5. Kralendijk: Island Tour with Cultural Museum and Beach Stop
A great way to spend a half day ashore from your cruise, this 3 hour scenic tour shows off Bonaire sights and delights including the 1,000 Steps. Photo opportunities are easy on this tour. With the pink salt flats, being a highlight, your tour guide meets you at the cruise port and shares stories of Bonaire's history, salt flat, and northern countryside wildlife like flamingos as well as convenient roundtrip transportation to and from your port. This tour will show you the history of Karpata Plantation, and Kralendijk's downtown area with photo stops and a guided tour of the Cultural Museum. Your scenic tour also offers the option to spend two hours at Spice Beach Club at the Eden Beach Resort with roundtrip transportation and access to beach amenities like a beach bar, beach lounge, and snorkel equipment rentals and restrooms, making this excursion ideal for cultural connoisseurs and beachgoers alike! Along the way, you'll pass the traditional Dutch Caribbean styled Courtyard Bonaire hotel and the flamingo pink BIA Bonaire International Airport on your way to the white slave huts, a historic landmark where slaves once gathered after working the salt flats. You'll stop to take photos by these iconic 19th-century huts and then head to the salt flats, and Bonaire's solar salt facility Cargill, which produces over 400,000 tons of industrial-grade salt annually. Continue your island sightseeing and cultural tour with a 45-minute scenic drive that takes you past downtown Kralendijk and the Karpata Plantation, a historic 19th-century plantation named after Karpata trees used to produce castor oil. As you continue to drive around the island, you'll journey through the northern scenic route and see the countryside's historic sites, such as 1,000 Steps landmark, learn about the stunning saltwater Goto Lake, and Rincon, Bonaire's oldest town established in the mid 16th century. Your tour guide will share details about the countryside's vegetation, wildlife like feral goats and green iguanas, aloe plantation, and spend 30 minutes exploring the history and culture of the island at the Cultural Museum and learn how settlers first lived on the island. Hop back on board your ride to depart Rincon and take in the stunning views of the old Arawak Indian settlement of Antriol as you head back to your port. If you opt to spend two hours at the beach, your transportation will take you to the iconic Spice Beach Club at the Eden Beach Resort. Here, you'll get to walk along the rocky shorelines of the public beach of Spice Beach as you bask in the sun, or enjoy refreshments at a nearby beach bar. With access to beach club amenities like water sports vendors who offer snorkel gear rental, you can enjoy your favorite water activities before heading back to your port for the perfect end to your tour.