1,000 Steps
Bonaire's most photographed shore dive. It is 67 steps, not a thousand — but with doubles on your back it feels like the name is right.
At the site
Watch out for
Getting there
Everything that happens before the fins go on.
Directions & access
On the Queen's Highway heading north from Kralendijk, about 12 minutes past the Radio Nederland towers. The staircase is signposted from the road.
Parking
Small pull-off directly above the staircase, room for around six trucks. Never leave anything visible in the vehicle.
Entry & exit
Carry your kit down the limestone staircase, gear up on the beach, and walk in over rounded rock. Water shoes or booties strongly advised. Same exit — time your step-out between sets.
Conditions & timing
When it's good, and when to stay on the beach.
Typical conditions
Almost always calm, being on the lee side of the island. Gentle north-south current on the reef slope.
When it's blown out
Northerly swell in December-February can make the exit genuinely dangerous. If waves are breaking on the rocks, dive somewhere else.
Tidal window
Any time of day; mornings are calmest.
Visibility
Routinely 25-30 m.
Water temperature
26-29 C year round.
Exposure suit
3 mm full suit, or a shorty in summer.
Best season
Year round; avoid northerly swell in mid-winter.
Under the surface
What you'll actually swim over.
Topography
A shallow terrace of hard coral from 5-12 m, then a sloping reef down past 30 m. Big star and brain coral heads, sand chutes between them.
Navigation
Drop in, head out to the drop-off, then turn north or south along the reef and come back on the shallow terrace.
Marine life
Turtles almost every dive, tarpon at dusk, French angelfish, seahorses in the shallow rubble, and healthy elkhorn on the terrace.
Protected area rules
The whole coastline is Bonaire National Marine Park. A nature tag is required and must be carried. No gloves, no touching, no collecting.
Safety & emergencies
The details you want written down before you need them.
Hazards
The staircase itself with heavy gear is the biggest hazard. Slippery rock at the water line. Long surface swim back if you overshoot the exit.
Nearest chamber
San Francisco Hospital Hyperbaric, Kralendijk
Chamber phone
+599 717-8187
Local emergency number
911
VHF channel
16
Phone signal
Good at the parking area
Nearest air fill
Shops in Kralendijk, 15 minutes south — air and nitrox.
From the water
Photos and short clips posted by divers.
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