Diver Reviews:    (Please share your own experiences by clicking here!)

01/24/2008 Carl Mintz (Avg: 4.38 Review) - We saw 4 different frog fish, 2 sea horses, an octopus that wanted to play, a tarpon named Charlie, lots of blenny's, shrimp, numerous eels, lobsters, and lots more. Getting into and out of the water at their pier is easy (well most of the time), and there are always plenty of tanks available on the pier.

01/10/2008 Yuri (Avg: 3.49 Review) - December 2007 was our 2nd trip to Bonaire (our 1st was in July 2005), and, since we dove with Sand $, we obviously dived Bari Reef numerous times. This time we did 2 daytime dives, one to the north and one to the south of the pier, and one night dive to the north. Though the fish are very abundant, the reef is deteriorating, especially to the south of the pier. There were some tires and other junk, to make things worse. Resident tarpons were the biggest attraction on this site, especially at night. On the night dives I saw couple of good size crabs, but not a single lobster. If you prefer corals in better shape, dive at the Cliff which is just half a mile to the north.

08/07/2007 Marge Lawson (Avg: 4.48 Review) - We came to Bonaire in 2003 and fell in love with the island, the people, and the diving. We returned the next year and bought a townhouse at Sand Dollar Condominium Resorts. One of the selling points was the fact that the number one reef in the Caribbean is right in front of Sand Dollar--Bari Reef. I've now done somewhere around 1000 hours of diving on Bari Reef and never get bored. It's not the prettiest dive on the island, but if you like lots of fish and enjoy fish ID, it doesn't get better than this. We presently (August 2007) have 11 frogfish on Front Porch/Bari Reef. There is a sponge straight out from the dock that is now named after me (Marge's sponge) which I've spent many hours studying. Last year I discovered a very rare Pipehorse living in the sponge along with several Harlequin Pipefish and two different varieties of "unidentified pipefish". There are Mantis Shrimp, Smootheye Blenny, Reef Scorpionfish, etc. also inhabiting that sponge. Other interesting and fairly rare creatures I've sighted on Bari Reef are Coral Scorpionfish, Mushroom Scorpionfish, Yellowhead Pikeblenny (which are near the reef balls), Armina nudibranchs, Flameback Angelfish, Shortnose Batfish, etc. I do occasional dives at other sites, but definitely find Bari Reef more interesting.

07/23/2007 Anonymous (Avg: 3.79 Review) - Great snorkeling! We left the cruise ship walking up the coast until we came upon Bonaire Dive. Rented snorkels and waded in to find fish at our feet. Moray eel, squid (32), and caught a glimpse of an octopus beneath one of the docks. Great area for beginners and intermediates.

03/23/2007 Colleen Haggart (Avg: 3.71 Review) - Easy entry off the dock at Den Laman condos located off the traffic circle. Just park and go directly to the dock, get a tank and dive. It is that easy.

05/31/2006 Hans (Avg: 3.46 Review) - To avoid having to turn back, a great way to dive is to go just one way. We started just south of Bari, at Bongo Beach and went all the way back to Buddy's in an hour. Starting at Edens Rubble with a tug-boat wreck at 22 meters, we saw lots of tarpon (we counted 17). If you tire earlier, you can get out at Lamann or at Sand Dollar.

05/22/2006 Jason NYC (Avg: 4.71 Review) - Yet another lovely dive in Bonaire! They were all great! A short swim over sandy bottom brings you to the drop off in about 25fsw with plenty of life and healthy coral. All the usual suspects and Octopus at night. I had fun with protective Damsel fish and Blenny in the shallows. I noticed lots of large rubble in this area.

04/05/2005 Gerald Wilgus (Avg: 3.94 Review) - Friends and I went the last week of March which is not ideal for avoiding crowds. Even then, while busy, Bari Reef was not overly crowded. I found that only the snorkelers and enthusiasts were investigating the flats where we observed a Shortnose Batfish, various Blennys living in chunks of rubble and Yellowhead Jawfish in the sand. At night the Tube Anemones were out and one of us photographed a nice Goldspotted Eel out hunting in the sand. I found this a great reef for shrimp; besides Banded Coral Shrimp and Pederson's Cleaner Shrimp in their usual habitats, there were Squat Anemone Shrimp living in flealike abundance on an anemone.

10/25/2002 Chris Tebbens (Avg: 3.61 Review) - As we stayed at Sand Dollar we did several dives on Bari reef. Marine life on the reef was varied and great. Swam with a spotted Eagle Ray for a couple of minutes. We did a 5:30am dive and watched the reef wake up. It was fantastic.

10/06/2002 Melissa and Stephen Lodwick (Avg: 4.26 Review) - Went on several dives with a REEF naturalist. Several hundred fish species can be found. Awesome dive site for beginner (no current, surge) but also has many things for intermediate/advanced divers (exploration, identification). Located Frogfish pair (one yellow, one green), beautiful fish. As previous reviewers have mentioned, there are lots of barrels and miscellaneous junk, but this junk provides great protection for many fish species and invertebrates.

08/21/2002 Fiona Rattray (Avg: 3.80 Review) - Saw octopus in the shallows, Sand dollar dock and facilities not yet completed.

08/25/2001 R Lowe (Avg: 3.73 Review) - Bari means "barrel" in Papeimento. This site used to be a dump, and the remains are evident. This is a good night dive.

08/09/2001 Mike Robbins (Avg: 3.65 Review) - Did several night dives at bari reef very easy entry with steps to shore and lights. this site is next to the sand dollar resort dive shop and has rinse tanks and shower available. Good visibility and no current. Much fish life the tarpon and snook will follow along and use your lights to hunt. There was also a large stingray hanging out. very enjoyable dive, relaxing and good for beginners.

07/24/2001 Fiona Rattray (Avg: 3.98 Review) - This trip was made before Hurricane Lenny...we did 5 dives here, three of them night dives, and enjoyed them all. Lots of fish life, and at night the lights from the former Green Parrot made it easy to do a "stealth dive" return to the dock without lights. A great place to begin shore diving!

05/22/2001 Robert Illanne (Avg: 4.05 Review) - We stayed at the Sand Dollar Resort. This is a very good dive with plenty of fish life. My son had his first night dive here and met Charlie (the 5-6 foot resident tarpon). The dive is excellent to start your day with. Some damage to the reef can be found from Hurricane Mitch. Overall the reef is healthy with color and life. Plenty of Mories.

ShoreDiving Resources:


Additional Resources:

Dive Site Links:   (If you have a relevant link for Bari Reef, please write us here.)
No external links have been submitted.

Diver Averages for  Bari Reef  (1=worst, 5=best)

Home  |  Search  |  About You  |  About Us  |  Contact ShoreDiving.com

Help support this site by donating today
 

© Copyright 2000-2008 ShoreDiving.com, LLC. ^tm All rights reserved.
Please read and understand the Disclaimer concerning information contained in this site.