Hilma Hooker

The Salt Pier And Vista Blue Dive Sites

This is a combo video of the Salt Pier which is a working salt production facility. The pier is a series of conveyor belts that move the salt to ships awaiting pickup. This structure makes for some nice habitat for Tarpon, Spotted Eagle Rays as well as all the other usual suspects.

Vista Blue dive sight is the second part where we run into the coolest little sea turtle. Great reef here as well.

Bonaire Quick Tips

Bonaire Quick Facts -

Local Currency - US Dollar
Local Beer - Polar
Local Industry - Salt and Tourism
Local Cheese - Gouda

If you want freedom in your schedule and want to do some great dives, Bonaire is for you. Also, you have the freedom there to modify your spending to fit your budget.

In our experience, we paid the same amount for one dinner out as we did for a full week of air ($160 after a coupon we got and with free nitrox upgrade if you go with Dive Friends Bonaire). For this reason, we ended up doing a couple BBQ's at our rental villa (that we found on vrbo.com) and those meals turned out to be two of our favorite meals.

As for the diving, it was great! Really, the whole island is a dive site. The fish seemed to me to be more friendly than most in other countries, and they were plentiful. We saw tons of parrotfish, tangs, grouper, eels, gobies, and on and on. We also ran into a feeding Spotted Eagle Ray and a very friendly little sea turtle. Some of my favorite spots include, the Hilma Hooker, the Salt Pier, Vista Blue, 1,000 Steps, and the reef right out in front of our villa, Yellow Submarine.

Other highlights include the local Flamingos hanging out in Lac Bay and the donkeys and goats roaming freely around the island and, phew, talk about your big lizards!

Overall, I'd recommend Bonaire for a dive trip where you can set the pace yourself, but if you are on any kind of budget, plan to visit a grocery store when you get there because food can get pricey quickly.

Check out my YouTube channel to see my videos of Bonaire