Rainbow Reef

Max Depth: 20-25ft.
Dive Type: Coral Reef
Location: Nouth Bimini.

It's day #1 of your Wild Dolphin Adventure week and you've got one thing on your mind. ~ Swimming with Wild Dolphins ~ Us too!

But before we venture into the Dolphin Grounds for the first time, we have one stop to make. Rainbow Reef. Rainbow Reef is an absolutely gorgeous snorkeling location that just happens to be "on the way" between Bimini Harbor and the Dolphin Grounds. And, our stop at "Rainbow" actually has 3 purposes. Let us explain.

Great Snorkeling The site itself offers snorkelers an opportunity to see just about every type of shallow reef tropical fish there is. It would literally be impossible to list even half of the creatures that live on this reef on the page. Add that to soft corals, sea fans and other reef creatures and you can see why Rainbow Reef has long been a favorite of Snorkelers and SCUBA Divers alike.

Learning to Snorkel If you do not yet know how to use snorkeling equipment, or, you' need a refresher with the gear, Rainbow Reef is one of the best locations for the Wild Dolphin Adventures staff to teach you how. While the others are out cruising over the reef, you'll be learning the techniques and distinctions about snorkeling in the ocean that will have you out joining the rest of the group in no time. Not to mention you learning the skills that will help you maximize your dolphin swim experiences throughout the coming week.

From Snorkeling to Free Diving Another great thing about Rainbow Reef is that the depth of the water is very similar to water depth out in the Dolphin Grounds. No better way to acclimate yourself to the conditions we will find on our Dolphin Swims. Also, if you are comfortable with your snorkeling abilities, the Wild Dolphin Adventure staff will be happy to work with on taking the next step, freediving. Also known as breathhold diving, this technique allows you to dive down to the bottom and interact more closely with the dolphins during our swim. Rainbow Reef offers us the perfect environment to introduce you to freediving, and/or help hone your freediving skills under conditions similar to the Dolphin Grounds.

Rainbow Reef has long been a signature snorkeling and diving site around Bimini. Back in 1985, world renowned Canadian naturalist and filmmaker John Stoneman was filming his long running television series The Last Frontier on Bimini. The government of the Bahamas had given Stoneman permission to select one location in the western Bahamas to designate as a "Marine Sanctuary" based on his research. The place that John selected was Rainbow Reef. When asked why he selected "Rainbow", Stoneman pointed out that both the variety and the sheer numbers of each fish species found on the reef was remarkable. He said that if any reef in the area was deserving of the "Sanctuary" protections it was "Rainbow". A commemorative statue was put in place at Rainbow Reef and filmed for the TV series in October of 1985.