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Wide panorama of a shallow coral reef off Klein Bonaire with schooling snappers, sea fans and brain coral

Bonaire · Caribbean Netherlands · Reef

Ol’ Blue

Whale sharks have passed this coral-beach reef on occasion

Area photo: Michal Strzelecki, Wojtek Strzelecki & Jerzy Strzelecki · CC BY 3.0

Ol’ Blue is a shore dive off a long stretch of coral beach just north of 1000 Steps. Friendly angelfish and schooling fish are common on the reef, and whale sharks have been seen here on occasion, so divers keep watching the deeper water.

Also known as Ol' Blue.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Ol’ Blue: typical dive 6–24 m (20–80 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit6 m24 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

12.2154° N, 68.3371° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

Divers enter from the coral beach, where the coral rocks make a musical sound as they wash onto the shore. The reef runs from about 6 m (20 ft) to 24 m (80 ft), with friendly angelfish and schooling fish throughout, and an eye kept on the depths for the whale sharks seen here on occasion.

Marine life and season

  • Whale sharks
  • Reef fish swarms
Month-by-month season rating for Ol’ Blue
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGood

Season follows Bonaire: The sea stays diveable all year; the water is at its coolest in late December and January.

Dive videos

Diving Tolo (Ol' Blue) Dive Site on Bonaire · Scubabeat on YouTube

Sources

  1. Ol’ Blue — Tourism Corporation Bonaire
  2. Ol' Blue Dive Site Bonaire — Bonaire.com

More dive sites in Bonaire

Reef

1000 Steps

A staircase entry onto a reef that tips over at 9 metres

to 40 madvanced

Reef

Andrea I

Plate coral on a shallow slope you can walk into

6–30 mintermediate

Reef

Andrea II

A big, quiet shore reef with parking right by the entry

6–30 mintermediate

Reef

Angel City

Two parallel reefs reached from one beach entry

4.5–18 m · max 30 mbeginner

Reef

Bachelor’s Beach

Easy shore entry onto a sloping reef often dived at night

6–27 mintermediate

Reef

Bari's Reef

Over 300 fish species recorded, the most in the Caribbean

9–30 mintermediate

Wall

Carl’s Hill

Elkhorn and pillar coral on a bank above a deep reef drop

9–40 madvanced

Similar dives elsewhere

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Blair's Reef

St. Eustatius · Caribbean Netherlands

A small coral island with a vertical wall, to 19 m

to 19 mbeginner

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Blue Chromis Reef

RMS Rhone & Salt Island · British Virgin Islands

Overhangs and a gentle slope in 6 to 15 m off Cooper Island

6–15 mbeginner

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Double Wreck

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Ballast fused into the shape of a ship, and two anchors at 18 m

to 18 mbeginner

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Hole in the Corner

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Boulders down to sand at 23 m, elkhorn coral in the shallows

to 23 mintermediate