Jaunted

In the mid-1990s, there were plans to develop Klein Bonaire into a resort. Such development would likely have damaged the island's delicate ecosystem. As it is, Klein Bonaire is one of the largest islands in the Caribbean that remains completely undeveloped. At the close of 1999, Klein Bonaire was purchased from a group of developers for $5 million, with the lion's share of this money coming from the Dutch government. With the purchase, Klein Bonaire became publicly owned, and a component of the Bonaire National Marine Park.

If you dive, the best way to visit Klein Bonaire is to organize a day excursion with a dive shop. For beach bums and snorkelers, the best way to get to Klein Bonaire is to catch the water-taxi that docks at the tiny marina across from the restaurant It Rains "Fishes" in Kralendijk. (Yes, these pluvial fishes are nestled in quotations. Why? No idea). The Klein Bonaire water taxi costs $15 for the roundtrip journey, and runs three times a day.

What can be said about perfect tropical beaches? Very little, beyond the fact that people living in cold cities fantasize about them from mid-autumn through mid-spring. Klein Bonaire is ringed by perfect, dreamy beaches, and, even in high season, nets very few beachcombers. For those inexplicably bored by the prospect of an afternoon spent on the beach reading trashy Robert Ludlum thrillers between swimming stints, a marine life-rich reef featuring fantastic snorkeling action lies just off the island on either side of the water taxi landing zone.