diann24

Hi my husband and myself have a timeshare in Aruba. We are contemplating using 2 weeks this year versus the one since we are entitled to do so. We are wondering since we are in Aruba to fly to Curaco/Bonaire for one week versus staying in Aruba for 2 weeks since we have not been there. Has anyone been to both to compare? We of course love Aruba. Just wondering how the 2 compare if at all? Thanks for your thoughts.

KVR

We have flown from Aruba to Curacao on Insel Air. Aruba and Curacao are like apples and oranges. So completely different. Curacao to me looked like Arizona with access to water. There are no long stretches of beach like Eagle Beach in Aruba. Instead they have coves and inlets. Most are on the West side of the Island, so you will need a car and a good map to find them or take a beach hopping tour. The sand is made up of crushed coral, so you must have water shoes at all times.

The downtown area is smaller. The shops/stores were very nice and clean. Like department type stores. I loved their linens shops. There is one area for crafts where you can haggle. I brought a couple of tapstry paintings, which are still hanging in my home.

We did a dive at the Sea Aquarium, which was the highlight of our trip. No scuba certification is required.

If you haven't been and you have that much time, I would say go just so you can say you've been there. We stayed for a week and enjoyed our trip, but it's not on our return list. We preferred Aruba.

JeanH

We split a two week trip last year between Curacao and Bonaire. I've never been to Aruba, we're spending just a couple nights there on our way back to Bonaire this year.

We enjoyed Curacao, but, didn't love it. I prefer quieter, less busy beach destinations.

We loved Bonaire. I'm really not sure why. Not much in the way of beaches, although a day or two at Lac Bay is enough beach time for me. I thought the beach there was fine.

The food on Bonaire was amazingly good. Lots more choices than I had expected.

If you love Aruba, it might be too quiet for you.

We usually don't rent cars while on vacation. We did for both Curacao and Bonaire. Driving was easy on both islands, much easier on Bonaire.

Like KVR, Curacao was fun, but not on our list of places to return.

Odin

I agree with KVR that comparing Aruba to Curacao is like comparing apples to oranges. Curacao's main industry is not tourism. Having said that, Willemstad's architecture is very interesting and Christoffel national park is well worth a visit, I personally found the beaches very nice and some were stunning, never needed water shoes, don't even own a pair, I didn't like Eagle Beach anyway, too crowded and spent most of my time on Malmok which is probably more like a Curacao beach. I thought food was better in Aruba and Bonaire. If another version of Aruba is expected, you will be disappointed.

StanKase

KVR and Odin are on the money. I hate to say it but we think Aruba is Honky Tonk based on our last visit in 2007-8 for 50+ adults in our opinion.. Boaire is the least developed for tourists but does offer the best snorkeling though not great since Hurricane Mitch 15+ years ago. The hotels were mostly 2 and 3 star and the food was not memorable but we may have eaten at the wrong places. curacao has some decent hard long sand beaches but like Aruba it ois an elevated sand bar unlike Bonaiaire that offers some dense foliage. Curacao offers 4-5 4 Star and a 5 star hotel and at least dozen good to excellent resturants but costly at $40-$75/person.Ones we did not enjoy were the Potofino at the Marriott and Ft. Nassaau though the views from the bar are lovely for cocktails. At the West End, for which you need a rental car, there is fairly good snorkeling alomng the boulders that form about 8-10 nice size quite bays one right after the other. The downside is they are a 35045 drive from the "official" city. But is is lovely and quiety whebn their schools are in-session and on a week day.At the EAST END is a nice Sea Acquarium right near a new Hyayy we have not stayed at because it was not officially opened on our last trip. For those in there 30-45 there is some social like under the Arches in the evening where there are 4-5 restaurants. But it is no Aruba yet it has a quiet casino on the island.

Knowing

We have been to both islands. The beaches are better in Aruba but that is in our opinion the only thing that is better. We live on the water here, so we're not ga-ga about beaches. I won't say Curacao is more secluded, but it is not as, maybe flashy? The downtown is smaller, but nice with the Dutch influence being very predominant. I bought some wonderful Dutch linens and also some beautiful painted wooden boxes from a street vendor. Bisto le Clochard is a very impressive restaurant with wonderful views right on the water at the outside bar. Good food too. We loved all the places we ate at in Curacao except for Fort Nassau (Go for their welcome drink instead and enjoy the view). We left Aruba after one week without one good meal, except for the ones at the Radisson. To us, Aruba had too many tourists and was too commericalized.

diann24

Thanks for your varied viewpoints. Since we own a timeshare in Aruba obviously we like Aruba. I think I might just opt for 2 weeks in Aruba. Thanks again.