Visiting ABC islands..which one is best for a beach day?

Have never been to Aruba, Bonaire or Curacao?

After a little research thinking about doing trikes on Aruba.

Which has the best beaches? And which beach would you recommend?

Thanks!

Having been to A and B, Aruba was great for beach relax day, while Bonaire is all about the snorkling.

Aruba for sure! Eagle beach is nice.

I'd do Palm Beach on Aruba, if I had to pick only one.

Bonaire does not have many "Sandy Beaches"...it is famous for Scuba Diving and Snorkeling from the shoreline. Most access areas are rocky or have coral bottoms. Beautiful place. I have read there are a few Resorts that have nice beach areas but I have not experienced them personally.

Curacao is a beautiful island and another Scuba Diver and Snorkelers dream. Petty resorts with some beach areas as well. I have only experienced areas famous for diving with rocky/coral beach access.

Aruba is the "Beach" island. So beautiful!!! I love the beach area near the "High Rise" hotels. Great little beach bars...especially MoomBa Beach Bar near the Holiday Inn and Marriott area. Lots of restaurants, shops, and stuff to do. Great marina there also.

Aruba, hands down.

Having been to all three a few times, take a ferry boat over to Klein Bonaire. It's a smaller beach on a small island off the coast and the water is amazing. It reminds me of how the water was in Aruba years ago. It's also uninhabited, so there are no vendors or facilities just the beach. If you're looking for something secluded and relaxing that would be my pick.

Baby beach on Aruba has amazing snorkeling and a great beach. It is out of the way and they don't have all the vendors around.

I agree but there is the water Taxi you can take over to Klein Bonaire, just a couple miles from the city center on Bonaire, that has fantastic beaches and schools of Yellow jack, Tarpon and Sargent Majors will swim with you within feet of the beach. We got a lot of good video there. Taxi cost $6 pp I think and took 5 to 10 minutes to get over there. Lots of people take picnics over and cook on the beach.

The Tarpon are one of my fondest memories...they are just gorgeous and will swim all around you as you snorkel.

If you are looking for a beach tour look into the Aruba's "Kukoroo bus & beach tour" offered by RCL. Not very expensive and it tours the island, plus 2-3 hours of beach time at Palm Beach and includes a chair. Plenty of tree shade by the Holiday Inn. Not sure if I'm spelling the bus tour correctly. By the way, it's a window less bus and a way to make a fool of yourself as an adult with the help of a friendly & funny driver.

Also, in the same vein, there's a similar tour offered by RCL in Curacao titled "Beach & City escape." This was on sale for $27 per.

There's also a beach/pool tour in Bonaire. It tours the Island and then drops you off at a resort that offers not only beaches, but the usage of the resort amenities. It includes a drink and a buffet lunch. This is a little pricey at $85 per and titled "Bonaire Chill out Beach."

Definitely Aruba for a beach day. You can just hop on the bus to get to the beach, and rent a couple of chairs for the day. Aruba is wonderful!!!

Definitely Aruba. You can easily take the public bus, or a taxi, to any number of beaches. We always take the bus to Palm Beach.

No contest - Aruba. Walk out of the port, cross the street to the public bus parking lot where you buy a RT ticket at the booth for Palm Beach - around $5 each. We usually head to the Holiday Inn section, but anywhere is a winner! Twenty bucks will get you chairs under an umbrella and you're guaranteed a great day!

Have never been to Aruba, Bonaire or Curacao?

 

After a little research thinking about doing trikes on Aruba.

 

Which has the best beaches? And which beach would you recommend?

 

Thanks!

Slightly related, when are you going? I'll have a review and pictures up featuring our excursion with Aruba trikes in May.

I have only visited Aruba and it was gorgeous. I agree with people above that Palm Beach or Eagle Beach are the two best beaches. We stayed at the Hyatt and loved their beach. I would definitely do Aruba for beach day...snorkeling for Bonaire because our friends dive there and say it is awesome.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We did the Trikes last October while in Aruba. Thoroughly enjoyed it. They were EZ PZ to operate and we covered the entire island of Aruba. Having covered so much of the island, I can say that there is sooo much to do as Aruba is one of the larger commercial islands in the Caribbean. If you chose to do the Trikes, I suggest that you go as early as possible. This will allow you time to enjoy some beach time. The Trike guys will drop you off wherever you wish. A few hours on the trikes followed by a few hours on a beach is a great day in Aruba!

Slightly related, when are you going? I'll have a review and pictures up featuring our excursion with Aruba trikes in May.

Not until next summer, I have serious planning issues!!;)

I look forward to reading your review!

Aruba would be my first choice for good(sandy) beaches (either Eagle or Palm) but if you want a good beach in Curaçao, take a taxi to Blue Baie beach where they offer a sandy beach (unlike some of the rocky beaches nearer to Willemstad, restaurant, and clean rest rooms. It is part of a condo resort and is very well maintained. Well worth a bit of a ride. We have found that the taxi driver who takes you there is more than willing to return at an agreed upon time to return you to the ship.

We did the Trikes last October while in Aruba. Thoroughly enjoyed it. They were EZ PZ to operate and we covered the entire island of Aruba. Having covered so much of the island, I can say that there is sooo much to do as Aruba is one of the larger commercial islands in the Caribbean. If you chose to do the Trikes, I suggest that you go as early as possible. This will allow you time to enjoy some beach time. The Trike guys will drop you off wherever you wish. A few hours on the trikes followed by a few hours on a beach is a great day in Aruba!

Thanks for this! Now a crazy question.....

If we do the trikes in the morning will the beaches be really crowded int he afternoon?

If you are looking for a beach tour look into the Aruba's "Kukoroo bus & beach tour" offered by RCL. Not very expensive and it tours the island, plus 2-3 hours of beach time at Palm Beach and includes a chair. Plenty of tree shade by the Holiday Inn. Not sure if I'm spelling the bus tour correctly. By the way, it's a window less bus and a way to make a fool of yourself as an adult with the help of a friendly & funny driver.

 

Also, in the same vein, there's a similar tour offered by RCL in Curacao titled "Beach & City escape." This was on sale for $27 per.

 

There's also a beach/pool tour in Bonaire. It tours the Island and then drops you off at a resort that offers not only beaches, but the usage of the resort amenities. It includes a drink and a buffet lunch. This is a little pricey at $85 per and titled "Bonaire Chill out Beach."

Bus tour: Kukoo Kunuku http://www.kukookunuku.com/

If you are considering The Trikes of Aruba Tour, here is a link to the page of my review with some pictures on the tour! It was a blast! :cool:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2275038&page=5

Thanks for this! Now a crazy question.....

 

If we do the trikes in the morning will the beaches be really crowded int he afternoon?

Of course there are many factors. How many ships are in Aruba at the same time etc. Weather. Time of year. All should be considered. We were on the Adventure and did not leave Aruba until very late that night, I think 11pm (can't remember), anyway, we had plenty of time. After the trikes, the beach, we went back on the ship, cleaned up, and then went to a great steak house. El Gaucho. Aruba was a great stop/port/day. Enjoy!

Aruba for Beach, tho the beaches in Bonaire were great too.

on Curacao, do NOT miss the Aquarium. . one of the best we've ever been to. (was about a $20 taxi ride from the dock, if I'm recalling correctly).

Among the three, Aruba for a BEACH day and Bonaire for SNORKELING!

Enjoy all three! :D

Bus tour: Kukoo Kunuku http://www.kukookunuku.com/

After a day at beautiful Palm Beach (Eagle Beach was too windy), we cleaned up and did the Kukoo Kunuku Bar Hop (with or without the dinner stop) on an open-air bus with loud Caribbean music, shaking our maracas. We stopped at several locals bars that were a lot of fun.

Did this one twice; the second time invited a cute guy I met on the ship to go with us - ended up marrying him, lol.