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Last updated on July 20, 2023
No Name Beach is located on the uninhabited island of Klein Bonaire, Dutch for “Little Bonaire,” and just a 15-minute boat ride from Bonaire. The reef running parallel to the shore east of No Name Beach is one of Bonaire’s busiest snorkeling spots. There is a good variety and quantity of reef fish that can be spotted in the area but the shallow part of the reef, strongly damaged, can be disappointing.
If you want to reach the spot on your own, a water taxi is the best option ($12 pp. round trip). Anywhere from 3 to 4 trips, but more on most cruise ship days, are run every day from two departure points: the main pier on Kralendijk seafront (in front Karel’s Beach Bar) and Eden Beach Resort, less than a mile north of the city center.
It takes 15 to 20 minutes to reach Klein Bonaire and you will be dropped off at No Name Beach. You can stay on the island as long as you want, but make sure to catch the last taxi back.
Snorkeling tours to the island are also available. They will bring you to the less crowded snorkeling areas of Klein Bonaire. It can be a good option because the reef east of No Name Beach (and described on this page) is not the best snorkeling Klein Bonaire has to offer.
Due to the gentle east-west current present on this part of Klein Bonaire, we recommend you walk on the shore to the east, enter the water, and then slowly drift along the reef to get back to No Name Beach.
Once dropped off on the island by water taxi, walk east on the beach for 350 yards. You will then see a yellow wooden post planted in the sand. The water entrance, which is a split in the reef, is just in front of it.
If you choose the snorkeling tour option, the boat will drop you off on the reef, generally further east than the designated shore entry point.
The reef is long and narrow, only about 16 yards wide, running parallel with the coast for several hundred meters.
The entire reef is in poor condition, due to the high number of tourists visiting the site. You will see a lot of dead/broken corals and sea fans in the 0 to 6ft/2 meters-deep zones.
Near the entry point, some very inquisitive French Angelfish will sometimes greet the snorkelers visiting their “home” (↕3ft/1m). Swim parallel with the beach (↕3-10ft/1-3m) and sporadically, you will come across parrotfish, shoals of blue tang, butterflyfish, peacock flounder, and a large number of other reef fish species.
The drop-off is an almost vertical wall, making it not very enjoyable for snorkelers. Green sea turtles are sometimes observed on the reef. Come early, before the main tourist boats arrive, if you want to get the best chance of spotting one.
Klein Bonaire is a wild island, with no water supply or restaurant. Take snacks and water with you before taking the water taxi, and bring back your trash to the main island.
These spots are accessible to anyone with basic snorkeling skills, and feeling comfortable in the water and with his snorkeling gear. You will enter the water from the shore (beach, pontoon, ladder, rocks) or from a boat. The water height in the sea entrance area is reasonable, but you will not necessarily be within your depth. Moderate currents can occur in the area, even when the sea conditions are good. The distance to swim to reach the most interesting snorkeling areas of the spot does not exceed 200 meters. This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.
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Snorkeling spots are part of a wild environment and their aspect can be significantly altered by weather, seasons, sea conditions, human impact and climate events (storms, hurricanes, seawater-warming episodes…). The consequences can be an alteration of the seabed (coral bleaching, coral destruction, and invasive seagrass), a poor underwater visibility, or a decrease of the sea life present in the area. Snorkeling Report makes every effort to ensure that all the information displayed on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but no guarantee is given that the underwater visibility and seabed aspect will be exactly as described on this page the day you will snorkel the spot. If you recently snorkeled this area and noticed some changes compared to the information contained on this page, please contact us.
The data contained in this website is for general information purposes only, and is not legal advice. It is intended to provide snorkelers with the information that will enable them to engage in safe and enjoyable snorkeling, and it is not meant as a substitute for swim level, physical condition, experience, or local knowledge. Remember that all marine activities, including snorkeling, are potentially dangerous, and that you enter the water at your own risk. You must take an individual weather, sea conditions and hazards assessment before entering the water. If snorkeling conditions are degraded, postpone your snorkeling or select an alternate site. Know and obey local laws and regulations, including regulated areas, protected species, wildlife interaction and dive flag laws.
