Snorkeling..Aruba vs Bonaire

[kevmack77]

My wife and I did a snorkel trip about a year ago in Aruba. We hit the Antilla and a couple of reefs near shore. We booked with one of the big boats, and we thought it was awesome..Anyway, we will be stopping Aruba and Bonaire in a couple of weeks. Has anyone snorkeled in both places?? We are tempted just to do the Aruba snorkel trip again because we know it will be great. How does Bonaire compare ??? Should we stick with what we know will be good in Aruba or are ther better spots in Bonaire. Thanks, in advance, for your responses!!!

[Arubalisa]

Do both, but the snorkeling in Bonaire is 100% better. Check over in the Bonaire Forum for info on private guided snorkel trips with Renee.

[KrysyGT]

Repeating above poster - Bonaire is a million times better!!! Visibility, coral and fish wise!

[Stevesan]

Here's another vote for Bonaire.

But snorkel Aruba again, too.

A day with your face in the water is never wasted. :p

[sceneisle]

Have snorkeled on both islands. No contest; hand's down, it's Bonaire. More species of fish and much better visibility. We spent a week on Bonaire and didn't come close to snorkeling the 75+ marked dive/snorkel sites around the island. Our favorites were Oil Slick Leap (don't let the name fool you), Andrea I & II, 1000 Steps and Tori's Reef.

[mcmarya]

Unfortunately, hurricane Omar severely damaged the coral in the shallow areas near shore on Bonaire so snorkeling is not as good as it once was, we were told. Because of that, we went to Klein Bonaire, but were not that impressed. There was a lot of wave action that day and the reef is very close to the surface. The reduced visibility and inability to swim over the reef made the snorkeling only OK. Next time we'll just try our luck on the main island and hope things improve.

 

We actually enjoyed our snorkeling in Aruba more and saw more. Try Catalina Cove--between Malmok and Arashi. The coral is not in the greatest shape but there are plenty of fish.

[dardan]

Bonaire was one of the best snokeling places I have been! We walked about 3/4 of a mile down to a resort, parked it in lounges and snorkeled up and down the coast. It was one of the best days of our cruise. If you are interested, I'll look back at my notes to see where it was.

 

Loved it! Want to go there again!

[kevmack77]

Bonaire was one of the best snokeling places I have been! We walked about 3/4 of a mile down to a resort, parked it in lounges and snorkeled up and down the coast. It was one of the best days of our cruise. If you are interested, I'll look back at my notes to see where it was.

 

Loved it! Want to go there again!

 

Yeah..any info would be great!

[silkismom]

Going in Apr, any ideas.

[travelite]

My wife and I did a snorkel trip about a year ago in Aruba. We hit the Antilla and a couple of reefs near shore. We booked with one of the big boats, and we thought it was awesome..Anyway, we will be stopping Aruba and Bonaire in a couple of weeks. Has anyone snorkeled in both places?? We are tempted just to do the Aruba snorkel trip again because we know it will be great. How does Bonaire compare ??? Should we stick with what we know will be good in Aruba or are ther better spots in Bonaire. Thanks, in advance, for your responses!!!

 

Don't miss snorkeling in Bonaire.

[travelite]

Bonaire was one of the best snokeling places I have been! We walked about 3/4 of a mile down to a resort, parked it in lounges and snorkeled up and down the coast. It was one of the best days of our cruise. If you are interested, I'll look back at my notes to see where it was.

 

Loved it! Want to go there again!

 

I would greatly appreciate the name of the resort. Is it 3/4 miles from the pier? which direction? Could it be "Captain John's Dive Resort"?

[jefarl]

is there any place to snorkel off a beach in Aruba that is worth anything?

[Arubalisa]

is there any place to snorkel off a beach in Aruba that is worth anything?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/tags.php?tag=aruba+snorkeling

 

Boca Catalina is not bad, best earlier in the a.m., and easy to reach from the cruise terminal.

 

Some additional info:

http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/Aruba/Catalina_Cove/index.htm

http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/Aruba/Boca_Catalina/index.htm

[travelite]

is there any place to snorkel off a beach in Aruba that is worth anything?

 

Take bus #10 (it will say "Hotels") to end of the route at California Lighthouse -- $2.30 r/t fare; buy your ticket from the driver using US currency. Be sure to tell the bus driver where you want to go. Not all #10 buses go all the way to the Calif. Lighthouse. There is a return bus 5 min. before every hour. The beach is right there at the last bus stop. This is a locals' spot without facilities. There are a few old lounge chairs that are left on the beach as well as a few chairs. Shade is limited. Bring drinking water with you.

I snorkeled there the first week in April 2009. There was enough there to keep me in the water for 2 hours. Good for fish, but not for coral.

[travelite]

Do both, but the snorkeling in Bonaire is 100% better. Check over in the Bonaire Forum for info on private guided snorkel trips with Renee.

 

Aruba or Bonaire? Bonaire without question. Snorkeled with Renee a few weeks ago in Bonaire. She was great! We've done lots of snorkeling in top areas, and did not want to waste our limited shore time so we booked Renee....for just 2 of us.

She met us at the ship with her van and took us to 3 diff. sites -- off the beach. She is extremely knowledgeable and will immediately give you the proper name for all sea life seen. She's great at spotting the elusive and camouflaged that we certainly would have missed. She even stopped and pointed out flamingos along the way. She's a very interesting lady. We thoroughly enjoyed our morning with her.

She includes snorkel gear in her price, but we chose to bring and use our own.

Caution: reapply waterproof sunscreen each time you get out of the water or wear a shirt/etc. when you snorkel.