Bonaire vs. Curacao

[alashas]

There are several helpful resources on Curacao that are in broader books covering all 3 of the ABCs. Jack Jackson, The Dive Sites of Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao gives brief but helpful descriptions of 63 dive sites on Curacao, as well as a brief introduction to the island. The book also has an index that is useful.

Dominique Serafina and Catherine Salisbury have written a well illustrated book called Dream Wrecks: The Best Shipwrecks of Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao 16 pages of this 112 page book discuss Curacao's wrecks, including the Superior Producer, several tugboats, the Vaersen Bay Carpile, and several on the windward side of the island.

There is a good introduction to Curacao in the Hunter Travel Guides called Adventure Guide to Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao by Lynne Sullivan. My copy was printed in 2002, and sometimes a different author revises a later edition.

On Curacao, I picked up an interesting 170 page book by Dr. Bart De Boer written in 3 languages called Nos Ref di Koral - Ons Koraalrif - Our Coral Reef: Curacao, Bonaire, Aruba. It has a half page color photograph of coral and fish on every other page, a description in 3 languages, and also has a helpful index.

I brought back a lovely book of photographs as a gift for my family that we have enjoyed looking at numerous times called Curacao: Picture Perfect Places. This inexpensive book presents a very good cross section of Curacao and it's people and places in dozens of colorful photographs.

When you pick up your rental car, also purchase an inexpensive map called Drive & Dive Curacao Roadmap. It unfolds into a large road map of the entire island on one side and Willemstad on the other side. It also shows you 66 dive sites.

I contacted the Curacao Tourist Board in Newark, New Jersey, and they sent me several informative pieces of information, including a free DVD, about the island, scuba diving, accommodations, etc. They list that office and 6 in other countries here:
http://www.curacao.com/ContactUs.aspx

Safe diving, alashas http://honeymoon2.smugmug.com/

 

[Bonairetrip]

The two islands share much in common (language, desert type landscape, weather, etc.) yet are rather different (development, population, etc.). If the vast majority of the group is pretty heavily oriented towards scuba, snorkel and windsurf -- Bonaire is your place. Still lots of good restaurants on Bonaire, hotel pools, grocery stores, some nightlife but tons of great shore diving and shore based snorkleling. Yes, better and more than Curacao.

OTOH, Curacao is the big island. Many more people. Many more restaurants. All inclusives. More casinos. Many more things topside to do. More traffic. More industry. Still nice and still with very good diving.

For Bonaire, I would look at infobonaire.com and bonairetalk.com as starting point.

I would use skiing as an analogy: Curacao is the resort everyone has heard of with very good skiing and all the amenities. Bonaire is the nearby resort with much less glamor, fewer amenities, only die hard skiers have heard of it, but better skiing. Bonaire best matches my interest (I have picked Bonaire 11 times and Curacao once) but I don't know enough to know whether it matches yours.

 

[morecowbells]

Your analogy of the ski resorts was perfect! I grew up in New Mexico and Taos was where the intense skiing is. No glitz or pretense like Aspen. With AA eliminating their flights to Bonaire it makes Curacao more appealing though.

 

[Bonairetrip]

I agree Curacao is easier to get to -- and a better choice for those not into water sports. That said, AE will still fly to Bonaire three or four times a week or you can use Divi from CUR to BON and back (they fly several times each day, during daylight).