Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Bonaire National Marine Park location page.
Overview
Northern shore dive named for a 19th-century cochineal plantation whose ruined Landhuis still stands above the entry point. Iron ship anchors lie embedded in elkhorn at 11 m, with a steep buttressed wall dropping past 30 m onto a sand slope. Reliably good visibility, tarpon working the shallows at dusk, and dense gorgonian and star-coral cover earn it a regular spot on Bonaire top-five lists. Steep concrete stairs are the catch on exit.
Briefing note
Bonaire Marine Park tag required (sold at any dive shop). Exit stairs are steep and slippery — hand a buddy your gear at the platform before climbing out. The marked one-way road means you cannot drive back south from here; continue around the northern loop.
What you'll see
5 species curated- year-roundHawksbill turtle
- year-roundTarpon
- year-roundQueen angelfish
- year-roundSpotted moray
- seasonalSpotted eagle rayPeak: Nov · Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceHawksbill turtle
- Last confirmed
- May 2026
- Recent records
- 130 within 10 km
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
The wreck
Ship history- National marine sanctuary
Structure · —
Karpata anchor field
- Sunk
- Jan 1, 1800
- Diveable depth
- 6–30 m
- How she sank
- Cause unknown
Karpata isn't a single wreck — it's a wall-and-anchor dive where two large 19th-century iron anchors and chain remain on the slope, lost from ships taking shelter from storms. Now part of the Bonaire National Marine Park.
Notable features
- two 19th-century anchors
- iron chain on the wall
- intact coral cover
Vessel histories sourced from the Naval History and Heritage Command (DANFS), NOAA ENC Direct, and editorial research. Bathymetry per GEBCO. See the methodology for limits.
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25–26 °C | 20–35 m | none |
| Feb | 25–26 °C | 20–35 m | none |
| Mar | 26–27 °C | 25–40 m | none |
| Apr | 26–27 °C | 25–40 m | none |
| May | 27–28 °C | 25–40 m | none |
| Jun | 28–29 °C | 20–35 m | none |
| Jul | 28–29 °C | 20–35 m | mild |
| Aug | 28–29 °C | 20–35 m | mild |
| Sep | 28–29 °C | 15–30 m | mild |
| Oct | 27–28 °C | 15–30 m | none |
| Nov | 26–27 °C | 20–35 m | none |
| Dec | 25–26 °C | 20–35 m | none |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Next step
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