Dive into adventure with Toucan Diving Bonaire! Explore the island’s best dive sites on daily guided 2-tank and 1-tank boat trips, taking you to the best reefs around Bonaire and Klein Bonaire. Start your journey with PADI dive courses from entry level to Pro, and get hands-on with coral restoration in our very own Reef Renewal Bonaire nursery. With unlimited shore diving and expert local guides, every dive is a new discovery.
From our beautiful location at Van der Valk Plaza Resort Bonaire, you can step straight into the water and onto our spectacular house reef, “18th Palm.” This vibrant dive site shines year-round with colourful fish and healthy coral. Discover for yourself why Toucan Diving is one of the most beloved dive schools on Bonaire. Experience the thrill of Bonaire beneath the surface!
Highlights
- Daily 2-tank boat departures
- Entry level to advanced Dive courses
- Reef Renewal Bonaire Partner
Courses Offered
We offer a full range of PADI core courses, from the Discover Scuba Diving experience all the way to Dive Master certification. In addition, we provide a selection of PADI Specialty Courses and PADI Tec courses.
We also offer Distinctive PADI Specialties that are unique to Bonaire:
- Reef Renewal Diver
- Lionfish Hunter
- Shorediver Specialty
Here are some of the courses that are offered:
SASY (for children between 5 and 7 years old)
The SASY program or “Supplied Air Snorkeling for Youth” is a program designed for children with an age between five and seven years old that are interested in learning basic snorkel/scuba dive skills in the pool and the ocean. Your young soon-to-be diver gets to breathe through the regulator and creating bubbles at the surface. Get to see pleny of fish while remaining safely at the top of the water.
PADI BUBBLEMAKER (for children aged 8 and 9)
The PADI Bubblemaker program is as fun as it sounds. A chance for kids to blow bubbles underwater like a real scuba diver! This program is designed for children with an age of eight or nine years old interested in learning basic snorkel/scuba dive skills in the pool and the ocean. Via this program they have a chance to breathe thru a regulator underwater and swim around in shallow water.
PADI DSD (for children aged 10+)
A DSD (Discover Scuba Diving) is a fun and easy introduction into scuba diving and what it takes to explore the underwater world. Although this is not a complete scuba certification course, you’ll learn some basic skill to become a comfortable diver. We conduct this dive just off our beach.
PADI OPEN WATER DIVER COURSE
Then the PADI Open Water Diver (OWD) course is the way to go. The Open Water Diver course consists of 3 main phases: theory, confined water training and the open water dives. In the paragraphs below it is explained which variation of the course will go through what phases. You can choose to do all of it here in Bonaire, or you might choose to do part of the course somewhere else and finish on our beautiful island! Learn More.
Photos: Conservation is key in Bonaire; learn to dive in the pool at Plaza Resort Bonaire; encounter our turtles on your dives!
Top Dive Sites
South Bay at Klein Bonaire
Category: Fringing Coral Reef
Depth: 5m to 30+m / 15 – 100 ft
What to see here: South Bay is a dive master favourite —and it’s easy to see why. The site boasts a dense cover of hard and soft corals, and even some rare Pillar Coral colonies right near the mooring! Keep your eyes peeled for Blue Parrotfish, big Green Moray Eels, and if you’re lucky, you might spot a Loggerhead Turtle cruising by. Specialty Dive.
Hilma Hooker
Category: Deep Wreck Dive
Depth: 5m to 30+m / 15 – 100 ft
What to see here: The Hilma Hooker is a famous cargo ship wreck with a colourful history—it was seized for smuggling shortly before it sank in 1984. To prevent it from sinking in the harbor, the vessel was towed to an anchorage along Bonaire’s south shore, where it now rests on its starboard side at about 100 ft, between the shallow and deep reef systems. This site is accessible from shore with a short surface swim. Divers can explore the deck and open cargo holds, which often shelter large tarpon and barracuda. Soft and hard corals cover the railings and steering hut, while the nearby shallow reef boasts dense coral growth, making it a great spot to enjoy at the end of your dive. The 100ft depth makes it an Advanced Dive.
Salt Pier
Category: Shallow Reef with Man-Made Structure
Depth: 5m to 18m / 15 – 60 ft
What to see here: Located at Bonaire’s salt flats, Salt Pier is one of the island’s most popular dive and snorkel sites. The best time to visit is early morning or late afternoon, when sunlight creates dramatic patterns between the pier’s pillars—perfect for underwater photography. Look for turtles and rays in the shallows, and check beneath the pier where schools of grunts and needlefish gather in the shade. The seafloor beneath the pier is scattered with coral, rocks, and debris, providing hiding spots for moray eels, octopus, and other marine life. Beginner to Advanced.
Contact
Address: located at the Van der Valk Plaza Beach & Dive Resort, Julio Abraham Boulevard 80, Kralendijk
Phone Number: +599 717 2500
Email: diveshop@bonaire.valk.com
Reservations: https://toucandiving.bloowatch.com/booking