Cruising the ABC Islands

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The more unique Caribbean cruises are ones that sail to the Southern Caribbean to stop at the ABC Islands which are Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Aruba is less than 70 square miles in size and sits less than 20 miles from the coast of Venezuela. Bonaire is slightly more than 110 square miles. Curacao is the largest of these islands at 171 square miles. Because of their position in the ocean, you won’t sail in order from A to B to C, but with Curacao sitting in between the other two, you’ll always stop at Curacao second. After a recent cruise on Celebrity Cruise Line to these islands, I’m sharing my input and information with others who hope to see these islands on their own someday.

Oranjestad, Aruba

The island of Aruba is surrounded by beautiful turquoise water. In the port of Oranjestad, multiple ships can dock at once. Cruise passengers can visit shops and restaurants right at the port and within walking distance.

As with most Caribbean destinations, there will be active excursion options, sightseeing options, and in-depth experiences available to pre-book. If you don’t pre-book an excursion, there are tour guides and drivers available at the port to book a last-minute activity. Just be aware that it’s only if you pre-book an excursion through one of the main excursion companies or cruise line, that you are guaranteed to get back to the port on time for the ship’s departure.

If you aren’t interested in an active or sightseeing excursion, it’s convenient to take a taxi ride to a public beach. One beach that is recommended is Palm Beach which has restaurants, water activities, and shops. It is about a 15-minute ride from the cruise port and the taxi will most likely drop you off at/near the Hilton Resort. It is free to be at the beach, but lounge chairs will cost money to rent. Also, bathrooms at the restaurants/bars may charge $1 per use. After your time at the beach, you can walk to the hotel lobby and request a taxi back to the cruise port. Some resorts on the beach will offer day passes for a fee which allows you to use all their facilities. Visit Resort For a Day to learn more and see what’s available.

Palm Beach, Aruba

The main thing you’ll notice in Aruba is how windy it is, but with the heat, the wind is a welcome relief. All the people on the island were warm and welcoming which makes for an even more enjoyable time.

 

Kralendijk, Bonaire

The cruise port in Bonaire is a lot smaller and less populated with shops/restaurants than Aruba and Curacao. While we were in port, there were only 2 shops open right at the port so there were long lines for souvenir shopping before getting back on the ship. And, there were no restaurants or bars open right at the port so be prepared.

There are not a lot of excursion options in Bonaire. Many people choose to rent golf carts or vehicles to explore the island on their own. If you do this, I recommend downloading Google Maps in offline mode to have GPS availability even without wifi. Golf carts are allowed on the roads, but travel slower than vehicles so depending on how far you want to travel, a jeep or other vehicle may be a better idea.

If you head towards the North, I recommend you start out driving right along the coast and stop at 1,000 Steps first. Next, visit Rincon, Bonaire’s oldest town and check out their Cadushy Distillery with cactus liqueur.

If you are looking for a great beach to visit on Bonaire, look no further than Sorobon Beach! It’s no more than waist deep for about 1 mile straight out with gorgeous water colors. There’s a great restaurant and bar right on shore called Sebastian’s Beach. Windsurfing and other water activities are available for a fee.

Sorobon Beach

The inland landscape of Bonaire reminded us of Arizona with it being desert-like. And we saw many donkeys and goats all along the road. This island was a great relaxing stop.

 

Willemstad, Curacao

A cruise stop in Willemstad, Curacao will offer cruise passengers many sites and activities right near the cruise port. There are several shops right and a mall within walking distance. If you cross the swinging bridge called the Queen Emma Bridge), there are more shops and restaurants on the other side, all an easy walk from cruise port. You pass through Rif Fort to get to the bridge. There’s an infinity pool connected to a restaurant within walking distance of the port if you want to cool off but don’t want to purchase an excursion.

There are many sites and attractions to see in Curacao so if you’re able to set up a tour of the island, you’ll get the most in-depth experience. I recommend booking a private tour of the island through Tours By Locals. For a reasonable price, you can get a fully personalized experience for only your group. My family and I did one of the tours with a local and wouldn’t hesitate to do that again. A few things we experienced are:

• Curacao Liquor Distillery – they don’t offer a guided tour if you visit the distillery as part of an excursion, but our private guide did walk us through and explain different aspects of it to us. After you walk through the distillery, you are allowed to taste a few samples of liquor and there’s a bar to purchase drinks, if desired, along with a gift shop. If you go with a group, you’ll be on a large bus with several other large buses all trying to go through at the same time so the private tour was so much more enjoyable.
• Fort Nassau – We stopped at this Fort which was first constructed in 1796. There is a lookout section at the top of the Fort which offers amazing views of the island. The Fort is now a restaurant and the restaurant wasn’t open when we were there, but there is no charge to go to their lookout deck. I don’t believe big tour buses can reach this Fort because of the road to it and the parking lot, so being on a private tour allowed us the chance to stop.
• Hato Cave – This was used by slaves as hiding places. Instead of descending down into the cave, visitors actually climb up several steps to enter. It is extremely HOT in the cave so bring a water bottle and perhaps a cooling towel. They have fans blowing inside the caves but it is still quite hot. The ceiling of the cave dips quite low at points so guests are warned to watch their head – still a couple of people in our group ended up hitting their heads so be careful.

• Playa Kenepa (Kleine Knip Beach) – This cove beach is great for snorkeling and has beach pigs. Yes, you heard that right – beach pigs that wander the beach and sometimes swim in the water. There is no fee to get to the beach and chairs are available for fee. A small snack stand is on site and they only accept cash. The beach and entrance into the ocean is very rocky so bring water shoes.

   

The “Bon Bini” (Welcome) atmosphere of Curacao is contagious and makes people want to go back again.

Conclusion

For more information on any of these ports and to look into booking a cruise to these islands, please reach out to me and I’ll be glad to assist you. I can’t wait to visit these islands again in the future!