Soft Coral Garden (unmarked site)
12.0334°N 68.2605°W · reef
Soft Coral Garden (unmarked site)
An unmarked “dive like a local” site on the far southern Bonaire coast — named for a soft coral community on the southern fringing reef, not on the official BNMP marker system.
Overview
Soft Coral Garden is an unmarked dive site on Bonaire’s southern west coast, between Sweet Dreams and the Red Slave area. The name references a soft coral community on this section of the fringing reef. Like the other unmarked southern sites in this cluster (Yellow Hut, Hidden Beach), it does not appear in the official BNMP numbered-marker system or on standard tourist dive-site maps. It is a “dive like a local” site known primarily to experienced local divers and repeat visitors to the southern coast. The intermediate difficulty reflects the exposed southwest location.
Site Information
- Location: Far southern Bonaire, southwest coast
- Entry Type: Shore entry
- Site Type: Reef
- Difficulty Level: Intermediate
- Maximum Depth: 25 meters
- Typical Visibility: 15–25 metres
- Current: Light to moderate
- Best Time: Morning
Marine Life
Soft corals and gorgonians on the southern fringing reef. Specific species unconfirmed from independent sources.
Dive Profile
Shore entry to a reef slope. The soft coral community is presumably in the shallower part of the reef (5–15 metres range), consistent with good light penetration for soft coral growth.
Entry and Exit
Shore entry from the southern coastal road. Not marked with a BNMP yellow stone. Exit at the same point.
Tips
- Local knowledge helpful for locating the entry
- Best combined with nearby official sites
Safety
Southwest exposure. Intermediate conditions. Carry an SMB.
Photography
The soft coral community would be a primary photographic subject if conditions are right.
Nearby Sites
Sweet Dreams and Red Slave are nearby to the south. Yellow Hut and Hidden Beach are adjacent unmarked sites.
Unmarked “dive like a local” site on the southern west coast between Sweet Dreams and Red Slave; not on the official BNMP yellow-stone marker system. Brief mention in kasdivi.com beach guide. Limited site-specific sources — description based on site name and regional reef characteristics. Last updated 2026-05-24.
Sea-surface temperature and wave height from Open-Meteo Marine (ERA5 reanalysis, monthly averages).
531 verified species observations (155 species) logged within ~11 km of this site between 1937 and 2019, from the Ocean Biodiversity Information System.
- Chelonia mydas · Green sea turtle
- Eretmochelys imbricata · Hawksbill sea turtle
- Pterois · lionfish
- Gobiidae
- Varicus decorum
- Palatogobius incendius
- Caretta caretta · Loggerhead sea turtle
- Choranthias tenuis
- Coryphopterus curasub
- Hemanthias leptus
- Baldwinella
- Chrionema squamentum
Scientific survey records skew toward sampled taxa (molluscs, corals) and do not reflect what you are guaranteed to see on a dive.
Source: OBIS (obis.org), aggregated Darwin Core occurrence records.
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