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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

Tori's Reef

Second in the Caribbean for fish diversity, straight off the road

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

Tori's Reef sits directly opposite the outflow from the salt works on the southern leeward road, and it ranks second in the Caribbean for fish diversity. The shore entry runs through a channel that passes under the road and opens onto the reef, where stands of elkhorn coral sit on a sandy bottom between about 6 and 30 metres.

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Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Tori's Reef: typical dive 6–30 m (20–100 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit6 m30 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

12.0707° N, 68.2818° WPublished position for this site.

The dive

Get in through the channel that runs under the road and follow it out until it opens onto the reef. Check the aggregations of fire coral on that swim out — they are worth seeing and worth not brushing against, and many rare fish and eels hide here. This is the second-ranked site in the Caribbean for fish diversity.

Out on the reef proper, stands of elkhorn coral rise off a sandy bottom, and it is worth hovering over them rather than swimming past. Work the reef in one direction to your planned depth, as deep as 30 metres, then turn and come back shallow along the same ground. Finish in the channel, taking the fire coral just as carefully on the way in as on the way out.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Tori's Reef
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGood

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

Know before you go

  • Aggregations of fire coral sit right on the swim out to the reef, so keep fins and hands clear when the channel narrows.

Questions divers ask

How do you enter the water at Tori's Reef?+

Through a channel that passes under the road opposite the salt works outflow and opens out on the reef. It makes for a fairly easy shore entry compared with the ironshore elsewhere on the coast.

Sources

  1. Tori's Reef dive site — Bonaire Island
  2. Tori's Reef (52) — Scubago

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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Alfredo's

Belize Barrier Reef · Belize

Gullies cut across a submerged spur-and-groove reef

15–25 mintermediate

Reef

Alligator Long

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A narrow coral ridge lined with azure vase sponges and sea fans

24–27 m · max 30 madvanced

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Amber Head

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One big coral bommie ringed by schooling bar jacks

to 34 madvanced

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Angelfish Reef

RMS Rhone & Salt Island · British Virgin Islands

Sheltered canyons and ridges off the tip of Norman Island

to 25 mbeginner