Salt Pier
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily, so treat everything here as planning ranges.
Under the T-shaped pier where Bonaire's solar salt is loaded, every piling has become a column of orange, purple, and green: cup corals, sponges, and hydroids stacked from seabed to waterline. Light falls between the deck slats in cathedral shafts, schools of grunts and goatfish drift between the columns, and patient hunters find seahorses and juvenile frogfish holding on the growth. It is among the Caribbean's most distinctive shallow dives and a superb night site, with tarpon occasionally shadowing lights. The working pier sets the rules: no diving when a ship is in.
The moment you come for: Encrusted pilings in shafted light, seahorse and frogfish hunting, memorable night dives
Topography: Sand beneath a working salt-loading pier; pilings encrusted with coral and sponge
Entry: Easy sand entry beside the pier; diving is prohibited whenever a ship is docked or loading.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Overhead structure and mooring lines; mind boat operations and never dive during loading.
Permits & rules: Diving is forbidden while ships are berthed at the pier; check the schedule locally before entering.
Who you'll meet
Christmas Tree Worm
Great Barracuda
Atlantic Tarpon
Frogfish
Seahorses
Green Sea Turtle
Porcupinefish
Hawksbill Turtle
Also recorded nearby
"Charted here" species were listed by our editors from the sources on this page. Counts are GBIF occurrence records: observations logged within about 5 km of the charted position since 1990, matched only against the species in our catalogue. They show what has been seen there, not a promise of what you will see.
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★★ · Macro: ★★★★☆ (editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting)