Bonaire, Curacao & Aruba

[Reijo]

We will be going to Bonaire, Curacao & Aruba next month and wondered what you might can tell me about which islands are best, any good tours, shopping at ports, etc. Would appreciate any information.

[Clarea]

Enjoyed the best snorkel excursion ever on Bonaire, with Woodwind Cruises.

[debshomespun]

If you like beaches, Aruba has some beauties. Eagle beach and Palm beach are both great. You can easily take the city bus. Soon as you exit the port, walk across the main street, and the bus station is there. The bus leaves about every 15 minutes for the beach route, the farthest bus to the left when facing the buses. Ask the driver to be sure. They are all very helpful, and will let you know which stop is for each beach. Eagle beach is first, with the wider beach area, and lower, smaller hotels, and Palm beach is just after, with all the high rise hotels, and the beach is more narrow. Both are beautiful!

[dreamer976]

Go to the "Ports of Call" section on the Forums home page. Click on "Caribbean" and all islands are listed individually. Lots of the information you're looking for is there.

 

Enjoy your cruise!:)

[janetz]

Trikes-Aruba. A absolute blast. ;)

 

http://www.trikes-aruba.com/

[papaflamingo]

We will be going to Bonaire, Curacao & Aruba next month and wondered what you might can tell me about which islands are best, any good tours, shopping at ports, etc. Would appreciate any information.

 

Never been to Curacao. But was in Aruba and Bonaire last year. As previously mentioned, Bonaire is one of the best snorkeling and diving areas in the Caribbean. We did a ships tour that was on a glass bottom tri-maran build for Jacque Cousteau. It was wonderful. Drinks served, great view from glass bottom, and a stop to snorkel for about an hour in a beautiful spot. But any snorkeling in Bonaire will be wonderful.

Aruba has great beaches near the Resort area, as previously stated. But it is also pretty good for shopping. You dock downtown and there are lots of nice restaurants, bars, and shops available. We aren't much for laying on a beach, so we spent the day looking through the shops. Stopped at a nice outdoor restaurant and had lunch and drinks. Then did a Sunset Champagne Catamaran Sail (booked through the ship). It was really a nice day.

[Hoopster95]

We will be going to Bonaire, Curacao & Aruba next month and wondered what you might can tell me about which islands are best, any good tours, shopping at ports, etc. Would appreciate any information.

 

There's lots to do and see in Curacao and Aruba... barely anything to do in Bonaire. But Bonaire is world famous for diving and snorkelling (Klein Bonaire)

 

Clarea and others have already talked about Woodwind. Google The Woodwind... one my favorite excursions ever in the Caribbean, highly rated on Tripadvisor, snorkeling was almost 2 hours in the water, great catamaran with drinks and lunch included, very inexpensive compared to other tours I've been on. We swam with turtles, my photos are amazing. On board pro photographer charges $25 for CD (yes, not a typo. not $125!). I can't say enough good about the captain and hosts on board. I was there Nov 2013 so this info is relatively recent.

Scroll down to post #11: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2021289&highlight=woodwind

 

Last trip to Aruba we rented a jeep, and headed north, toward the California Lighthouse. Just the drive is a great excursion in itself. Rent a convertable jeep right at the pier ($75 + insur = aprox $100 for the day) Aruba very easy to get around. Driving the coast up to the lighthouse, and then along the beach/sand to the natural bridge was an awesome day!!!! We did the entire island that day which even included a 1 hour tanning stop at baby beach on the entire opposite side of the island.

 

http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/islands/ar/armap.shtml

 

Curacao is where I think you'll find your best shopping if that's your thing (not mine) walking around town is excellent there.

[Kik35]

Last Nov in Curacao went to Mambo Beach. $20 taxi ride(4 people), $3.00 chair fee, $3.50 beach fee. Best $3.50 spent since there were no peddlers!!;). We did not snorkel,but many did as there was a reef off shore. Nice beach day!!:)

[Johnamac123]

Enjoyed the best snorkel excursion ever on Bonaire, with Woodwind Cruises.

 

Is Woodwind Cruises an excursion provider? Did you go out on a cat?

[Clarea]

Is Woodwind Cruises an excursion provider? Did you go out on a cat?

Trimaran:

 

http://woodwindbonaire.com/

[Johnamac123]

Trimaran:

 

http://woodwindbonaire.com/

 

Thanks Bob. Looks awesome! Now, I just need to find a line that goes there Aruba and Curaco other than December. Love those Southern routes.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Johnamac123

[Clarea]

Thanks Bob. Looks awesome! Now, I just need to find a line that goes there Aruba and Curaco other than December. Love those Southern routes.

Vision, out of Tampa, Jan 2016.

Edited January 18, 2015 by clarea

[Lazz]

Trikes-Aruba. A absolute blast. ;)

 

http://www.trikes-aruba.com/

 

Totally agree! These trikes are a blast and easy to learn to drive (It does help if you know how to drive a stick). This is NOT a cruise sponsored tour. The trikes employees told us it was due to the small size of the tour (they only had eight trikes and had a morning and afternoon tour), and the insurance requirement that the cruise lines require. Given that, they meet you right outside the dock gates and escort you about a block on foot to the trikes. Due to the small number of trikes available, you need to book online as early as possible. We took an afternoon tour just in case the ship was late docking (ship was docked until 11pm). Bring water, sunscreen and a camera. There is a small, lockable storage area on each trike. The company does take pictures and post them on Facebook where you can copy them for free.

[Life is Good Cruising]

We will be going to Bonaire, Curacao & Aruba next month and wondered what you might can tell me about which islands are best, any good tours, shopping at ports, etc. Would appreciate any information.

 

There's plenty of shopping in each port and in walking distance. We did both excursions below through the ship and in Bonaire, we just walked around as it rained on and off all day. Enjoyed both excursions, we were only in Aruba from 7-1 pm :(, did not want to DIY.

 

Day at the Beach by Boat in Curacao

Aruba Sightseeing & Swimming (Palm Beach)

[rakes5]

Thanks Bob. Looks awesome! Now, I just need to find a line that goes there Aruba and Curaco other than December. Love those Southern routes.

 

Check out the Celebrity Eclipse. Some itineraries do Bonaire, some do Granada.

[rontravel]

We were on these islands in November on the repo of Explorer

We did a great island tour of Bonaire for $20 per person. Just walk off the ship and you'll see a series of white tents. Don't be afraid to dicker. The landscape of Bonaire is very interesting. Sort of looks like Arizona. The salt ponds were spectacular. After the tour we walked around town. I enjoyed Bonaire. Reminded me of the other islands 30 years ago. if you dive or snorkel it is paradise.

 

In Curacao we walked around the town. Very pretty there. I've also heard great things about the boat to beach tour. Nice waterfront bars there to have a drink by the harbor.

 

Definitely beach in Aruba provided you have the time. We were only there for 5 hours so we just went into town. Really hot that day.

[phoenix1181]

We love the Black Pearl snorkel & sunset cruise. Small boat, great owner/operators. Very relaxing. Check them out on Tripadvisor. & Facebook.

[Reijo]

Thanks to all for taking the time to respond. Some good information here. We're looking forward to this cruise, it will be different for the many East/West cruises. Thank goodness RCCL is trying to do something different at PC.

[jamesr3939]

Curacao was outstanding. We rented a car, which we picked up right at the foot of the pier. Drove to a beach I had read about in some travel magazine. It was spectacular with nobody there. Sorry, I can't recall the name and it was pretty much unmarked roads. There was small beach bar and some beach chairs. It might have been Playa Portomari. Driving on the island was easy and obviously it's impossible to get lost if you can see the ocean.

 

We spent about half the day driving and hanging out at the beach. Then dropped the car off and walked across the floating bridge into the city square, found a nice outdoor care and had a couple of beers.

[Topo Gigio]

Curacao was outstanding. We rented a car, which we picked up right at the foot of the pier. Drove to a beach I had read about in some travel magazine. It was spectacular with nobody there. Sorry, I can't recall the name and it was pretty much unmarked roads. There was small beach bar and some beach chairs. It might have been Playa Portomari. Driving on the island was easy and obviously it's impossible to get lost if you can see the ocean.

 

We spent about half the day driving and hanging out at the beach. Then dropped the car off and walked across the floating bridge into the city square, found a nice outdoor care and had a couple of beers.

 

Maybe Cas Abow?