Boca Catalina, Aruba
Mangel Halto, Aruba
Malmok Bay, Aruba
Directors Bay, Curacao
1000 Steps, Bonaire
Dive the Antilla shipwreck, Aruba
Hike Arikok National Park, Aruba
Windsurf at Fisherman’s Huts, Aruba
Explore the Hato Caves, Curacao
Visit Rincon village, Bonaire
Oranjestad, Aruba
Eagle Beach, Aruba
Renaissance Island, Aruba
Kenepa Beach (Grote Knip), Curacao
Bonaire’s Slave Huts and Salt Pans
Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao all sit below the main hurricane belt, so unlike much of the Caribbean, there’s no single season to avoid and charters run comfortably year round. The driest, sunniest stretch is roughly January to September, with a short, mild rainy season from October to December that rarely disrupts sailing. Trade winds stay steady enough for good sailing conditions through most of the year, brisker from December to March.
Each island has its own international airport with direct flights from the US and Europe: Queen Beatrix International (AUA) on Aruba, Hato International (CUR) on Curacao, and Flamingo International (BON) on Bonaire. That makes it easy to fly into one island and out of another at the end of the charter, rather than backtracking, since the crossings between them, roughly 65 nautical miles Aruba to Curacao and 30 nautical miles on to Bonaire, are straightforward passages.
Boca Catalina and Mangel Halto on Aruba are calm, reef-sheltered spots good for swimming straight off the boat. Directors Bay on Curacao is a quieter alternative to the busier Willemstad waterfront, and on Bonaire, the marine park’s mooring buoys off sites like 1000 Steps replace open anchoring entirely, since anchoring on the reef itself is prohibited by law across the island’s protected coastline.
Ten to fourteen days gives each island proper time, roughly four or five days apiece, without the trip feeling rushed. If time is tighter, most charters pick two of the three, commonly Curacao and Bonaire for the shorter 30 nautical mile hop between them, and save Aruba, the outlier at the western end of the chain, for a separate trip built around its beaches and nightlife.
Not quite, despite sitting so close together. Aruba uses its own Aruban florin, Curacao adopted a new Caribbean guilder in March 2025, and Bonaire, as a special municipality of the Netherlands, uses the US dollar. Dutch and Papiamento are spoken on all three, and English is widely understood in tourist areas, but it’s worth carrying a card or exchanging cash before island-hopping since ATMs dispense the local currency only.
