Klein Bonaire ??

Has anybody beem to Klein Bonaire, if so how do you get there and is it worth it ? thank you patbob

the info you want will be on Bonaire boards...there's info about Klein on there

This IS the Bonaire board. I would like an answer to this question also.

This IS the Bonaire board. I would like an answer to this question also.

:p FUNNY ABOVE! :p

:confused: Can anyone help with a reply since we REALLY are on the Bonaire Board? :D

Hi,

We visited Bonaire on 2/6/08 on the Crown Princess. We booked the 11:30 am water taxi through Princess for 29/pp for a 3 hour trip (30 min each way in transport and 2 hours on the beach). We rented snorkle gear for $18/pp from the Dive Locker on Princess (equipment was $25/pp for the week). We met on the pier at 11:20 and about 30 of us climbed onto the water taxi. It was a bit like a small house boat with wooden benches to sit (like small park benches). There were about 30 people in our group. When we arrived at Klien Bonaire there was no dock, rather the boat approached the shore and lowered a ramp that we walked down. At the end of the ramp we stepped into shallow water and then onto the beach. This is very easy and someone with mobility difficulties would be fine. While still on the taxi we were given a return ticket and a drink pass good for water, juice or soda. We also brought along small bottles of water which we used.

The day we were there it was quite windy. The sand was blowing around a bit and the beach was littered with small pieces of coral - I thought it had a pink cast to the beach, perhaps not as must as Bermuda, but definately noticable. When we arrived there were only about 40 people on the island - our group and another snorkle tour who left soon after). Every hour the water taxi dropped off 30 more people so by our departure time at 2:00 it was getting a bit busier - still much less crowded than a beach resort, but not the semi-deserted feeling of our arrival. I should also note there was very little shade (just some scrub bushes) and no amenities.

We walked down the beach to the right (when facing the water) and then entered the water. I'd estimate the reef was only 15 ft from shore. The water color changed dramatically and all of a sudden we were swimming among the fish. To me the coral was mediocre, but the varity of fish was excellent. In my opinion, this is a very easy place to snorkle as the gentle current allows you to drift along the reef. After 20 minutes or so I swam to shore back near where the water taxi dropped me off and then you can do the entire thing again!

Overall this was one of my favorite days on our 14 day trip and among the best of my past 7 cruises.

I should also note that after visiting Klien Bonaire there was plenty of time to return to the ship, take a shower, have lunch and walk to town to do some light shopping.

Final thoughts - the locals were very polite, friendly and obviously love their island. Bonaire is definately a place to return to!

We go to Bonaire every year for two weeks. It is a great place to dive, snorkle and wind surf. Klien Bonaire is an island that is desolate of people and biuldings. It is where we go to dive and snorkel because you can see wonderful thing there. http://www.infobonaire.com/divemap.html

This is a map of Bonaire and Klien.

Bob

DaveCruiser (Bob) .... Very helpful sites! :)

vttraveler .... Can't thank you enough for your "first hand" report -- Exacally the information we needed! :)

We were in Bonaire on 20-Feb-08 with the Crown Princess. I echo exactly the above review by vttraveler - this is an excellent description of the tour and what to expect. Before booking, I was concerned that we would want longer than the 3 hours (really 2 once you cut out the travel time) to spend on Klein Bonaire. However, we found that there was enough time to snorkel along the shore 2-3 times, plus some time to relax on the beach before the return trip. The fish were plentiful and visiblity was excellent.

Snorkel_Girl

We booked the ship tour with Celebrity water taxi to Klein Bonaire. This was a good deal as we literally stepped off the ship and into the waiting water taxi at the dock. about 20 minute ride out to the beach. there was lots of other people there as there were 2 ships in port, but the beach and reef are so long it was not crowded at all. The snorkeling was wonderful, the most variety of fish in one place I have ever seen, along with tons of the biggest parrotfish I have ever seen. There was a little snack shop that rented snorkel stuff if you needed it. There was also a sandy section with no reef that was calm and beautiful so if you are just looking for a beach day this would work too. Highly reccommended, I would go again.

Next time do it on your own and save some money

Bob

There was a little snack shop that rented snorkel stuff if you needed it. There was also a sandy section with no reef that was calm and beautiful so if you are just looking for a beach day this would work too. Highly reccommended, I would go again.

:cool: Thanks so much for this report! We love the beach so it sounds like fun to us!

Tell us about the "little snack shop" please. Do they sell Cokes and Beer?

Please ... also ... was the beach rocky? Did you need water shoes?

The snack shop had waters, rum punch, and soda, I did not see any beer. Where the reefs are the beach in front was a little rocky, but there was a large sandy section (in front of the snack shop) that was smooth, no water shoes required.

Thanks, Oino2! Appreciate your time to reply! :)

Next time do it on your own and save some money

 

Bob

I an on Princess Crown in April. I booked throught he ship because I was told that they buy all the water taxis and there is a good chaance there will be nothing available. I don't care about saving money, but I would like to go on my own so I can spend more than 2 hours on K.B. ( the tour only allows 2 hours on KB

what is your recommondation?

Klein Bonaire was a true highlight of our cruise. The excursion thru the ship was right there for us, and we had done our first 1/2 hr of snorkelling before others even started showing up. Bottom line is, quiet water equals hundreds more fish! Stunning to say the least.

*NOTE* Walk left after hitting the beach. 300 yards will take you to where the sand ends. Go in there and pick your way thru the shallow reef. You'll be rewarded once on the deep side.

Here is a link to pictures from our recent Emerald Princess cruise (including Klein Bonaire). http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562856693QiSAzA

Enjoy.

Cptn. Heimlich.

Klein Bonaire was a true highlight of our cruise. The excursion thru the ship was right there for us, and we had done our first 1/2 hr of snorkelling before others even started showing up. Bottom line is, quiet water equals hundreds more fish! Stunning to say the least.

*NOTE* Walk left after hitting the beach. 300 yards will take you to where the sand ends. Go in there and pick your way thru the shallow reef. You'll be rewarded once on the deep side.

Here is a link to pictures from our recent Emerald Princess cruise (including Klein Bonaire). http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562856693QiSAzA

Enjoy.

Cptn. Heimlich.

Thanks for a glimce of Bonaire. Looks like not much has changed since last year, that's one of the things we like about it.

Bob

I wanted to do a quick post here of our excursion to Klein Bonaire. I know when we get back from our cruises, we forget to post about our excursion experiences. Here is mine.

DH and I just came back from our cruise on the Emerald Princess. We took the water taxi (Princess excursion) to Klein Bonaire and had a wonderful time there. The water was clear and we saw a lot of marine life. We brought our own snorkel gear with us. We were given a token for a free beverage (soda, water, or punch).

The taxi dropped us off on the beach. We placed our towels and bags on the edge of the beach next to the bushes.

We took our snorkel gear and headed left (facing the island). We walked along the beach until we could find a wide opening in the coral reef. We ended up sitting in the shallow water to put on our fins and mask/snorkel. Then we swam through the opening, making sure not to disturb any coral. We drift snorkeled several times (from where we entered the water to where the taxi dropped us off). Getting out of the water and walking further down the beach to make our drift last longer. To get out of the reef, I just waited until I could find an opening to swim through and get to the shallow water/beach area. We were here for about 1-1/2 hours.

I have to say, I had the best snorkeling experience here. Drifting was easy, I just had to be careful not to run into the coral while taking lots of pictures.

I hope this information is helpful for those of you who have not been to Klein Bonaire. I have posted a few pictures of Bonaire on my travel blog. Enjoy!

Patbob:

We loved that beach/island. Took a water taxi for a day to get away from the ship. Is about a 20 min water ride, about $20eh, round trip. Get it from the bar/pier 3 - 4 blocks to left/west of boat dock. Great beach day, though take your own water, food, gear, no services whatsoever, just a beautiful sandy beach. Great snorkeling. The water taxi's come every 30 minutes or so, no worries. Was a highlight of our cruise.

Enjoy,

Mark & Sally

Just got back from our cruise 2 weeks ago on the Caribbean Princess!

We booked the water taxi to Klein Bonaire through the ship. As much as we wanted to get there on our own without expensive ship tours, it wasn't worth the hassel. We took the 7:30 taxi over and it was the best thing we did. As we were leaving droves of people were coming in on other ship tours, non ship tours and the other taxis were dropping people off. I highly recommend getting on the first taxi over if you can get up that early!

Ride over was uneventful, but beautiful. Booking through Princess you get tickets for rum punch. There are no facilities on the island other than a hut where you can rent out snorkel gear, buy drinks, as well as underwater cameras.

Snorkeling: This was some spectacular snorkeling. I would put it in my top three, with one and two being experiences I had in Belize and Curacao. When you arrive, put your belongings near the hut where eveything is rented. Then walk left down the beach as far as you can go. Enter into the water and carefully look around for an opening. There are a few, some are very small and one good wave could knock you into the coral. This was the one issue I had here, is people were not being careful and were using the coral to hold themselves up. This kills the little creatures inside! Once you get through it's like you dove into your own private aquarium. You can let the current take you along the deep side of the reef all the way back down to where you left your things. Once you get there it's sandy enough just to swim straight to shore. We spent over an hour snorkeling the reef and exploring the in's and out's. Below are some pics.

Overall: I thought it was a great bang for the buck especially for the limited time in Bonaire (7am to 1pm). It left us with just enough time to check out some of the street vendors and shops before heading back to the ship.

Arrival at Klein:

Watch out for these little guys, there are some big ones too!

Reef:

We were just in Bonaire on the CB. We took the Princess excurision and it was only $29. It was three hours with two hours to snorkle.The day we were there the current wasn't strong. Some people even swam aganist it. Here are my pictures of the taxi, reef and beach.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/285...01391319CzYQfn

We were just in Bonaire on the CB. We took the Princess excurision and it was only $29. It was three hours with two hours to snorkle.The day we were there the current wasn't strong. Some people even swam aganist it. Here are my pictures of the taxi, reef and beach.

 

 

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/285...01391319CzYQfn

Eileen, the link to your album no longer works. Could you try again?

Thanks!:D

Here is the link again.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2858850530101391319CzYQfn

Thanks for posting the link again.

Is there some shade by the bushes as my DH is so fearful of sunburn?

Moya

We did find a little shade but the bushes are short so you have to sit down to be in the shade. Wear a hat and lots of sun screen. I even wore on of those shirts with the spf in them.