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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Caribbean

Caribbean

Caribbean Netherlands

Three small Dutch islands, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, with old marine parks, nesting turtles and winter humpback whales.

Clear blue water and a quiet beach on Klein Bonaire
Bonaire and Klein Bonaire · Photo: Stephan van de Schootbrugge on Unsplash
Story only

Story only, for now. We love learning about this place and its ocean, so we share its story here and do not sell trips yet. Checked by Ocean Calling on 6 Oct 2026. Sources: Bonaire Nature Fee, Bonaire Tourism Corporation; Diving in Saba, Saba Tourism; St. Eustatius diving and marine park, Government of Sint Eustatius.

Why: Bonaire's marine park has been looked after by the nature foundation STINAPA for decades, and Saba's marine park (set up in 1987) and Sint Eustatius's marine park (1996) protect the reefs where green and hawksbill turtles feed. On Bonaire, hawksbill, green and loggerhead turtles nest, and touching any marine animal is against the park rules. Humpback whales pass Saba, Saba Bank and Sint Eustatius between about January and May, in the Yarari marine mammal and shark sanctuary. We would watch from the surface or boat at a respectful distance, with licensed local dive centres, and never swim with or touch the animals.

🧭 Travel advice, checked 30 Sep 2026. The US State Department rates Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius at Level 1, exercise normal precautions. Its Bonaire advisory is dated 20 August 2026 and notes that petty crime is most likely in popular tourist places. Sources: US State Department travel advisory, Bonaire · US State Department travel advisory, Saba and Sint Eustatius Advice differs by passport: check your own government before you plan.

WhalesTurtlesCoral reefsWildlife watching

Why Caribbean Netherlands

Bonaire's national marine park began in 1979 and its beaches on Klein Bonaire host most of the island's turtle nests, with all four Caribbean turtle species recorded. Saba's marine park began in 1987 and the huge Saba Bank nearby is a winter nursery area for humpback whales. Sint Eustatius has its own marine park and nesting turtles.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

United States of AmericaHaitiDominican Rep.BahamasMexicoBrazilPeruColombiaPanamaCosta RicaNicaraguaHondurasEl SalvadorGuatemalaBelizeVenezuelaGuyanaSurinameFranceEcuadorPuerto RicoJamaicaCubaTrinidad and TobagoBonaire and Klein Bonaire, Caribbean NetherlandsSaba and Saba Bank, Caribbean NetherlandsSint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands

When to go

Timing changes a lot from place to place. See each place below.

We share this place as a story so you can learn. There is no Ocean Calling trip.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Story only

We tell the story. We do not sell a trip here.

Checked 6 Oct 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check
The story

Where in Caribbean Netherlands

We share these places as stories and research notes. We do not offer or sell trips here.

Bonaire and Klein Bonaire

Story only

A long flat island with a marine park all around it, and a small uninhabited island where turtles nest.

Also seen: Sea turtles (nesting on the beaches, May to December, from a distance)

When: May-Dec. Turtles nest from May to December.

Saba and Saba Bank

Story only

A steep small island with a marine park, beside a huge undersea bank.

Also seen: Humpback whales (passing in winter, from the boat or shore)

When: Jan-Apr. Humpback whales pass from January to April. We never promise a sighting.

Sint Eustatius

Story only

A quiet island with a marine park and nesting turtles.

Also seen: Sea turtles (nesting, from a distance)

Animals

Animals recorded in Caribbean Netherlands

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Land animals
Hawksbill turtle swimming, pointed beak in profileHawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricataSeen in 88 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredGreen turtle resting on the reef, shell and head pattern in sharp detailGreen turtleChelonia mydasSeen in 103 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLoggerhead turtle at the surface feeding on Portuguese man o' warLoggerhead turtleCaretta carettaSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasVulnerableLeatherback hatchling crossing the sand toward the seaLeatherback turtleDermochelys coriaceaSeen in 76 countries in the AtlasVulnerableHumpback whale swimming close with long pectoral finHumpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliaeSeen in 87 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo spinner dolphins swimming over sand in clear waterSpinner dolphinStenella longirostrisSeen in 66 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCommon bottlenose dolphin swimming over a seagrass bedCommon bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHeavily spotted adult Atlantic spotted dolphin with young, AzoresAtlantic spotted dolphinStenella frontalisSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSperm whale mother raising her fluke beside her calf off DominicaSperm whalePhyseter macrocephalusSeen in 114 countries in the AtlasVulnerableRed lionfish with spread fins over sand in Dauin, PhilippinesLionfish (red and common lionfish)Pterois volitans and Pterois milesSeen in 80 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLongsnout seahorse holding a red sponge stalk with its tail against blue waterLongsnout seahorseHippocampus reidiSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedGreat barracuda cruising in open blue water, showing jagged teethGreat barracudaSphyraena barracudaSeen in 84 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernMale magnificent frigatebird perched on a mangrove branchMagnificent frigatebirdFregata magnificensSeen in 52 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernNurse shark swimming over a reef at Fernando de Noronha, BrazilAtlantic nurse sharkGinglymostoma cirratumSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasVulnerableWhitespotted eagle ray gliding over reef and sand in BelizeWhitespotted eagle rayAetobatus narinariSeen in 58 countries in the AtlasEndangeredSouthern stingray resting on white sand, St John, US Virgin IslandsSouthern stingrayHypanus americanusSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedCommon octopus crawling over a rocky seabed in FranceCommon octopusOctopus vulgarisSeen in 32 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCaribbean reef shark swimming close over a reef in the BahamasCaribbean reef sharkCarcharhinus pereziSeen in 19 countries in the AtlasEndangeredMasked booby on Ascension IslandMasked boobySula dactylatraSeen in 80 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernQueen conch with a reddish spiny shell resting on seagrass over sandy seabedQueen conchAliger gigasSeen in 32 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedAdult brown booby standing on a rock with its bill open against blue sky, PrincipeBrown boobySula leucogasterSeen in 104 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernClose view of a red-footed booby head with blue, pink and red bill and throat skin among green leavesRed-footed boobySula sulaSeen in 91 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTarpon swimming in open blue water with a dense school of small fish behind it, off St John in the US Virgin IslandsAtlantic tarponMegalops atlanticusSeen in 24 countries in the AtlasVulnerableCrowd of brown pelicans packed together on a coastal roost, one adult with a pale head and coloured bill facing the cameraBrown pelicanPelecanus occidentalisSeen in 48 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernAmerican flamingo wading in shallow water with its head lowered toward the surface, Yucatán, MexicoAmerican flamingoPhoenicopterus ruberSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasLives on landLeast ConcernCaribbean spiny lobster at the edge of a reef overhang with long antennae trailing across sandCaribbean spiny lobsterPanulirus argusSeen in 30 countries in the AtlasData DeficientNeotropic cormorant perched among willow branches beside the waterNeotropic cormorantNannopterum brasilianumSeen in 29 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSargasso shearwater gliding over a grey sea, dark above and pale belowSargasso shearwater (Audubon's shearwater)Puffinus lherminieriSeen in 27 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern
Curious?

Why this is a story, not a trip

Read our ethics check above. If you would like to talk about it, Rocío is happy to explain.

Ask RocíoBack to the Ocean Atlas

Also in Caribbean
AnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArubaThe BahamasBarbadosBelizeBritish Virgin IslandsCayman IslandsCubaCuraçaoDominicaDominican RepublicGrenadaGuadeloupeHaitiHondurasJamaicaMartiniqueMontserratPuerto RicoSaint BarthélemySaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSint MaartenTrinidad and TobagoTurks and Caicos IslandsUS Virgin IslandsVenezuela

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