no idea it was a thing, we found it by accident while researching Cocos). We heard that part of the reason is history of poor safety record in some of the earlier operations. We also understand that given the size of the island there is a limit (and rightly so) on how many operators and visitors can come. We had a good experience on Ferox. We hope to come back again and see huge schools of hammerheads and silkies coming close, hopefully.
We did a 10 day diving liveaboard trip around Galapagos in April of 2023 with Galapagos Master. The video has some of the highlights – schools of hammerheads, other sharks, mola mola, marine iguanas and lots of fish.
While on the surface we were always surrounded by wild life. Frigate birds and various boobies were everywhere and some really liked hanging on the bow of the boat and hitch-hiking with us when we sailed from island to island
boobies on a bow of the ship, Galapagos
While sailing from island to island we saw dolphins, whales, sea lions, mobula rays jumping out and all sorts of other fish jumping out chasing or being chased.
dolphin, Galapagos
Sea lions were on every island and we saw them fish and even got a picture of one with its catch.
Socorro diving is some of the best in the world. Socorro Island is one of the islands in the Revillagigedo archipelago in Eastern Pacific about 600 kilometers off the western coast of Mexico. The archipelago and waters around it are a marine park since 2017. Since Revillagigedo is not the most friendly word to pronounce, the three islands one can go diving around – Socorro, San Benedicto and Roca Partida – are often referred to as just Socorro islands. Isolated rocks in the middle of the ocean, they attract incredible variety and quantity of marine life on a marine highway with other stops including Galapagos, Cocos Islands and Malpelo. Socorro seems to have the most friendly huge oceanic mantas that stayed with us sometimes for the duration of the dive. Here are highlights from our 17 dives over 5 days in January 2023.
One can only dive Socorro on a liveaboard. Diving season is May through November. Several liveaboards go there, departing from Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur. We went with Solmar V which was great. Water temperature in January was C23-25. We dove in 5mil with a hood. We did not get the absolute crystal perfect visibility Socorro is famous for because there was a massive weather system impacting all of the northern Pacific at the time. But we still got 25m+ visibility on most sites. While the sea was not exactly flat and we had 5m swell and more, we still were able to dive safely every day. The liveaboard trip can also be combined with diving and top side activities in Baja. We went on a little road trip around the south of Baja California Sur and dove in La Paz and Cabo Pulmo before jumping on our liveaboard.
Cabo Pulmo Marine National Park in the sea of Cortez in the East Cape of Baja California Sur is a Unesco world heritage site. The national park was established in 1995, in the area that suffered from significant overfishing. Since then, conservation has been successful and Cabo Pulmo is a case study in what effective marine protection can do to restore reef and fish populations. Bull sharks, rays, big schools of fish, cool topography and corals – all make for a very nice diving. The video has highlights from our 4 dives in Cabo Pulmo in January of 2023.
Cabo Pulmo is a little village with a population of about 60 and a dozen dive shops. Diving is the main reason to visit. Accommodation is basic but comfortable. There are a couple of restaurants with good food. Any groceries or other supplies must be brought in. The nearest shops are in La Ribera 27km away, and those are small shops not big supermarkets. Cell signal is patchy. It is perfect for getting away from it all.
View on Cabo Pulmo from the road, Mexico
We drove down to Cabo Pulmo from La Paz via Los Barriles. It took about 3 hours. The last 10km or so are not paved but reasonably flat and we made it in a small 2 wheel drive car without any problems. You do not need to drive on sand at any point to get to the town. After Cabo Pulmo, we were heading to San Jose del Cabo. While google maps shows a road along the coast going south from Cabo Pulmo, that road is not paved. Advise from locals was to go back via La Ribera and onto route 1 and that’s what we did.
Downtown Cabo Pulmo with dive boats and a number of dive shops, Cabo Pulmo, Mexico
Dive sites are very close to shore – 10 min or less. Most dive shops do two dives out and may be coming back to shore in between the dives, depending on whether all divers do two dives. There is a possibility of afternoon dive depending on weather conditions. When we were there winds picked up in the afternoon and besides visibility was not fantastic so we only did two morning dives each day.
Tractor pulling out dive boat, Cabo Pulmo, Mexico
Even though Cabo Pulmo is known for its coral reef, it is not the tropical kind of reef one has in mind, understandably. There is some hard coral and a few areas with very pretty little fans and sponges. The rock formations are very cool. When we were there visibility dropped to less than 7m and water was pretty green. Water temperatures were about C21, diving in 5mil and with a hood. We hear that late summer and early fall has much warmer water, good vis and thats when one sees those huge schools of jacks Cabo Pulmo is famous for. For all we know, all sorts of schools of fish could have been around, and we saw some, but with poor vis we could not quite see that far. We did get very lucky with so many bull sharks. Was a very unique experience.
Definitely a repeat destination for when the vis is better and the water is warmer. It was a great addition to our La Paz diving and before we were getting on Socorro liveaboard.
Diving in La Paz on the shores of the Sea of Cortez in Baja California Sur, Mexico we had amazing interaction with sea lions, saw a big school of mobula rays and lots of fish. We were diving in late December 2022. Water was getting cool at C21 and visibility dropping to less than 10 meters on some sites. But it was still some of the best diving. Highlights from our three days of diving are in the video below.
Diving from La Paz is in the National Park Espiritu Santo – a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. It covers more than 900 islands and islets in the Sea of Cortez. We dove with Cortez Club – a large and very well organized operator located at the southern edge of La Paz at La Concha beach. The dive sites are an hour or more by boat depending on the site and conditions. Brining a spray jacket for the drive on the boat is a very good idea.
Cortez Club and La Concha beach, La Paz, Mexico
Not only diving is fantastic, but there are whale sharks in the area and we went for a snorkel with them. Bay of La Paz is a protected area for whale sharks. Whale sharks are in the area all year round with the highest concentrations between November and April. There are strict rules in place to ensure wellbeing of whale sharks. There is no diving with whale sharks but snorkeling is permitted. No flash photography. No touching whale sharks and staying at least 3 meters from them when under water. There are limits on how many boats can be in the area at the time (14), duration they can spend with the whale sharks (3 hours) and the number of people in the water with a whale shark at a time (5). As a result, snorkeling with whale sharks in La Paz is a really great experience and whale sharks are comfortable staying with well behaving snorkelers.
Whale Shark, bay of La Paz, Mexico
We stayed downtown in the city of La Paz. It was around Christmas time and atmosphere was wonderful with Christmas market around the main square and the Cathedral. La Paz is a popular place for Mexican locals to visit for holidays so the city was quite busy but definitely much quieter than Cabo San Lucas area. Malecon is very nice with a promenade along the shore and many restaurants. People walk along it for exercise in the morning and come to enjoy sunset. Food and especially seafood were phenomenal.
Malecon at sunset, La Paz, MexicoStatues along Malecon at sunset, La Paz, MexicoStatues along Malecon in the morning, La Paz, MexicoChristmas installation at La Paz pier, La Paz, Mexico
It seems that driving along Malecon is also a popular pastime. Residents in their cars, some decorated for holidays, some with loudspeakers with elaborate neon lights drive around, or rather inch slowly along Malecon starting at around sunset. Not most environmentally friendly, but somehow adding to the cheerful vibe of La Paz.
Cars along Malecon, La Paz, Mexico
There are many beaches and coves along the shore of the Sea of Cortez around La Paz. There are day trips organized by travel operators to go to various beaches by boat, and some can be reached by car. We drove up to playa El Tecolote. A nice long white sand beach facing Isla Espiritu Santo. It was windy on the day we went but on a calmer day the place would have been perfect to spend time on the beach, swim and have some beers at one of the beach bars.
Road to El Tecoloto, La Paz, MexicoEl Tecoloto beach, La Paz, Mexico
We also drove over to Todos Santos for a day to have a look at the Pacific coast side. Todos Santos is a very nice little town that has many art galleries and restaurants. We hear it gets very crowded during the holiday season as many escape Cabo San Lucas area for a quieter Todos Santos. We were there on the morning of Christmas day and with most places closed we did not quite get to experience it. The town did look very nice and inviting, perhaps for the next time. We drove up to Cachora beach and lagoon instead.
Cachora beach and lagoon near Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico
The beach with crashing Pacific ocean waves was stunning. We could see whales breeching in the distance. Lots of birds flying. Climbing up on the hill one gets a great view of the ocean coast and mountains and town in the distance.
Pacific ocean waves on Cachora beach, Baja California Sur, Mexico
We then drove up to El Mirador restaurant with a spectacular view of the sea from the top of the hill. The road to the restaurant was not paved but it was a good gravel road and we easily drove it in our small rental car. We enjoyed great food and watched whales breeching in the ocean and birds flying around.
view from El Mirador restaurant near Todos Santos, Mexico
La Paz diving, the town and its great food and vibe, and trips around were a great stop on our Baja California Sur trip before heading to Cabo Pulmo and then jumping on Socorro liveaboard.
Bonaire is a Dutch island in the Caribbean sea close to the coast of Venezuela. It is known as a shore diving capital of the world. We dove around Bonair for a week in early August 2022 before heading for another week of diving in Curacao.
The video below has highlights of what we saw on our dives. We did 17 shore dives on Bonaire and 2 boat dives around Klein Bonaire – a smaller island next to Bonaire.
August is a hurricane season in the Caribbean, but Bonair, Curacao and Aruba (ABC islands) are located south of the hurricane belt, and generally do not get much rainfall all year round. During our trip the weather was good even though we had occasional short showers in the afternoon. We were able to dive every day and explore top side too. Visibility was excellent about 20-30m. Water temperature was C27-28.
Flydivi plane to depart from Curacao to Bonaire
Getting there.
There is no ferry service between ABC islands. We arrived to Bonaire by a small plane from Curacao. In 2022 two airlines operated flights between Curacao and Bonair. We flew on Dividivi air and there was also EZAir. Because of the small size of the plane there is a strict maximum 23 kg luggage weight limit. Water temperatures were warm C27-28 and we did not bring wetsuits with us. We were able to get our bags with full dive gear just under the limit.
Flamingo airport in Bonaire
Accommodation.
There are hotels, dive resorts and private rentals all around the small island. We stayed a bit out of the main town in one of the smaller private rentals where one could just walk out of from the door and shore dive.
Shore diving at doorstep on Bonaire
Scuba Diving.
Shore diving is the main attraction of Bonair. You hire a car (pickup truck), then hire the tanks, drive to the dive site, gear up, walk in, dive, finish a dive or two, go back to the dive shop to swap the tanks, repeat. The advise is not to leave anything in the car when going diving, not to lock it, and leave windows open. We followed the advise. Most of the time we would see at least another couple of cars parked with people diving, arriving or packing up and felt absolutely safe all around the island.
Getting ready to Dive at Margate site on Bonaire
There are quite a few dive shops on the island where diving seems to be the main tourist activity and tourism – the main industry. We rented our air from VIP diving. We dove on nitrox to extend bottom time and did 3 dives most of the days. There is an option to have a guide, but we dove without one. There are several books with very detailed descriptions of all Bonair dive sites. We have used a paperback version of 2018 addition of Reef Smart Guides Bonaire: Scuba Dive. Snorkel. Surf. The book has the most detailed and clear dive site descriptions we’ve ever seen, even with 3D drawings. Because entry points are rocky and have sharp reef areas, one needs to dive with booties (no open toe fins), and the thicker the sole on the booties the better.
Yellow rock marking Margate dive site on Bonaire
Sites are marked by yellow stones from the main road and there is also a yellow buoy in the water usually where the reef starts. Most dive sites are slopes covered with soft and hard corals. It is easy to just swim out to the marker, go in one direction along the reef and then turn around and come back. Definitely need compass. While some sights have easy entry and a sandy beach, most do not. Rocky shore, waves and swell can make entry a bit of a challenge. Most sites had clear marking on the best entry point – also with yellow stones. And then there are other divers coming in and getting out so it is good to observe before heading in.
Salt pier dive site entry point on Bonaire
Our top three dive sites were Salt Pier – for all the fish life and just really beautiful diving around pylons, HIlma Hooker wreck – for a cool reck and also lots of fish life and huge tarpans hanging around it, and Margate with beautiful reef and loads of fish life. But to be fair, all dives were good and each site was offering something different.
Salt pier, BonaireCorals on pylons of Salt pier, BonairePropeller on Hilma Hooker wreck, Bonaire
Bonaire National Marine Park includes all waters around Bonaire and Klein Bonaire down to the depth of 60 meters. It was established in 1979, is one of the oldest in the world and is considered one of the most successful. Fees paid by divers and other visitors finance the management of the park. Reefs are in very good condition with generally healthy soft and hard corals and huge sponges. Stony coral tissue loss disease unfortunately has reached Bonaire and at the time we were diving, two dive sites were closed off trying to contain the spread. All dive shops also were adding disinfectant when rinsing dive gear.
Coral reef, BonaireCorals impacted by stoney coral tissue loss disease, Bonaire
We saw a few lion fish while diving. These are invasive species without natural predators in the Caribbean. It is allowed to spear them to help protect the reef. The conditions for spearing are strict, requiring a license or diving with an authorized operator and only using marine park authorized spear (provided by a dive operator). Dive shops also require anyone wanting to spear to take PADI lion fish hunting specialty course.
Moray eel and invasive lionfish at Margate site, Bonaire
Reef renewal foundation of Bonaire is trying to find ways to improve coral growth around Bonaire. They have several nurseries where pieces of corals are grown and then transplanted to the reef.
Coral nursery at Something Special dive site, Bonaire
All manner of critters and other macro lens candidates were alive and well on the reef. We even found one little orange frog fish hiding in a sponge at appropriately named Something Special site.
Squat anemone shrimp (left) and Pedersen cleaner shrimp (right) on a pink anemone, BonairSun anemone shrimp, BonaireFrog fish
Exploring top side
There is plenty to see on the top side of Bonaire. There is cute little old town with a few bars and restaurants, scenic drives around the island, rum distillery, iguanas, flamingoes and other birds.
Kralendijk, the main town of Bonaire
On the last day before flying out we spent a day exploring the island driving all around it first heading down south, through the old town, past the salt pier, flamingo sanctuary (you can watch them from the road but cant go closer), then along the shore on the east side of the island, then inland via town and north towards Rincon (and its distillery), then loop through Washington Slagbaai National Park, and back to Rincon and back to town. The permit for diving in Marine National Park also includes the price of entry to the national park so you only have to pay once.
Salt mountains, BonaireFlamingoes with Red Slave in the background, BonaireFlamingoes, BonaireEntrance into Washington Slagbaai National Park, BonaireDriving in national park, BonaireCrested caracara, BonaireVenezuelan troupial. Bonaire Pelican, BonaireIguana, Bonaire
After a fantastic week in Bonaire we flew back to Curacao, for one more week of diving and exploring the Dutch Caribbean ABC islands.
Curacao is one of the three Dutch Caribbean islands close to the coast of Venezuela – Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao known together as ABC. We went diving in Curacao for a week in August 2022, combining with a week of diving in Bonaire.
The video below has diving highlights from 14 dives during our week in Curacao.
While it is possible to do shore diving in Curacao, it is not as easy as in Bonaire. The terrain of Curacao with little lagoons and rocky cliffs limits the number of sites one can easily reach from the shore. Diving is good though and a Curacao Bonaire combo trip worked out well for us since we in any case needed to fly to Curacao to get the small plane to Bonaire.
Westpunt, Curacao
We based ourselves on the western side of the island in Westpunt and were diving with Go West Diving. We mostly dove from a boat and only did a couple of shore dives near the jetty, at Lagun, and on Go West excellent house reef Alice in Wonderland. Westpunt is the quiet end of Curacao, without big resorts and is about 1 hour drive from the capital Willemstad. There are a couple of smaller dive resorts and private rentals in Westpunt. There is no big supermarket so all the major shopping must be done in Willemstad. There are a couple of ok restaurants in the area. We were in a self-catering accommodation right on the cliffs with beautiful sunset views and our own barbeque which worked out perfectly for us.
Lagun, Westpunt Curacao
When not diving we explored the island. The capital of Willemstad has many nice restaurants, the famous bridge and cute old town with colorful dutch style houses. There is the distillery that makes the famous Blue Curacao liqueur worth a visit. We also liked maritime museum in the old town.
Willemstad, Curacao
There are two national parks on the island in its northeastern part. On the last day before flying out when we could not dive, we did both parks in the morning and then had a nice late lunch and walked around Willemstad. Shete Boka park has trails along the barren sea cliffs with striking views over the rougher side of Caribbean coast.
Shete Boka national park, CuracaoNatural Bridge, Shete Boka national park, CuracaoIguana, Shete Boka national park, Curacao
Christoffel national park is next door and has both rugged coast and forested area with nice views. There is a loop drive with a fully paved road to see the park. It is possible to do the hikes in the park, but we were there in the warmer time of the year and were not tempted to hike.
Drive through Christoffel national park, Curacao
All in all Curacao was a nice trip. Good easy diving in warm water with good visibility, lots of things to explore on top side, good restaurants and friendly locals. Curacao Bonaire combo makes good sense if one makes it all the way down to this corner of the Caribbean.
