I'm planning us a trip for September 2016 for the two us us plus our snorkeling but non-diving 24-year-old son. There is a possibility that our friends, non-divers but beach lovers, might go with us.
I suggest you reconsider taking people with a different agenda on a trip where their needs may compromise what the rest of you want to do.
I love Bonaire. For diving. There's a donkey sanctuary to visit, the park up north to drive through & photograph a half day, and if you want to try kite boarding or wind surfing, this could be your place.
What I've heard of Curacao sounds like a possibility for you. Do a forum search. From what I'm told (been to Bonaire 8 times; Curacao only to change planes), it's something like this:
1.) Larger island with longer swim outs to reef drop off but sandy beaches with easier entries.
2.) The road running parallel to the coast is further inland, so you may need to make turn offs onto side roads to reach some dive sites.
3.) A number of dive sites have 'amenities' (e.g.: food, bathrooms, rental tanks) but may charge a small fee. Some people find this appealing & some do not.
4.) There are operators you can hire to take you around to shore sites; Bas Harts posts on this forum & it's probably who I'd look up 1st; the Dive Bus is also well known. Both seem to have a good reputation.
5.) More 'non-diving' things to do.
6.) It's generally more practical to cram more dives into a week on Bonaire vs. Curacao, but you could probably get plenty of dives in for a family trip.
If I got any of that wrong, some of the Curacao visitors can hopefully explain.
A big issue is whether your husband wants to mainly boat dive or shore dive. The glory of Bonaire is shore diving. If you just want to boat dive, you can do so, but it's a less compelling destination. Curacao is also famous for shore diving. Another issue is how many dives/day he's after. Bonaire is like the all-you-can-eat buffet of shore diving; you land on the island & start figuring out # dives/total trip cost = value; how can I make this trip a big value? If your husband wants to do 2 dives/day, and spend the rest with family and maybe skip a day of diving, he might only do 10 dives the whole week!
Richard.
---------- Post added August 19th, 2015 at 06:45 PM ----------
P.S.: I suggest your husband do something like I do. Take about 1 week a year to head off alone to a destination that lends itself to a lot of diving fast. Bonaire, Key Largo (2 trips/day with Rainbow Reef Dive Center), CocoView in Roatan, most any live-aboard...I've been to Bonaire, Key Largo & did a
Belize live-aboard (Sun Dancer 2). I hope to someday hit CocoView.
Then, spend a week on what my wife calls a dive trip disguised as a family vacation. This is actually what I did in
Key Largo (but got 20 dives),
Jupiter in Florida, & most recently
Morehead City, North Carolina. I linked you some of my trip reports. Warning: Key Largo is not a beach destination. You can get beach around Jupiter & Morehead City (Atlantic City Beach, for example).
Richard.
