The Ultimate Guide to kitesurf in Bonaire

The Caribbean island of Bonaire is not a great tourist centre. It does attract tourists and a lot of cruise ships, but it’s not St. Martin or St. Barths, for example, so you have a fun little paradise that is much calmer and less crowded.

It is an island famous for its turquoise waters, its abundant and colourful tropical fish and its community of pink flamingos.

Few people live here, and it has a ring of reefs that completely surrounds it. Bonaire is just 81 kilometres from the north coast of Venezuela and forms the Netherlands Antilles together with Aruba and Curaçao. It is the typical excursion from these other two islands and has the advantage that it is outside the hurricane belt. It usually makes an average of 28ºC and its waters have more or less the same temperature. Paradise!

Of course, it is not a subtropical island with dense and green vegetation. It is rather arid, with cacti everywhere and many iguanas, but due to its isolation one part, the southern part allows nudism. Local people do not like this or topless, but if you are on a private beach, everything is tolerable.

The very windy season runs from mid-December to August and the windy season from September to mid-December. It is in October that Regatta Week is celebrated and this is where the island is filled with sailboats and windsurfers from all over the world.

Due to its wind, Bonaire is the mecca of kitesurfing in the Caribbean: there are winds of between 12 and 18 knots from September to December and from 15 to 25 the rest of the year. Finally, the best beach for windsurfing is Lac Bay, but if you are an experienced kitesurfer, then you can take a chance at Pink Beach or Atlantis.

Nature in Bonaire is amazing: the turquoise blue sea, the very white sands of the beaches, the coral reefs, the variety of colors of the tropical fish, the mangroves and the pink flamingos. All this also mixed with the simple life and the calm rhythm of the local population. It is the perfect kite destination to spend holidays as a couple, friends or family with children. You can enjoy the beach, the landscapes, the sea, sail for many hours and also practice other sports in the middle of a spectacular and very little exploited nature.

The wind in Bonaire is very steady throughout the year, although historically the strongest winds blow on the island between May and August and the low season is between October and November. The windsurfing and kitesurfing areas are separate, each one has its different spot.

Bonaire: a number one kiteboarding destination in the Caribbean

The kitesurfing spot in Bonaire is located on the west coast of the island, on the sheltered and deserted beach of Atlantis Beach. There are no resorts on this beach, but all are between 10 and 20 minutes by car. The wind is onshore, and the beach has approximately 200m of flat waters with little depth.

Kitesurfing is prohibited in Lac Bay, but to the south of the island, at Pink Beach, there is a choppy sea area with sometimes small waves and ramps on certain days.

There are around 20,000 people living on Bonaire and the island is 300 km2. People speak mainly Dutch and Papiamento, but also English and Spanish. On the island there is a wide and varied selection of restaurants and bars in beautiful locations around Kralendijk, the main town of Bonaire. The prices are comparable to those in Europe.

Without a doubt, the best way to explore Bonaire is with a rental car. Bonaire is very well known to divers because it offers a form of independent diving with many boat launches just above its superb drop off. If you like the beautiful seabed, do not miss at least one day of scuba diving or water snorkeling.

What are the best kitesurfing spots in Bonaire?
The best kitesurfing spot on Bonaire is Atlantis Beach.

What is the best time of year for a kitesurfing holiday in Bonaire?
The best time for a kitesurf trip in Bonaire is from December to June.

What are the temperatures on Bonaire’s kite spots?
During Bonaire’s kitesurfing season, from December to June, lagoons temperatures are 28 ° C, and air temperatures reach 30 ° C.

What is the required level for a kitesurfing holiday in Bonaire?
The paradisiacal lagoons of Bonaire are perfect playgrounds for beginner kitesurfers as well as for experienced and expert practitioners.

The windsurfing spot in Bonaire

The windsurfing area on Bonaire is in Lac Bay. In this area kitesurfing is not allowed. It is one of the best locations in the world to learn windsurfing. They can be seen even with children as young as 4 years old taking their first steps. This spot is also where a stage of the windsurfing world cup takes place and is the home of some of the best freestyle navigators in the world.

The spot is in the east of the island and is a huge saltwater lagoon, declared a natural marine reserve. It is protected by a coral barrier, the waters are very warm and shallow. It is also surrounded by beautiful mangroves and there is a very rich fauna, among which it is worth highlighting the rare green turtle that makes this lagoon its nesting area.

It is an ideal spot to learn. The depth of the lake does not go beyond the hips and is even shallower on the shore of the beach, which makes it very safe for children. The winds have an on-shore orientation, with a bit of a cross-shore component and the wind averages about 17 knots throughout the day. The best season is between December and September, with winds in force F4 during more than 80% of the days. Between May and August more than 90% of the days there are winds between 15 and 25 knots. The temperature of the air revolves around 27ºC and that of the water at 25ºC. It is undoubtedly a windsurfing paradise for those looking for conditions for beginners, intermediates and lovers of freeride and freestyle.

Those more experienced also have the possibility of sailing in Pink Beach, located south of Bonaire, or in Atlantis Beach, which is the beach where kitesurfing is also practiced.