Arubs or Bonaire?

[Cod]

Planning a vacation for the entire family, two divers two non divers and wanted suggestions as to which place is better for the Dive / No Dive combination?

My youngest daughter and I are the divers, very green divers but we're divers even Nitrox Certified

My wife and oldest don't like it and want no part of it, so i'm trying to find a Dive / No Dive Friendly place.

Thanks,

 

[DeputyDan]

On this board Bonaire is known as the shore diving capital of the world.

But others know it as the wind surfing capital of the world. There is also the kite surfing going on at the south/east end of the island.
Would that be something of interest to the non-divers?

 

[Cod]

The wife and oldest daughter are more along the lines of shopping and lounging

 

[parzdiver]

Aruba probably has more to do than Bonaire for the non diver. It is much more commercially developed. As a diver, Bonaire is the ultimate value, but for the non diver, I personally believe is a desert island in more ways than one. In planning a vacation with diving with non divers, I wouldn't pick Bonaire unless they were content to mostly sit by the pool. In fact I am planning a trip for this winter to Aruba with a couple non divers. It isn't the value of Bonaire, but I believe everyone will have a much better time overall.

 

[drrich2]

I think shopping in Bonaire is pretty pitiful for someone using U.S. malls as a comparator. Might kill a day. Other than that, one afternoon driving through the scenic beauty of Washington-Slagbaii Park taking photos, another visiting the donkey sanctuary, and perhaps trying wind surfing & kite surfing. All in all, an open-minded non-diver who's not too demanding could enjoy a few days on Bonaire.

But not like Aruba.

From what I understand, Aruba diving is mostly boat diving.

Richard.

 

[DeputyDan]

The wife and oldest daughter are more along the lines of shopping and lounging

Then Aruba is where you should go.

One of the great things about Bonaire is that there really isn't any shopping!

 

[DeputyDan]

Let's switch gears.

Based on your comment about your non-divers - have you ever thought about St. Marteen?

Diving is OK - not great but OK - The Dutch side is a lot like Myrtle Beach but without infrastructure.
French side has an entirely different feel.

Airfare is generally reasonable

 

[RJP]

Aruba or Bonaire?

They are called the ABC islands, not the AB Islands!

Why not Curacao? Bonaire-like diving, but with more to do top-side. Not as much in the way of shopping/casinos/high-rise hotels as Aruba, but that's OK by me.

As my non-diving wife says...

Bonaire is where divers go to vacation.
Curacao is where vacationers go to dive.

We're going on our third Curacao trip in a few weeks. Wife and kids (also non-divers) love the Marriott.

 

[baystr]

good answer..........i might take my clan to Curacao this yr

 

[Cod]

I will do some checking on Curacao and St. Marteen.

We had a cruise where St. Marteen was one of the stops but had to cancel at the last minute due to medical issue with my mother.

Thanks for the input,