Bonaire
This is the second of the two Andrea spots on Bonaire. They are similar but of the two we prefer snorkeling Andrea II. This spot has some good snorkeling, primarily for seeing fish but there are a few coral patches too. There is also some interesting shallow shore topography to check out.
Andrea II is located in a residential neighborhood north of Kralendijk. There is a public parking area and the beach is a short walk straight down the road from where you park.
Water Entrance
The water entrance for snorkeling Andrea II is a bit challenging. If it is very wavy don’t attempt it. The best spot to enter is to the right of the where you come out of the parking lot, through a short trail between shrubs. You will need footwear as the beach and water entrance are very rocky.
The yellow boat buoy out in the water is straight out from the entrance to snorkeling Andrea II. There was a rock cairn with a yellow rock on top that marked the entrance, and sort of a trail between rocks into the water. You can also find a rusty colored concrete block that used to have a stake sticking out of it on the beach nearby.
You step down off a shelf through rocky terrain, with holes, urchins, and fire corals. Once you can float and are past the rocks, switch into your fins.
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Where to Snorkel
When snorkeling Andrea II you can either swim to the left or right of your entrance, looking from shore. There is often a light current from left to right, when the trade winds are blowing from the east. So if you go to the right you will be fighting the current and wind to get back to your entry point.
The shallows to the left near shore are good for snorkeling. This area is mostly skeletons of Elkhorn Coral. But, there are some live Fire Corals and a few live Elkhorns. The reason to snorkel this area is that there are lots of fish to check out.
To the right of the entrance you can also find a lot of fish, and some sparse star, fire, and Orange Cup corals, and some sea rods.
The depths when snorkeling Andrea II range from inches to about six feet and the visibility is variable depending on conditions in these areas.
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Check out the snorkeling rash guards, wetsuits, and reef safe sunscreen we use to protect ourselves and to protect fish and coral from sunscreen chemicals.
As you get farther to the right, where the blue boat buoy is straight out from shore, the visibility tends to get worse, and the corals disappear quickly. That is as far you likely want to go.
Between the shore and the drop-off, it is mostly sandy. Although straight out from the water entrance there are a few somewhat healthy patches of star, fire, and brain corals, with some sea plumes and sea rods, in about 10 feet of depth. The drop-off itself is a bit too deep for a snorkeler to enjoy, starting at about 25 feet and gets deeper quickly. But you can see some sea plumes and sponges there.
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What We Saw While Snorkeling Andrea II
We saw a lot of fish while snorkeling Andrea II. We saw a giant Green Moray Eel, two big schools of Blue Tang and Ocean Surgeonfish, flounders, huge Rainbow Parrotfish, other parrotfish, wrasse, grunts, snappers, filefish, squirrelfish, chromis, damselfish, Chubs, goatfish, Bar Jack, hogfish, groupers, trumpetfish, butterflyfish, and French Angelfish.
The corals we saw at Andrea II are listed in the Where to Snorkel section.
Driving Directions
- Drive north out of Kralendijk on the main road, Kaya Grandi. The name of this road changes to Kaya Gobernador N. Debrot when it turns a little left at Kaya Neerlandia.
- Take your second right in the traffic circle on the north end of town and keep heading north.
- The road will turn to the right away from the water and then turn left to parallel it again.
- Not far after the last turn, watch for a yellow painted boulder next to a cement wall that marks the entrance to a housing development. Turn left where you see a boulder for one of the Andrea spots.
- Once in the development, follow the second yellow painted boulder and take your first right.
- Follow the road until you see another yellow boulder on the left and turn there.
- Park on the left side of this road. There is also a lower parking lot closer to the water, but it is a very rough road, so not recommended for rental vehicles.
Facilities
None.