Aruba or Bonaire Where should we go?

[Laurie Salyer]

We have been to Bonaire and enjoyed it alot. We stayed at Buddy Dive and we enjoyed it and enjoyed the diving on the island. Now we have a choice do we go back or go to Aruba. Does anyone out there been to both and have opinions on this?

 

[Brown Mermaid]

To me Bonaire is a much better choice....but I would say to you stay in Aruba a couple of days and do some dives and then go back to Bonaire to finish off your diving.

We have been to Bonaire and enjoyed it alot. We stayed at Buddy Dive and we enjoyed it and enjoyed the diving on the island. Now we have a choice do we go back or go to Aruba. Does anyone out there been to both and have opinions on this?

 

[drdiver1952]

Bonaire has better diving over all. Aruba has some good wrecks. Aruba has some nice beaches-Bonaire pretty much not. Aruba has a lot of night life and shopping. Bonaire is quiet and relaxed. Very different island atmospheres.

 

[scubajcf]

Bonaire - Diving
Aruba - Nightlife

 

[mike_s]

Bonaire has better diving.

Aruba has better restuarants and shopping and beaches. And better hotels.

The "night life" in Aruba isn't huge though. carlos n charlies is
pretty much the "big name" bar. But not that much of the
young college party crowd goes to aruba anyway when they
can go to Jamacia or Cancun cheaper.

The Antilla wreck is pretty good to dive on in Aruba, but overall
you'll find better diving in bonaire

 

[spstar]

We have been to Bonaire and enjoyed it alot. We stayed at Buddy Dive and we enjoyed it and enjoyed the diving on the island. Now we have a choice do we go back or go to Aruba. Does anyone out there been to both and have opinions on this?

check out my post from Aruba I dove with Clive Paula and had a great time He runs a top notch operation unlike some of the cattle boats out of Aruba, His boat capacity is Seven so no need to be worried about that. book early he fills up fast

just my 2cents
Scot

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

Haven't been to Bonaire. Aruba is a good choice for wreck diving and there is a lot of nightlife. There is also a lot of non diving stuff to keep you occupied

 

[dvrliz1]

I'm partial, but I live here...Bonaire, definitely...no traffic lights, no traffic, relaxed, a little gambling, and much to others opinion there is some what of a "nightlife", it just starts usually after the divers are in bed!!!! Town does not get going until around 10pm, where Karel's Bar or City Cafe usually has live music. Also Karoke on Wed. nights at Karel's Bar. Restaurants are open til about 9-10pm weekdays and later on the weekends. Also, lots of cultural stuff to do. It's great when they have festivals or art shows or if a cruise ship is in...then usually everything is bustling...without traffic or traffic lights, no major highways, etc. Oh yeah, Bonaire at least HALF the price (dinner, souveniers, etc).

 

[WahooWolfe]

I took a Windjammer cruise this past year. I didn't dive Aruba, but did dive Bonaire and Curacao. Both were awesome dive locations. Water clarity is unbelieveable! Fish variety was good in both locations. I personally prefer Bonaire as I liked the smaller size island and the dives were very very close. Not that they weren't in Curacao, but just slightly easier to get to.

I take exception to the topic that Bonaire doesn't have any nightlife. We went to Karels, and Mai Mai (just a couple of blocks south of Karels) and had a blast dancing, drinking, and just celebrating life. Good times with good friends. Aruba is definitley more of a tourist trap compared to Curacao or Bonaire, but all had very pleasant and welcoming people on the island.

I hope to go back again in 2006!

For what it's worth...............................

 

[boulderjohn]

Now we have a choice do we go back or go to Aruba. Does anyone out there been to both and have opinions on this?

I am not sure I understand the question. Are you asking if you should go to Aruba instead of Bonaire if you return to the ABC's? If you are looking for diving as a priority and want to see another island in the area, go to Curaçao instead. It has much better dive sites than Aruba, and it has some other nice features. You should read up a lot ahead of time, though, to figure out exactly what you want to do there. There are some excellent out-of-the-way options that are easy to miss.

If, on the other hand, you have some kind of deal available that will take you to Aruba, don't throw it away. It is definitely a couple of steps below the other two for diving, but it's OK, and it has other charms, as others have mentioned here.