Bonaire

Bonaire

Bonaire is a stunning island located in the Leeward Antilles, part of the ABC islands that also include Aruba and Curaçao. This Caribbean Island is a special municipality of the Netherlands, with its capital being the picturesque port of Kralendijk, situated on the west coast of the island. Bonaire is situated approximately 80 km off the coast of Venezuela and is known to be outside Hurricane Alley, making it an ideal destination for tourists who are looking for a warm and sunny climate all year round. It is also known to be a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its numerous shore diving sites and easy access to its fringing reefs. All of this island's coastline is a marine reserve, established in 1979 to protect and preserve its reefs and dependent marine wildlife. The Bonaire National Marine Park manages the reefs, beaches, and on-island reserves located on both Bonaire and Klein Bonaire. The island has a total land area of 288 square kilometers and is 38.6 kilometers long from north to south, with a width ranging from 5-8 kilometers from east to west. The island boasts more than 350 species of fish and sixty species of coral living in its reef. According to a survey conducted in 2011, Boulder Star Coral is the most common coral found on the island. Apart from its stunning natural beauty, Bonaire is also known for its flamingo populations and its donkey sanctuary. Bonaire island's lagoons have brackish water which attracts flamingos, as they feed on the shrimp that thrive in it. The Caribbean flamingo has only four nesting grounds, and one of them is on Bonaire. Additionally, the island is a habitat for the endangered Yellow-Shouldered Amazon parrot.