The Divi-Divi is the national tree of Curaçao and also grows on Aruba and Bonaire.
Photo by David P. Smith/Shutterstock
This article was originally published in 2022 and most recently updated on June 1, 2026, with current information.
The “ABC Islands” is an easy, breezy nickname for Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea north of Venezuela’s coast. The three islands have rich Afro Caribbean heritage and sugary sand beaches; in addition, they are generally spared during Caribbean hurricane season.
All three islands share ties to the Netherlands; Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self-governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands (another country in the Kingdom). But each has its own personality: Aruba is popular with families, who come to swim and snorkel in small bays ideal for kids. Bonaire has become a destination for divers and cavers. Curaçao has several interesting museums where you can learn about the island’s history. All three ABC islands are dreamy tropical escapes where you can swim in the warm Caribbean sea year-round.
Whether you have time for a weekend getaway or a longer trip, here’s what to do and where to go on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.
Aruba: national park caves
Pink is everywhere in Aruba: in the sky at sunset, on the flamingos on Renaissance Island, and on a pastel gingerbread building in the capital, Oranjestad (not pictured).
Photos by Edrick Krozendijk/Unsplash and Alin Meceanu/Unsplash
Aruba has an arresting landscape where the beaches of Arikok National Park run to the warm, turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea, punctuated by cacti and wind-bent divi-divi trees, the national tree of Curaçao that also grows on Aruba and Bonaire.
Where to eat
Colorful beach bars and dozens of dining options are available in and around Oranjestad, Aruba’s capital and largest city. Visit the Pastechi House to try the namesake deep-fried, half-moon pastries known as pastechis, or taste Cuba’s influence on the island with a plate of ropa vieja (shredded beef sautéed in a sofrito sauce; a vegan, tofu version is also available) at Cuba’s Cookin’. Harborfront Peruvian restaurant Lima Bistro is a favorite for its creative, Nikkei-leaning dishes like scallops with shoyu butter, chips, and chives.
Waterfront Zeerovers (a Dutch word for “pirates”) is an open-air wharf restaurant in Savaneta, Aruba’s oldest village. Like the rest of the island, it was once home to Arawak people, then Spanish conquistadors, and then Dutch colonizers who set up their capital here in the late 1700s. Zeerovers is a local hangout, attracting visitors and residents alike to “lime” (relax), drink, and enjoy the day’s catch. Fish and shrimp are served in baskets with fries, plantains, or corn bread, plus plenty of lime, and patrons dine at picnic tables overlooking the sea.
Where to swim
Aruba’s island’s beaches range from long white-sand stretches lined with luxury resorts and water-sports operators to secluded coves set amid limestone cliffs. Baby Beach, at the southernmost tip of Aruba, is an aptly named family favorite where the sand slopes very gently, making it safe for even the youngest swimmers.
Eagle Beach is ideal for stand-up paddleboarding and kitesurfing. Visitors can also snorkel Mangel Halto’s reefs and shallow waters. The Boca Prins and Dos Playa coastal bays, near the Fontein, Quadirikiri, and Huliba caves, are secluded, peaceful places to cool off.
Other things to do in Aruba
Arikok National Park covers almost 20 percent of Aruba, nearly 8,000 acres with rocky cliffs, deep caverns, natural stone bridges, and land formations made from lava, quartz diorite, and limestone. Travelers can arrange guided hikes with Aruba Conservation Foundation (US$25) or horseback rides with Rancho Loco Aruba (US$155).
There are three stalactite- and stalagmite-filled caves in the park, but only Fontein cave has zoomorphic drawings created by the Arawak people some 2,000 to 3,500 years ago.
Where to stay: Ritz Carlton, Aruba
Just south of the Fisherman’s Hut beach, a highly popular spot for wind- and kitesurfing, stands the Ritz-Carlton, Aruba. It’s a mega resort with 320 guest rooms and 55 suites, two pools (including one for adults only), and even a casino. Snorkeling gear, paddleboards, kayaks, and water hammocks are available to borrow.
Bonaire: snorkeling and scuba diving
Bonaire is known for the rows of colorful houses in its capital, Kralendijk, and for snorkeling and diving.
Photo by Danita Delimont/Shutterstock (L); photo by Ctephan van de Schootbrugge/Unsplash
The easternmost of the ABC islands, Bonaire entices with world-class scuba diving. With the island’s coral reef only a few feet from the shore, travelers can easily access pristine scuba sites without a boat. Less adventure-inclined travelers can still experience underwater thrills by snorkeling in the island’s warm blue waters, filled with marine life.
Things to do
If you’re staying on the island’s less-crowded east coast, try Bonaire East Coast Diving for a dive excursion. There are many dive outfitters on the west coast, including Flamingo Diving and Let’s Go Drive Bonaire. Jibe City is a windsurfing center where you can take lessons and/or rent stand-up paddle boards, kayaks, and snorkeling gear.
The outdoor fun extends inland too: Given an estimated 400 island caves, Bonaire is well suited to spelunkers. Guided tours lead visitors through wet and dry caves filled with stalactites and stalagmites formed over thousands of years.
A side trip from Bonaire
A 15- to 30-minute water taxi ride whisks you to Klein Bonaire (Dutch for “Little Bonaire”), an uninhabited protected island within the Bonaire National Marine Park. Caribe runs six water taxis daily from Karel’s Beach Bar in Karendijk, while Epic Water Taxi has four departures from Buddy Dive Resort and three from Nautico Marina, both in Karendijk.
Ultra-flat (as in, no more than seven feet above sea level), Klein Bonaire’s only structures are the haunting ruins of colonial-era one-room dwellings once inhabited by enslaved people. A small shelter on the beach faces Bonaire, but the islet is otherwise deserted—so no running water or sanitation facilities. Pack an umbrella, plenty of water, and food. Keep in mind the last boat back to the mainland departs at 4:45 p.m.
Where to eat
For fine dining on Bonaire, book ahead at waterfront Brass Boer, in the southern community of Belnem. There, you can watch the sun set over a six-course tasting menu, or order à la carte dishes like langoustine in mushroom bouillon, with enoki and kohlrabi. Chefs is another popular tasting-menu spot. It serves a five-course set meal to about a dozen guests curved around a wooden counter.
To eat where the locals do, try Posada Para Mira, which serves iguana and goat stews, fried plantains, and grilled fish in Rincón, the oldest settlement in the Dutch Caribbean. Bobbejan’s, open only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, is packed with barbecue fiends. (Vegetarians aren’t left out: the menu has tofu satay and a vegetable burger.)
Where to stay: Sorobon Luxury Beach Resort
The coast running both north and south of Bonaire’s Kralendijk capital is heaving with hotels. Instead, head across the island and south to Sorobon Luxury Beach Resort, on its own tiny peninsula with only one other hotel nearby. Among the 40 rooms are studios, beach houses, and multi-bedroom villas. Guests can book kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, and diving through the resort, as well as candle-lit dinners on the beach, yoga classes, and massage sessions.
Curaçao: beaches, museums, and architecture
There are about 40 beaches to explore in Curaçao.
Photo by Jorgen Hendriksen/Unsplash
Curaçao is known for its exemplary beaches—many set in achingly beautiful, isolated coves—and several interesting museums The island’s culture reflects a deeper beauty, filled with a mix of African, Caribbean, Creole, Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese influence, plus colonial-era architecture in capital city Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Where to swim, snorkel, and dive
Playa Porto Marie, a lovely white coral sand beach near the northwestern village of Sint Willibrordus at Porto Marie Bay, is a great place for snorkeling—and where you’re likely to see wild pigs sunning themselves in the afternoon (don’t get too close to them). The beach has scuba diving and snorkeling operators, plus a small eatery. To go diving on the island’s northwest coast, contact B Diving Curaçao or Divers Republic; in Willemstad, try Dive Center Pietermaai.
Other things to do on Curaçao
The beachfront of Playa Porto Marie belies the area’s important link to Caribbean history: Tula Riguard, an enslaved African man, launched the Curaçao Slave Revolt on August 17, 1795, and for a time the group was gathered here. By that evening, they had freed thousands of enslaved people. The group was ultimately suppressed by Dutch colonizers, and thousands of enslaved people are believed to have been killed.
Today, a monument to Tula is located amid quiet beaches and a flamingo reserve on Curaçao’s south coast, and August 17 is considered a day of resistance in Curacao. To learn more about Tula and slavery on Curaçao, visit Museo Tula in the island’s northwestern Landhuis Knip/Kenepa area.
In the capital, the colorful Handelskade waterfront is pretty but always thronged with visitors. Get off the main drag to visit the quaint Postal Museum and the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel synagogue, which has been operating since 1723 and is the Americas’ oldest synagogue in continuous use.
The Curaçao Maritime Museum showcases maps, archival photographs and letters, and maritime equipment, including a wooden “Neptune’s angel” taken from the prow of a 19th-century ship. Built in 1720, the museum is in one of the oldest houses in the UNESCO-listed area of Willemstad, in Scharloo, a neighborhood of residential neoclassical mansions.
The Kura Hulanda Museum offers African artifacts chronicling slavery’s devastating impact on Curaçao’s African population, as well as how Afro Curaçaoans have influenced the island over hundreds of years.
Related: 10 Things to Do on the Candy-Colored Caribbean Island That Sits Outside the Hurricane Belt
Where to eat
In the capital, Willemstad, make a pit stop at Plasa Bieu, an open-air dining hall off Plasa Godett. Several restaurants operate in the casual venue: Under a metal roof, wooden picnic tables are covered with distinctive tablecloths to distinguish each eatery. Cooks prepare meals using huge barbecue grills with charcoal-fed fires. Popular with locals and visitors, the venues offer reasonably priced Curaçao fare, including fish, peas and rice, goat, and plantains.
If you’re after flavors from further afield, Indonesian-and Thai-leaning restaurant Soi95 serves dishes like Caribbean snapper in a coconut sauce and chicken satay with peanut sauce.
Where to stay: Lagun Blou
Just as in Bonaire, north and south of Curaçao’s capital along the coast is packed with hotels. To stay somewhere a bit less crowded, head northwest to the village of Lagun to stay at Lagun Blou, with 20 apartment-style rooms overlooking either the Caribbean or a small bay.
What to know when planning a trip to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao
Flights to the ABC islands from East Coast cities take three to five hours, making all three accessible for a sunny long weekend during the dead of winter. U.S. citizens do not need visas for Aruba, Bonaire, or Curaçao, and U.S. dollars are widely accepted (in Bonaire, they’re the official currency; in Aruba and Curaçao, the currency is the guilder).
Island-hopping between Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao is best done by plane; there is no boat service between the islands. Inter-island flights are on Divi Divi Air or EZ Air. Flights are 25 to 45 minutes and cost around $100 one way.
The best time of year to visit Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao
Winter is the best time to visit Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, but you’ll be sharing the beach with loads of other tourists. To enjoy a less-crowded tropical escape, consider visiting in March or early April (avoid school breaks if possible).
Autumn is also a good time to visit the ABC Islands: Although Caribbean hurricane season runs roughly June through November, these islands closest to South America see fewer storms. Some travelers swear by visiting the Caribbean in summer, citing cooling sea breezes, festivals, and zero risk of snowstorms canceling flights.
Related: How to Venture off the Tourist Trail in the Caribbean
