Aruba, Bonaire & Curaçao

Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are a few Caribbean islands that are close to each other and nicknamed the ABC Islands.” They are each a quick cheap flight from one to the next, and each have their own special charm. In this post, I’ll give you some ideas for what to do when visiting these countries.

This is our Brady Bunch squad of New Years 2014 below. 9 friends embarking on a journey to find some adventures in the Caribbean. 

Aruba

Adventure on a pirate ship

Jump aboard a pirate ship for an awesomely cheesy day of fun! Jolly Pirates offers a snorkel trip from a large pirate ship. On the return, it's open bar! They also have a rope swing you can test your jump skills on into the water.

 

Dive to a sunken 747 plane

For those adventure seekers, dive 85 feet to this sunken ship off the coast of Aruba. This plane, the Antilla, is the largest wreck in the South Caribbean. It was a German freighter confiscated at the start of World War III. It's so large you can swim through the center, just watch snagging your gear! Learn more

 

Enjoy the pristine beaches & Ocean

We stayed in the main city of Oranjestad, where there are plenty of beach bars and gorgeous white sand beaches. This is where you want to go for liveliness, but there are also many secluded beaches you can stay at or drive to if you want some peace and solitude.

 

Curaçao Island

Explore the colorful colonial old town of Willemstad

Wander through a maze of colorful colonial buildings to find a good place for lunch, and cross the Queen Emma Bridge.

 

Snorkel or dive into the blue room cave

The Blue Room cave is an underwater cave that glows cyan blue due to the way the light shines under the water. This snorkel trip was my favorite experience on Curacao, I highly recommend taking this trip.

Book your trip with Captain Goodlife, he is a character and we loved it. We met him at Santa Cruz, and after wandering around for a while trying to find the location, he appeared in his underwear (lol) to take us to the Blue Room Cave.

Heavenly blue ocean at Santa Cruz Beach

You’ll head out into the water aboard a small boat called the Antohella, into the warm ocean water to swim and snorkel. It was a beautiful hot day when we went, and the water is clean and warm, full of aquatic life.

When you get to the cave, you need to swim under a rocky cliff edge to get into the cave. It's much easier to get in and out of the cave with flippers on to propel you more quickly under the water. I was a little hesitant at first because it’s hard to see the opening of the greater inside space that you are heading to.

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Once you’re inside the cave, the blue glow is magnificent, and it’s very spacious inside, so I didn't feel claustrophobic. We swam for a while enjoying the beauty. Then dove back under water to swim back out. Going in and out you have to be really careful not too come up too early and hot your head on the rocks.

Note: If you are not a good swimmer, avoid going into the cave

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Stay at The Hilton

View from our room at the Hilton Curacao

 

Explore the beaches

 

Bonaire

Scooter around the island

We rented scooters to cruise around the small island, and quickly realized that Bonaire has really diverse landscapes. We began our journey alongside aquamarine blue ocean, then scooted by a seafoam green lagoon with flamingos, then onto volcanic rock cliffs that looks like another planet, and finally into a desert landscape. The great thing is, there isn't much traffic. Just be sure you have some scooting experience, one of our friends ended up taking a spill on a hard turn. Also rent with a place that provides helmets.

Go Kite surfing

Kite surfing is huge in Curacao. The water is crystal clear and the wind is strong! We didn't have the time to try it, but it's definitely on my bucket list.

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