GREAT CLIMATE AND RELAXED LIFESTYLE
Bonaire
The Caribbean island is world renowned as a Top-5 diving and snorkeling destination, but there’s so much more to experience. Bonaire is also a mecca for lovers of wind and kite surfing and an increasing number of holidaymakers love to come for the great climate and the relaxed lifestyle.
No mass tourism
Although Bonaire is no match for Aruba and Curacao in size, with 20,000 inhabitants it’s by far the least populated. You won’t find mass tourism and high-rise hotels here; instead, small-scale resorts with hip beach clubs, excellent restaurants and luxury villas and a rugged, unspoiled coast with beautiful natural beaches and national parks.
Authentic
Bonaire is the most authentic of the Dutch ABC islands. From the moment that you arrive on the island, you’ll feel the relaxed and informal Caribbean atmosphere. A tropical paradise under stable Dutch management with an outstanding level of amenities, sustainable growth of quality tourism and a progressive economic policy.
A MISHMASH OF CULTURES’
The colours of Bonaire
The Caribbean’s history began long before Christopher Columbus set foot on the Bahamas in 1492 and discovered the New World. Indians lived together on the paradise islands for centuries, for the most part peacefully and amiably. This changed rapidly, however, with the arrival of the Europeans, because these settlers brought with them African slaves to work on the sugar and cotton plantations. There are few descendants of the original inhabitants left and what remains is a fascinating mix of cultures that make the Caribbean so unique and attractive and draws tourists from all over the world.
No ’gold’
In 1499, the Spanish landed on Bonaire and the island appeared on the world map for the first time. The Spanish soon discovered that there was no gold to be found on Bonaire and that apparently the ground was unsuitable for plantations. In 1526, the Spanish introduced livestock on Bonaire. Consequently, there are donkeys and goats in the wild.
Salt extraction
The Netherlands conquered Bonaire from the Spanish in 1633 and the island came under the administration of the West India Company. As a result of the emerging herring fisheries in Holland, there was a great need for salt and the salt mining on Bonaire became increasingly important. A small number of slaves were put to work in the salt flats, and the slave houses on the salt flats, where, in the past, the slaves of Bonaire lived, are still to see in the south of Bonaire. Today, the salt is extracted by the Canadian multinational Cargill using modern technology and machines and then exported worldwide.
BONAIRE HAS A TROPICAL CLIMATE
365 days of summer
Everyone going on holiday to a tropical island expects tropical weather. You won’t be disappointed in this regard thanks to Bonaire’s location in the south of the Caribbean. There is almost constant good weather with a little rain only sporadically.
The temperature stays around 28 degrees almost all year round. But it doesn’t feel muggy because of the ever-present cooling breeze. The average sea temperature is 27 degrees.
No problems with hurricanes
Geographically, Bonaire, together with Aruba and Curaçao (the ABC islands), forms part of the Leeward Islands, which are situated in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea, off the South American coast. These island falls outside the hurricane zone and so does not suffer from tropical storms, hurricanes and tornados.
