On the northwest shore of Bonaire, the snorkeling at Nukove is known for of the best marine life and coral on the island. But it is a long drive out to the dive site. During Nukove snorkeling dives, follow the channel in the coral from the water entry to deeper waters. During this snorkeling dive, you may encounter parrotfish, trumpetfish, blue tangs, barracuda and nurse sharks amongst the stands of elkhorn coral, brain coral and fire coral.
The Nukove dive is accessible by shore and by boat at Buoy #7 (between Playa Frans and Boca Dreifi). The water depth out at the wall edge is roughly 15 feet deep.
To reach the Nukove snorkelen dive site from the Kralendijk town center, head north on Kaya Grandi, which becomes Kaya Gobernador Nicholas Debrot. The road passes through a traffic circle and eventually jogs to the right around a large development and the Bonaire National Marine Park headquarters before coming back to the water. Back along the coastline, the road changes name to Queens Highway (though it is unsigned). Queens Highway is a one-way road northbound from 1000 Steps dive site to Karpata dive site. After travelling a distance of 16km from the center of Kralendijk, you will reach the BOPEC oil tanker depot. The road turns right to go around BOPEC and becomes a rough dirt road for the next 5km out to the dive site. A few kilometers beyond the dive site, the road ends at an old fishing village.
Before snorkeling off Bonaire, it is important to remember that there have been two recent (relative to coral growth rates) storms. In 1999, Hurricane Lenny passed near the island resulting in the first big waves in over 100 years. This wave action over a 24 hour period had a severe effect on the shallow water corals on west-facing coastlines. There was significant toppling of the massive coral colonies, along with bleaching and smothering. Similarly, in 2008, Tropical Storm Omar passed near the island producing heavy wave action along west-facing coastlines. The effects of these storm, along with occasional bleaching events, have left many of the snorkeling dive sites not appearing as they had in past photos nor seeming as described in the brief locally printed snorkeling dive descriptions, which tend to be older. While snorkeling off Bonaire, you'll occasionally encounter some large, older coral formation remnamnts that give clues to the size of the past reefs. And, you may notice some small new growth occuring along the sand flats where new coral is taking hold in the cemented coral rubble, especially quick growing fire coral.
All of the offshore water of Bonaire has been long protected as part of the Bonaire National Marine Park. For several decades, the waters off Bonaire have been guarded to produce a pristine underwater environment offering a unique experience for snorkeling. With water visibility up to 100 feet, Bonaire snorkelers are treated to numerous varieties of coral and abundant marine life. The marine park has dozens of snorkeling dive sites marked by small yellow boulders along the road side and yellow or orange buoys offshore. The marine park requires all snorkelers in Bonaire waters to have an annual snorkeling license visible on their mask with the fees collected to continue protecting the waters (the fee can be paid at any dive shop). Should you happen to spot an lionfish, the Bonaire National Marine Park requests that you report any sightings of the invasive fish by calling them at (599) 717-8444.
Overall, Nukove is the 10th most popular snorkel dive spot of all 20 snorkeling dives in Bonaire.
