What's on in Kralendijk (Bonaire), Bonaire through the year

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Karnaval

  14–15 FebCarnivalCrowdedBook early

  The Tumba competition in late January picks the tune, then children's parades, then the grand parades through Rincon and Kralendijk on the weekend before Lent. It is a small island doing it at full size. Source ↗

Still on: Trade wind season (1 Dec – 31 Jul (usually))

Busy — Karnaval

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Karnaval (14–15 Feb), Trade wind season (1 Dec – 31 Jul (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Karnaval (14–15 Feb), Trade wind season (1 Dec – 31 Jul (usually))

Busy — Dia di Rincon

• Festival

  Dia di Rincon

  28–30 AprMajor festivalCrowded

  The island's oldest village throws its day on 30 April: mass at dawn, the Simadan harvest procession, then six stages of local bands until the last bus. Half of Kralendijk drives up for it. Source ↗

Still on: Trade wind season (1 Dec – 31 Jul (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Nature

  Sea turtle nesting

  1 May – 15 Dec · usually

  Hawksbills and loggerheads nest on Klein Bonaire and the windward beaches from May, and the last hatchlings run down the sand around December. Nests are staked and counted rather than fenced off. Source ↗

Still on: Trade wind season (1 Dec – 31 Jul (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 15 Dec (usually)), Trade wind season (1 Dec – 31 Jul (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 15 Dec (usually)), Trade wind season (1 Dec – 31 Jul (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 15 Dec (usually))

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 15 Dec (usually))

Busy — Bonaire Sailing Regatta

• Festival

  Bonaire Sailing Regatta

  11–16 OctSporting eventCrowdedBook early

  Six days of racing off the boulevard with a village of food stalls behind it, run since 1968. It is the one week of the year when the small hotels in town are genuinely full. Source ↗

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 15 Dec (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 15 Dec (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Trade wind season

  1 Dec – 31 Jul · usually

  The trades blow hardest from about December into July, which is the windsurfing season at Lac Bay and the reason the leeward dive sites stay flat. September and October are the lull.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 May – 15 Dec (usually))