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Out of the three islands I found Bonaire the best bargain. Arube is more for a pricy beach vacation, largely for americans. Curacao has a lof or dutch and british party crowd. I found there to be an unpleasant vibe from the locals. Most things are run down. Bonaire, there is a pleasant vibe, great snorkling all around, and easier to get around by car or scooter.

Great museums. Best ice cream is at Gios. Affordable water taxis leave from seaside to Klein Bonaire, a paradise for snorkeling and enjoying a beautiful beach. Lots of souvenir stores. Excellent grocery Van der Tweel. Great cell service, excellent drinking water. But it is always very very hot, heat index 115 year round. Parking very crowded downtown except early morning. Good to visit in low season like late September although some restaurants close then. If you come for diving or snorkeling you won’t be in town much, you will be in the water at many different places. We recommend for snorkeling Klein Bonaire, the unmarked beach just south of Margate, Wakaya II, and Jeff Davis. Tour all parts of the island in an air conditioned truck to see flamingoes, the sea salt operation and stunning waves crashing,

Extremely charming town with perfect mix of local tradition and just enough tourist accommodation. Amazing location that allows for easy access to beaches, restaurants, sight seeing and more. Highly recommend renting a car or scooter (car/truck is better) to be able to see entire island. Pricing is much more affordable than anticipated and US dollars and major credit cards accepted everywhere. Sea cow snorkeling tour was amazing and Shekhinah tours offers amazing excursions with pick up and drop off from your location! 10/10 recommend visiting and using both services

Nice town, not too touristy. Can easily see the downtown area on foot. Never had a problem finding parking. Excellent restaurants at reasonable prices. Plenty of shops to rent bicycles or scooters if you want to go further afield. And the donkeys are adorable. Be sure to try out snorkeling or scuba diving when on the island.Bring water shoes to protect your feet at the beaches.

Airfare plus transport (rental cars, taxis), accommodation (hotels, etc.) and activities make Bonaire a pretty expensive destination. It is amazingly windy, dusty and dim (lighting almost everywhere is pretty bad). The food quality is not wonderful (almost everything is imported; the fish is a definite exception and is delicious). It is not a good location for people with mobility devices (walking sticks OK, not great - I used one) but one must always be prepared to walk on unpaved surfaces, no stair railings etc. etc. Kralendijk as a city can be seen pretty quickly. Best to focus on nearby beaches/water which are optimal for scuba divers and other water sports. The high quality of the natural resources (especially the sea) is due to extensive conservation and protection efforts. Very good restaurants in Kralendijk include: Mezze - messe and other Turkish dishes (dinner) Capricco - Italian (dinner) C'es la Vie - pasta, drinks, antipasti (lunch) Ten - various breakfast and lunch plates, great coffee (breakfast, lunch) The people - locals, residents and most tourists - are very friendly, considerate and decent. Areas outside Kralendijk at the north and south of the island are scenic, almost never too busy, very relaxed and gorgeous - a bit 'raw' which is good if you prefer things to be natural and not built up or artificial. Its hard to balance costs against the benefits of nature and great people on Bonaire. If you want to get a taste of fairly casual island life and know what you are in for before you go (pros and cons), I highly recommend it!

Only a few beaches had sand. Others had rocks with ladders down to the sea. Town was swamped with cruise ships every day. Every taxi was taken and every hire car booked. Please prebook a car before you arrive as there are no busses. Really hard to get around.