Average weather, temperature, rainfall, when to go, what to pack
The climate of Bonaire is
tropical, hot all year round, since the temperature fluctuates between 23 °C and 25 °C (73 °F and 77 °F) at night, and between 29 °C and 31 °C (84 °F and 88 °F) during the day. The hottest and more sultry period runs from May to October. However, the north-east trade winds blow constantly, tempering the heat.
Bonaire is a Caribbean island, about a hundred kilometres (60 miles) north of the coast of Venezuela, and it's an official part of the Netherlands, like the neighbouring
Curaçao and
Aruba.
Here are the average temperatures of the capital Kralendijk.
Kralendijk - Average temperatures| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
| Min (°C) | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 |
|---|
| Max (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 29 |
|---|
| Min (°F) | 73 | 73 | 73 | 75 | 75 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 75 | 73 |
|---|
| Max (°F) | 84 | 84 | 84 | 86 | 86 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 86 | 84 |
|---|
Being in the Leeward Antilles, the climate is also
sunny and dry, so much so that in a typical year, only 565 millimetres (22 inches) of rain fall, with a relatively rainy period between October and December, when, however, rainfall remains below 110 mm (4.3 in) per month. The rains, brought by the northeast trade winds, continue with some frequency also in January or mid-February.
Here is the average precipitation.
Kralendijk - Average precipitation| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|
| Prec.(mm) | 50 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 40 | 35 | 30 | 95 | 105 | 95 | 565 |
|---|
| Prec.(in) | 2 | 1 | 0.8 | 1 | 0.8 | 1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 22.2 |
|---|
| Days | 9 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 72 |
|---|
The
sunshine amount is good all year round, as can be seen in the following table.
Kralendijk - Sunshine| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
| Hours | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
|---|
Bonaire is a flat island, with a certain shortage of fresh water, because of the lack of rivers.
For swimming, the
sea is warm enough throughout the year: the water temperature goes from 26 °C (79 °F) in February and March, to 29 °C (84 °F) in September and October.
Bonaire - Sea temperature| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
| Temp (°C) | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
|---|
| Temp (°F) | 81 | 79 | 79 | 81 | 81 | 82 | 82 | 82 | 84 | 84 | 82 | 81 |
|---|
Hurricanes
From June to November, but especially from August to October, there is the danger of tropical storms and
hurricanes: compared with the rest of the Caribbean, they are relatively rare at these latitudes, but it is not impossible that they reach the Leeward Antilles and Bonaire, as happened with Hurricane Irene in September 1971, Joan in October 1988, Bret (tropical storm) in August 1993, Ivan in September 2004, and Felix in September 2007.
When to go
The best time to visit Bonaire runs from
mid-February to May. The period from May to October is sultry, even though the trade winds make the heat bearable. From October to December the rainfall is moderate, and sometimes the rains, though not excessive, linger on until January or mid-February.
What to pack
All year round: light tropical clothes, made of cotton or linen, possibly a light raincoat for thunderstorms, especially from October to January; those who are sensitive to cold can bring a light sweatshirt for the evening.
For the reef, equipment for snorkeling, water shoes or rubber soled shoes.