Snorkel expedition in Bonaire

[lynncarol]

Less than two weeks ago my husband and I booked a snorkel excursion with Seacow out of Bonaire.  It involved a 3 hour snorkel along the island of Klein Bonaire and an adjacent beach (can't recall the name).  We highly recommend this experience as the corals and sponges off the island were the best we have seen in the Caribbean. Their boat has a max passenger number of 28 (we had 27) and these are divided into 3 groups. Each group had its own guide/leaders and did they do a good job!  Ours not only gave us a running commentary on what we were seeing but spent a lot of time treading water with her head above the water, keeping an eye on her group.  This was especially important to us, as my husband who will be eighty in April, has very poor vision and in past excursions, our group leaders just swam off, leaving him frantically trying to figure out where they were heading. Even better, very little swimming was involved, as we just floated along with the current, with the boat keeping up deeper in the water. Half-way through, we got back onboard to be served little wraps of chicken or vegetables, some delicious banana bread, fruit etc and drinks which included a rum punch.  Then back into the water for the last half of snorkel. We took a cab to and from their marina, but if you were really a fit person, it is possible to walk there. A very enjoyable three hours!

[Katefromupstate]

Totally understandable that you couldn’t remember the beach name on the island of Klein Bonaire, it’s called “No Name Beach.”  😁.

 

Kate

[3rdGenCunarder]

@lynncarol, I had the same good experience with Sea Cow, with one exception. There were only 8 of us total. All experienced snorkelers. The drift was wonderful. Without the need to swim, the group just floated along, no frantic kicking to keep up. I have never seen so many fish on a snorkel trip before! We did see one stingray, but no turtles. 

 

The guide did as you described. She told us the only rule was not to get ahead of her. When she stopped to explain something, she could see all of us. 

 

Unfortunately, it was cloudy and windy, so it was choppy. Not too rough to feel safe, but with me bobbing up and down and the fish swimming around, my little underwater camera didn't get good shots.

 

Fortunately, there was a photographer on board. She had a good camera in a casing, and she had a light. She could freedive for a minute or more, so she got great pictures, including some of the snorkelers in action. She put them on a tablet to show us. I bought them for $40. I take a lot of pictures and I don't usually buy any, but these were too good to pass up. They sent a link, and I was able to download them, although the signal on the ship had me worried. But there were no hiccups and I have fantastic pictures to remember this by. 

 

I took a taxi to the marina but walked back along the seafront. It was fine until the sun came out and then it was hot! Still, it was a nice walk. 

 

I was ready to go back to Bonaire the next day and do it all again. But the ship had other plans...

Edited February 22 by 3rdGenCunarder

[Krisco]

Jumping in on this to add my comments as we did this excursion last week with Sea Cow in Bonaire.  Highly recommend.  I did some research and due to an artificial hip saw the pictures of the boat and the 2 easy ladders to get in and out of the water were key.  The staff even put on your flippers as you sat on the top rung.  Great experience and also liked the fact the boat drifted along with you so you didn't have a hard swim against the current to get back on the boat.  The owners said they moved from the Netherlands a few years ago and bought the boat and started this and it's their dream come true.  They talked about offering a night snorkel that sounded so cool.  Flashlights and very different creatures they said.  Maybe someday will get there and do that night snorkel.  

 

I will add however, we emailed them a few times asking if the excursion was local time since they are on AST.  They answered twice "we know you ship arrives at 9AM" so don't worry you have plenty of time. I even replied back and said ok 9AM local time or our time which was EST.  She again said don't worry. Well it's local time.  We ended up taking a cab to the marina but had to wait for a full van so were last ones there even though we got off the ship right away.  Just keep that in mind.  We did walk back.  It was hot and a little long but there were some shops along the way if you take the brick path along the water, not the main road so it broke it up a bit.   

[Katefromupstate]

Sorry that happened to you.   Going forward, this won’t be a problem with upcoming cruises this spring because Bonaire does not do daylight savings time.    So, when you all turn your clocks forward tonight, Bonaire will be the same as east coast time zone.   
 

Then in the fall when the US falls back, Bonaire will be an hour ahead of east coast time zone again.  
 

Kate

[bluewave]

Just back from an ABC cruise on Celebrity Reflection. Bonaire was definitely the best snorkeling stop. Took an excellent tour with AquaFun Bonaire to Klein Bonaire. Small group of 10 people on a speedboat. Brought us to a couple great spots that you could basically drift snorkel along the reef edge. The guide took underwater pics of the fish we were seeing and airdropped them to everyone at the end of the excursion.