Bonaire continues to shine as a premier dive destination as the island secured 12 different awards in the Scuba Diving Magazine’s Readers Choice Awards, including three #1 rankings. For the 24th consecutive year, Bonaire has maintained its first place position with the #1 Shore Diving Destination in the Caribbean/Atlantic region. Bonaire received first place in two other Caribbean/Atlantic categories: Best Macro Diving and Best Diving for Beginners.
The second place rankings include Best for Underwater Photography, Best Snorkeling, Best Value; third place rankings include Healthiest Marine Environment and Best Free Diving; fourth place ranking includes Best Overall Diving; and fifth place rankings include Best Visibility, Best Advanced Diving and Best Cave/Cavern/Grotto Diving.
“Bonaire is extremely proud to be recognized by the readers of Scuba Diving magazine with these top honors, and as one of the top dive destinations in the Caribbean/Atlantic,” commented Maurice Adriaens, Director of Tourism Corporation Bonaire. “The categories of the awards in which Bonaire won demonstrate our longstanding commitment to protecting the Bonaire Marine Park, and shows that we are a diving destination that can accommodate every skill level from beginner to advanced diver. Also making the grade for Best Free Diving for this first time has put Bonaire on the map for that sport and is something we are all very proud of.”
In addition to the Readers Choice Awards, Scuba Diving magazine also released their annual Top 100 Gold List and Bonaire received 10 rankings; #1 Dive Operator/Buddy Dive Resort; #2 Dive Site/Alice In Wonderland; #8 Dive Site/Something Special; #9 Dive Site/Bari Reef; #1 Dive Resort/Buddy Dive Resort; #9 Dive Resort/Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino; #14 Dive Resort/ Captain Don’s Habitat; #1 Shore Dives/1,000 Steps; #5 Shore Dives/Buddy Dive House Reef; #2 Night Dive/Salt Pier. Rankings are based on the total number of responses, regardless of category and those listed are determined on a “popularity contest” basis.
For the Readers Choice Awards, thousands of Scuba Diving subscribers and web users rated their dive experiences on a scale of one to five. Results of the 2017 Awards will be featured in the January/February issue of Scuba Diving Magazine.
About Bonaire
Located eighty-six miles east of Aruba, the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire offers year-round sunshine, low annual rainfall, pristine coral formations and the most abundant fish population in the Caribbean. World renowned for scuba diving and snorkeling, it is also ideal for adventurers and explorers as it offers a myriad of eco-adventure activities from sea and mangrove kayaking to windsurfing or kite boarding and more. Accommodations range from full-service oceanfront resorts and condominiums to intimate guesthouses, small inns and private villas.
Bonaire is ranked at #8 on the list of Trip Advisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards Top 10 Caribbean Islands, voted #1 in Islands magazine’s Editors’ Picks: Best Snorkeling in the Caribbean, and named one of the 10 Caribbean islands to visit in the spring by Caribbean Journal. The Bonaire Marine Park was also named one of the Caribbean’s Best Places for Snorkeling in 2016 by USAToday.com, and was named one of the “10 Beaches to Visit in January 2015” by USA Today.
Bonaire continues to be recognized as one of the top destinations worldwide for its sustainable tourism. For the 24th consecutive year Bonaire was recognized as the number one Shore Diving Destination in the Caribbean/Atlantic in Scuba Diving Magazine’s Annual Readers’ Choice Awards. This year, it received 12 awards. It was also voted number one for Macro Diving and Beginner Diving.
