Bonaire Honeymoon

Escape the crowds on Bonaire – one of the Caribbean's best islands for scuba diving, snorkelling and bird watching.

Things to do and see
Unspoiled Bonaire is possibly the closest you will ever get to feeling as though you’re swimming in an aquarium, with the largest concentration of parrotfish and damselfish in the Caribbean, or just about anywhere else in the world for that matter.

Choose from more than 100 pristine dive sites, with up to 30m visibility and 24 hour diving all year round. Visit an offshore reef with a dive centre or rent a four-wheel drive and follow the island’s bumpy coastal roads to any of 50-plus yellow dive markers. In Bonaire’s marine park it’s easy to discover pristine, unspoiled coral reefs teeming with schools of rainbow-hued reef fish, often just a short swim from the beach.

Stroll past the pink and orange painted houses of the capital, Kralendijk, then take a water taxi across to Klein Bonaire (or Little Bonaire), an uninhabited, low-lying islet that offers gorgeous white-sand beaches shelving into calm turquoise water.

Or pack a pair of binoculars and explore on foot or mountain bike the kunuku (or outback); the northern half of this 117ha island is hilly, while the southern half is flat and arid. Along the way, see starkly beautiful vistas of cacti, divi-divi trees and wildlife in the Washington Slagbaai National Park and watch pink flamingos in the dramatic salt flats of Pekelmeer.

Spot some of the more than 200 different species of birds that call Bonaire home – look out for flamingos, big-billed pelicans, herons, parrots, terns, parakeets and hummingbirds. Climb to the summit of Mount Brandaris (236m) in the Washington Slagbaai National Park, go windsurfing at Lac Bay and visit the island’s oldest lighthouse, Willemstoren, built in 1837.

Accommodation
Come on a day trip from neighbouring Aruba or stay longer and enjoy the superlative marine and bird life. Bonaire offers a range of accommodation options to suit all budgets, including the exclusive 5-star Harbour Village Bonaire, which features Dutch Caribbean-style villas painted in pastel colours, with terraced balconies and red-tile roofs.

Or try the luxurious Deep Blue View, an intimate Spanish-style retreat offering 180-degree views of the Caribbean from the patio.

Best time to visit Bonaire?
With an average temperature of 28°C year round and cool sea breezes, a romantic honeymoon getaway in Bonaire can be enjoyed at any time. Only the months of October, November and December have occasional brief showers.

Location – Boomerang-shaped Bonaire lies in the southern Caribbean, just 80km from the coast of Venezuela. It is one of the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao), an autonomous part of the Netherlands. It is located south of the hurricane belt.

Getting there – By air, Bonaire is a short hop from nearby Aruba, which receives daily non-stop flights from several cities in North America (just 2.5 hours from Miami and 4.5 hours from New York).