Sorobon, Bonaire: The Flat Water Windsurfers Come For
A shallow reef-protected bay on the windward coast, and one of the best learning spots anywhere.
Why Go
Sorobon is a stretch of sand on the inside of Lac Bay, on Bonaire's windward coast, and the combination it offers is rare enough that people plan whole holidays around it: a bay enclosed by reef so the water stays flat, waist-deep for hundreds of metres, and a trade wind that blows across it almost every day of the year. That is the ideal set of conditions for learning to windsurf and a very good one for doing it well, which is why the schools here have an international reputation out of proportion to the island's size.
The Experience
The bay is wide, pale and shallow, with the reef breaking the Atlantic swell somewhere out of sight and mangroves closing the far end. You can walk a long way out and still stand up, which removes most of what makes learning a wind sport frightening. Sails cover the water from mid-morning, when the breeze fills in, and the shore is a low run of beach bars, board stores and school compounds rather than hotels. It is relaxed rather than glossy. When the wind drops the same water becomes ideal for paddleboarding and swimming, and the mangroves at the northern end of the bay are a separate world entirely — a nursery for the reef, reachable only by kayak. It is worth understanding why this bay is protected as well as popular. The seagrass and mangroves that make the water so calm are also the nursery for a large share of what lives on Bonaire reefs, so the rules about where boards and boats may go are not bureaucracy — they are the reason the diving elsewhere on the island is as good as it is.
What to Try
Learn to windsurf, or improve: Jibe City, the Bonaire Windsurf Place and the Dunkerbeck Pro Center all operate on this beach, all rent as well as teach, and between them they cover complete beginners through to professionals. Beachvibes Sorobon Surf Shop and Iris Beach Shop cover the kit you forgot. When the wind is down, paddle or swim in the same flat water. Bonaire East Coast Diving works the windward sites, which are far less visited than the western shore drop-offs and only diveable in the right conditions. Eat on the sand at Sebastian's Beach, the Sorobon Reef Bar, Hang Out Beachbar or Foodies Bonaire, none of which will hurry you. The Bonaire Sabal Palm Park nearby protects a stand of the island's native palm.
Insider Tip
Come in the afternoon if you want the wind and the morning if you want the water calm. The trade breeze here builds through the day, so beginners often do better before eleven when the surface is glassy and the sail is light, while anyone chasing speed wants the two-to-five window. Take reef shoes: the bottom is shallow, hard in places and dotted with seagrass, and standing on it barefoot for a lesson is a mistake people make once.
The Practical Stuff
Sorobon is about fifteen to twenty minutes from Kralendijk and twenty from Flamingo Airport, on the eastern side of the island. You need a vehicle; Bonaire has no useful public transport and the road out here crosses open scrub with nothing in between. Parking on the beach road is free and informal. The bay is inside a protected area, so the STINAPA nature tag applies to watersports as well as diving, and there are rules about where boards and kayaks may go to protect the seagrass and the mangrove nursery — the schools will explain them. Facilities are limited to the bars and the schools. Bonaire lies outside the main hurricane belt and the wind blows year-round, with the strongest months around the turn of the year.
Common Questions
Why is Sorobon good for windsurfing?
A reef encloses Lac Bay, so the water stays flat and waist-deep for hundreds of metres, and the trade wind blows across it nearly every day. Flat shallow water plus reliable wind is the ideal combination for learning.
Can beginners learn here?
It is one of the better places anywhere to start. You can stand up across most of the bay, which removes the main fear, and three schools on the beach teach from complete beginner upwards.
When is the wind best?
It builds through the day, so roughly two to five in the afternoon is strongest. Early morning is calmer and often better for a first lesson or for paddleboarding.
Do you need reef shoes?
Yes. The bottom is shallow, hard in places and dotted with seagrass, and standing on it barefoot through a lesson is uncomfortable at best.
How far is Sorobon from Kralendijk?
Fifteen to twenty minutes across the island to the eastern side, and about twenty from Flamingo Airport. A vehicle is necessary.
Is there an entry fee?
The bay sits within a protected area, so the STINAPA nature tag applies to watersports as well as diving, and there are rules about where boards and kayaks may go to protect the seagrass and mangroves.
Pair It With
- Jibe City — Boards, lessons and the bay's long-standing operation.
- Sorobon Beach. Bonaire — The flat shallow water itself.
- Sebastian's Beach — Lunch on the sand between sessions.
