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ABC IslandsAruba, Bonaire and Curaçao make up these wonderful islands just north of South America. A wonderful climate accompanied with some wonderful diving make these a "must visit" for everyone.
Please note: The last reply in this thread was more than 2 month(s) ago.
dreaming about next summer's vacation already. want to go to bonaire and dive of course, then we'd like to follow that up with a couple of days relaxing on a beautiful beach........so........fly from bonaire to aruba for that?? which airline is best from bonaire to aruba? do they fly low enough that you don't have to wait 18hours after diving???
I've been to each of the ABCs. I prefer to dive as much as possible on vacation & beaches are 2ndary to that. However, if you want to enjoy great diving and fabulous beaches, take a close look at Curacao, because it has both. It does not have one long stretch of beach like Aruba, but beaches varying in length from 100 yards or so to much longer. Many of the beaches have dive shops where you can rent tanks and even gear if you need it. And many also have restaurants where you can spend your surface interval.
Here are some of the beaches at the western end of the island:
Harbour Village Beach Club in Bonaire has a pretty nice beach. I guess they truck in the sand. It's on the pricy side, but it might make sense when you compare it to the price of an extra flight and the cost of losing a day of vacation to travel.
The Plaza Resort in Bonaire has a nice little beach. We hung out there for a day this past December while on a cruise stop. The wife and 2 girls took turns between being my dive buddy and laying out on the beach. They have a house reef right off the beach. Dive shop on premises (Toucan Diving). Seemed to be a nice place. Don't know prices for rooms, etc. Look here Plaza Resort Bonaire Luxury Accommodations and SCUBA Diving
I wouldn't mess with the extra flight if it's just to get beach time. As mentioned there are viable beach options on Bonaire and Curacao, they're just lots of smaller ones instead of one long strand like Aruba.
You might also look at Kura Hulanda lodge on Curacao (Playa Kalki) Between the beach there and maybe checking out some of the other beaches if you're into variety, you can certainly get your beach fill. OE West is there and Playa Kalki is excellent shore diving.
There is also the small but lovely beach at the Windsurfing Place/Jibe City, a few lovely beaches in Washington Slaagbai park, The amazing beach at Atlantis, a Dive site and Kitesurfing, and quite a few more hidden gems that I know about....
You can have LOVELY beach time on Bonaire, no need for the extra $200 or so RT per person to Aruba....
Liz
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The Ginocchio's@Golden Reef Inn
Bonaire, Netherland Antilles Golden Reef Inn
Where the customer ALWAYS comes first!
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