salt pier

I've dived this many times and it never fails to amaze me. Tricky entry/exit because of the stones/rocks underfoot and the waves but a great dive site overall. Just head out to the pilings and hang out for 90 mins and you'll see as many fishes as you want. Max depth at about 60' so air is no problem. Definitely a must'dive site. Try doing it at dusk and watching the sun set from below the pier. Astounding sight.

You see these large hills of white from a distance. As you get closer to Pekelmeer you see the salt hills . The salt beds are blue and pink. They turn pink as the process of evaporation makes the concentration of salt higher. It is amazing to see this century old process. The salt is now gather by machinery but there is still evidence of all the slave houses that were brought in to harvest the salt. The color of the houses and the obelisks told the incoming ships the quality of the slat in the area and a flag was raised to tell the ships where to come in to get loaded with salt.

This is a dive you must do when visiting Bonaire. Easy for anyone, and most diving is between 25 and 55 feet. Great abundance of fish. Also, cool to see the salt mining operation across the street.

Salt Pier is still in use to load cargo ships carrying salt from Bonaire. The industrial structure is extremely striking against the tranquility of the white beaches, purple salt lakes and Caribbean sea. On and hidden between the pillars of this industrial structure, you will find lots of fish and - with some imagination - an underground forrest of crooked trees. In my top 3! Bonus: super easy entrance and turtles to be spotted when finning to the start of your dive.

The Salt Pier is an amazing dive site! The reef just below the pier is pretty hammered, but is healthy just north or south of the boat moorings. Beach access is easy and there’s plenty of parking. We were told you don’t need permission to dive there, just don’t dive if there are ships being loaded at the pier. I recommend diving in the mid to late afternoon as the lighting is incredible in and around the pilings. There were tons of fish big and small, individuals and schools. One of our favorites for sure!

In two weeks, we visited the salt pier dive site 3 time. It was so full of marine life. that is the place we saw the most turtles, we saw huge barracudas and tarpoons! We saw two eagles rays, calmary! Serious wow, what a nice dive site! Our most amazing diving picture is at Salt pier! Highly recommend!

It was a nice reef, as usual the entries are tricky with the waves and the rocks, besides that, have fun.

We did a Night Dive at the Salt Pier ...(we were told as long as there were no working boats it was ok) go in on the right side of the pier ...you will see where there is almost a sandy walk area...coral on each side ! Follow along the Pier left to right and back. It was awesome. Full moon. Almost didn't need lights !!! :) Amazing !!!!

Great site for photography. Lots of sea life...seahorse, squid, octopus and the usual fish. Do this with a dive master the first time. Easy entry/exit.

There is an easy entry just south of the brick building. After a short swim you get to the pillars of the pier which were fantastic. We saw a huge variety of fish and sea live. One of our favorite snorkel sites in Bonaire.

We visited this dive site on 8-31-2013. It was truly amazing. The actually dive site includes the pillars of the pier where they load the salt on to ships that are transported to the U.S. to be used for the streets during winter storms. The pillars under water reminded me of huge trees and I've never seen so many fish in one area EVER. It felt like a forrest underwater aquarium. Although the dive area is a challenge because of the swim distance to and from the shore it is well worth it. It's not a deep dive so its a great one if you want to do it as your last dive for the day.

Lots of marine life: scrawled filefish, puffers, French angels, spotted morays, barracuda, and squid. Sponges growing on the pilings, lots of small fish hanging out at the pilings at 7-12 feet. We did 3 dives at the salt pier this trip. I would definitely dive it again!

Salt Pier is always a favorite dive site, although it is prudent to use caution when diving close to the underwater debris and underneath the pier itself. It is common to see large tarpon here, especially underneath the deeper piers, and we also saw very large barracuda this time. Cuttlefish and turtles can also be seen here, but we did not encounter any on the dives we made this trip. Currents can rip here on occasion, but most times the visibility has been good and currents mild. This site also tends to get crowded in high season.

This is one of the neatest places on Bonaire. From the flats where salt water turns to sea salt, to the slave huts, to the awesome Salt Pier dive site (easy in/out and one of the best on the island), don't miss visiting here!

The Salt Pier -- which no longer requires harbourmaster permission -- is a shore dive site, a short drive south of the airport. You still need to check for a salt ship: when a ship is being loaded with salt, no diving is permitted.But when there is no ship, just drive a little bit south of the pier itself, park your truck just past the small building, and you're ready to walk into the water on a rubbly but fairly calm beach entry. If you look, you can also see crabs and snails on the rocks -- and often herons in the narrow channel across the road, next to the salt pools.For the dive, once you're in the water, it's less than 200m (600') of surface swimming to the end of the pier. Drop down, and you'll be stunned by the amount of coral and sponges that have taken up residence on the pier pilings, and the hundreds and hundreds of fish that have made it home. Apart from the usual reef fish (and a lot of them!) we saw morays, squid, barracudas, three (!) spotted drums and juvenile angelfish. The best spots to see things are the pilings themselves, the coral rubble and man-made junk, especially near the central pier, and the shallower parts near those pilings.It's not a pristine reef, but neither is a wreck dive, and the amount of sea life on this site was excellent, and it's an easy enough dive even for beginners. There were lots of photo opportunities, too, so we went back and dove it a second time in our week on Bonaire.Start with the surface swim and finish with a dive through the shallows to the shore, and you can enjoy an outstanding hour or so under water.