Snorkeling Lac Bay - BonaireSnorkeling Lac Bay is a treat, but the way you access it is a little bizarre. It is definitely one of the top Bonaire snorkeling spots, mostly because it is one of the only very shallow snorkel spots. It has large patches of live healthy Elkhorn coral, Staghorn coral, and tons of fish.
Lac Bay is on the east, rough side of the island. But there is a protective coral reef that fronts most of the bay, and nearly all the waters within the bay are less than five feet deep.
Because of these shallow protected waters, and because it is nearly always very windy, this has become a world famous windsurfing location. There are so many windsurfers here that they are one of the things you have to consider when snorkeling Lac Bay.
Now, the reason the access to snorkeling Lac Bay is a bit odd is because you have to walk in shallow waters (about two feet of water), for about twenty minutes to reach the slightly deeper waters close to the barrier reef. And you sometimes have to navigate your way across the bay when there are windsurfers screaming by around you. Below you can see the picture we got of the bay from the airplane. You walk out to the inside of where the waves are breaking.
You need to drive to the east side of the island, to Lac Bay, and specifically to Sorobon Beach. Then park in front of the windsurf shop - Jibe City. There is a little alley of buildings as you walk into Jibe City. Using that alley as a guide, look out to the reef edge across the bay. You will be looking approximately in the middle of the reef as it spans the entrance to the bay. That is where you are going to walk out to for the snorkeling. If you can see some coral heads sticking out of the water, that is where you want to head.
You can either walk out from the beach at Jibe City, or park in the sandy area to the right of the bay, and walk out more parallel to the reef edge. That may be a better option if there are a ton of windsurfers.
Mostly it is a nice sandy bottom. But avoid stepping on anything that looks dark. There are some shells, and an occasional rock or urchin to watch out for. Wear some cheap polarized sunglasses so you can see into the water. As you get closer to the reef you will need to swim because some coral rubble starts that you would not want to walk barefoot over. Wearing booties or flip flops might be best for the entire walk. If you end up walking to the right too much, you can get almost up to the reef edge and it is very shallow and uninteresting looking. But more toward the center there are tons of very healthy coral heads including fire corals, Elkhorn, Staghorn, and others. You will see many fish too. You will find some spur and grove coral formations that you can explore up and down.
Toward the center of the stand of coral there is a slightly deeper area that has a strong current. On an incoming tide it pushes you back toward the bay. But it likely goes the other way on an outgoing tide. Be cautious. You don't want to be sucked into coral or out toward sea. The current area was not very wide when we experienced it. Just to one side or the other most of the current goes away.
Make sure and look under the coral heads. We saw some of the biggest puffer fish looking back at us! This is such a shallow area that you should take extra care not to touch any corals. They could be quickly destroyed if tons of people visited it and started banging into the corals.
You can also rent a kayak, paddle out, attach the boat to a buoy, and go snorkeling. This might be a fun way to go, and save you the long walk in and out.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. There is a naturist "nudy" resort beach right next to Sorobon. So as you are walking back don't be surprised at what you see.
Return from Snorkeling Lac Bay to Bonaire Snorkeling
|
