There is one question asked more than any other about this tiny Dutch Caribbean island in the southern Caribbean Sea:
"Where is Bonaire located?"
The answer, of course, is that Bonaire is located in the middle of paradise. But if you want to know more about geography, let's talk specifics.
- Bonaire is an island in the Leeward Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea.
- Together with Aruba and Curaçao, it forms the group known as the ABC Islands.
- These islands lie less than 100 miles off the north coast of South America, near western Venezuela.
- Unlike much of the Caribbean, the ABC Islands lie well outside the hurricane belt, making them an ideal destination any time of year.
Now that we've got location out of the way, let's talk about other interesting facts about this unspoiled island paradise.
- Thanks to an arid climate and close proximity to the equator, Bonaire enjoys reliably warm, sunny weather throughout the year.
- Bonaire is very popular with scuba divers due to a fringing coral reef that is close to shore, making diving easy from the coastline around the island. No boat required.
- The capital of Bonaire is Kralendijk (pronounced crawl-en-dyke).
- The island has a permanent population of around 22,000 people.
- The main island, together with Klein Bonaire (the uninhabited island just offshore), covers an area of 294 km² / 183 mi².
Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until October 10, 2010. On that date, Bonaire became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands. Today, Bonaire is officially one of the three BES islands in the Caribbean, along with Sint Eustatius and Saba.
So now that you know all these fun facts about this special island, you'll be ready to answer the popular question — and offer geographical facts, plus a whole lot more.