Lac Cai Beach

Lac Cai Beach – deserted and wild

Lac Cai Beach is one of the most authentic and wild beaches on Bonaire. Located on the east coast of the island, in the Lac Bay area, it offers a completely different experience than typical Caribbean beaches. It lies on the other side of the beautiful Sorobon Beach, but offers significantly less wind and ideal conditions for relaxation.

Besides us, the beach was almost deserted, and there was only one local couple. However, the toll for this solitude is the complete absence of social amenities. You won’t find sun loungers, toilets or a bar. Still, it’s worth visiting for at least a couple of hours, ideally in combination with Sorobon Beach, as we did.

The road is a bit wild

Lac Cai Beach is close to Sorobon Beach, but it’s not easy to get there and takes about 20 minutes by car. You have to go around the whole bay. For the first few kilometres, the road is paved and safe, then it turns to dirt and finally disappears completely. If you decide to come here, be prepared for a little adventure.

Thanks to the wind, water regularly spills onto the road and floods it. If you don’t have an SUV, you won’t get through and will have to walk the last 2 kilometres.

We were determined to walk the 25 minutes, but we were lucky – a local man put us in a pickup truck and drove us to the beach for free. We rode back with a local family that was there with us.

The beach will make up for the effort

One part of the beach is wild, with big waves, but around the corner, there is a secluded cove with calm, shallow water and almost no wind. However, you have to walk a few metres through a forest path to get here.

Surrounding the beach on one side are mangroves, which are an important ecosystem on Bonaire. On the other side, you can see the endless horizon of the Caribbean Sea. This makes Lac Cai an ideal place for quiet walks, photography or watching the birds that nest in the mangroves.

You will not want to leave. We finally had a chance to relax on the beach, either swimming or reading a book on the shore.

Don’t forget your water shoes, though. The sea is full of coral and shells, and you definitely don’t want to step on them barefoot.

Pink sand on Lac Cai Beach

Another bonus of this beach is the pink sand. At first glance, it appears to be just plain white, but if you look closely, you’ll find a hint of pink in the fine grains.

It is not an accident, but a work of nature that has been shaped over centuries. Tiny fragments of coral and shells, worked by tide and wind, have crumbled into dust, which gives the sand its delicate pink colour.

There was a small kitten playing with a fisherman’s dog around the beach, so we had an unexpected agenda. 😊

Thousands of huge shells

On the large and windy part of the beach, you can see several high hills full of giant clams. At first glance, they look like winding dunes, but when you get closer, they reveal their true origins. Countless shells, tiny gastropods and shell fragments, worked by the wind and the sea.

Fishermen used to stockpile them here when processing their catches. Many come from the clams that the locals used to catch for their tasty meat. After cleaning, the shells were simply dumped in one place, and over time, huge mounds of white shells were created.

Due to overfishing, the bivalves were on the verge of extinction, so today they are protected, and these piles of shells are no longer increasing in size.

They look incredible and beautiful – their shiny white fragments are all over the windy part of the beach. But when you see the shells and waves, you know you’re not yet on Lac Cai Beach, which is a true paradise. It’s a beach from which your journey to see the beautiful bay above is just beginning.

This wild beach also has its charm. It’s not for swimming, but it’s definitely for a stroll along the coast.