Salt Pier

Verified2026-09-24 checkedReefMacroNight

A working salt-loading pier whose pilings have become the best structure dive on the island — when no ship is alongside.

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Depth: 3–18 m10–59 ft
Difficulty: Beginner
Entry: Shore · Pier
Typical current: None
Coordinates: 12°6.414′N 68°17.352′W
Activities: Scuba · Snorkelling · Freediving

The pier serves Bonaire’s salt works, and when no ship is loading you may dive it. The pilings run from the surface to about 12 m, encrusted in sponge and coral, and the light falling between them is the reason photographers keep coming back. Depth is modest — 3 m at the shallow end, about 18 on the sand outside — which makes it a long, unhurried dive and an excellent night dive. When a ship is alongside the site is closed completely, and that is not negotiable or announced far ahead, so it is worth a phone call before driving down.

South of Kralendijk on the coast road, beside the salt works; closed whenever a ship is loading.

Best season

ExcellentMay–Jun
ExcellentOct–Nov
GoodDec–Apr
GoodJul–Sep

Before you get in

A night site. A backup light and a navigation plan matter more than usual.

Taken from this site’s recorded depth, type and current, and nothing else. An empty list is not a safe site — the sea on the day, the local geography and the boat traffic are not in it. The briefing on the spot comes first.

Conditions

Water temperature: 29.2°C85°F
Wave height: 0.7 m2 ft
Air temperature: 31.6°C89°F
Wind speed: 22.8 km/h14.2 mph

Updated 2026-10-07 16:15 UTC · Source: Open-Meteo

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Conditions are reported for information only. Assess the site yourself and follow your guide and your training.

No live conditions for this site yet.

We only show numbers we can attribute to a source.

Sea state and tide

On a date

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Only wave height and wind are scored, because those are what close a boat ramp or a shore entry. Water temperature is reported and never scored: 12°C is an ordinary dive in a drysuit and punishing in a 3 mm, and a number that cannot see your suit has no business marking it down. Stars do not decide whether you get in — you and your guide do, on the day.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Marine life you may see

Queen angelfishHolacanthus ciliarisCommon
Banded coral shrimpStenopus hispidusCommon
Christmas tree wormSpirobranchus giganteusCommon
Hawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricataSeasonal
Red lionfishPterois volitansSeasonal
Caribbean spiny lobsterPanulirus argusCommon
Gorgonian sea fanGorgonia ventalinaCommon
Bearded firewormHermodice carunculataCommon
Giant barrel spongeXestospongia mutaCommon
Boulder star coralOrbicella annularisCommon
Flying gurnardDactylopterus volitansRare
Common octopusOctopus vulgarisRare
Caribbean trumpetfishAulostomus maculatusCommon

From divers

What people who were in the water reported. Not a forecast, and not a judgement about whether the site is safe to dive.

No recent reports from divers. If you dived here in the last two weeks, you can say how it was.

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