Bonaire has swept the 2003 Rodale’s Scuba Diving Reader’s Choice Awards receiving the #1 rating in 7 out of 15 categories, including Top Dive Destination and Healthiest Marine Environment for the Caribbean/Atlantic.
Additionally in 4 other categories Bonaire placed 2nd, 3rd and 5th. The results of the 2003 Awards are featured in the January/February 2003 issue of Rodale’s Scuba Diving.
Bonaire received the top rating in the following categories for the Caribbean/Atlantic. The number following the category indicates the percentage of fours – very good, and fives – excellent, awarded by the more than 6,000 Rodale’s subscribers and web users who rated their experiences on a scale of 1 — 5.
#1 Top Dive Destination — 95.1%
#1 Top Shore Diving – 97.8%
#1 Healthiest Marine Environment — 95.9%
#1 Top Fish Life — 93.5%
#1 Top Macro Life — 91.9%
#1 Top Underwater Photography — 95.9%
#1 Top Beginner Diving – 94.2%
Bonaire was also ranked as the #2 destination for snorkeling (Top Snorkeling), the #2 destination that people would return to (Repeat Performance), #3 for underwater visibility (Top Underwater Visibility), and #5 for value (Top Value).
Two of Bonaire’s dive operators received awards for Top Dive Operators:
Buddy Dive Resort (#11) and Toucan Divers (#16). Plaza Resort Bonaire (#13), Buddy Dive Resort (#15), Sand Dollar Condominium Resort (#17) and Captain Don’s Habitat (#19) were also rated as Top Dive Resorts.
Located eighty-six miles east of Aruba and well outside the hurricane belt, the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire offers year-round sunshine, low annual rainfall, pristine coral formations and the most thriving fish population in the Caribbean. Ideal for adventurers, explorers and sun-worshippers alike, Bonaire offers myriad eco-adventure activities including world renowned scuba diving and snorkeling, windsurfing, mountain biking, kayaking, horseback riding, nature tours, hiking, bird watching, sailing and deep sea and bone fishing.
For more information on Bonaire, contact the Tourism Corporation Bonaire in the U.S. at 1-800-BONAIRE.
