Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao — the ABC islands, sitting below the hurricane belt off the Venezuelan coast, where the trade winds blow all year and the reefs start at the beach.
The southwestern Lesser Antilles sit far enough south to be outside the hurricane belt, which changes what a charter here can be: the season is the whole year, the trade winds are steady rather than seasonal, and August is as sailable as February.
Three islands, and they are genuinely different from one another. Aruba is the busy one — long white beaches, watersports, a lively capital. Bonaire is the quiet one, and the best shore diving in the Caribbean by some distance, with the entire coastline protected as a marine park. Curaçao has the history: Willemstad is a UNESCO site, and the coast north of it is a run of small bays under limestone cliffs.
They are close together — Aruba to Bonaire is an overnight, Bonaire to Curaçao a half-day — so a week takes in all three without ever feeling like a delivery. The culture is Dutch-Caribbean, the language is Papiamento, and the water is warm and clear enough that most days start with a swim.
Eagle Beach and Palm Beach, Arikok National Park across a fifth of the island, and Oranjestad for Dutch colonial streets and provisioning. The liveliest of the three.
A marine park that surrounds the whole island and eighty-odd named dive sites, most of them reachable from the water. Klein Bonaire, Lac Bay for the kiting and windsurfing, and flamingos on the salt flats.
Willemstad’s painted waterfront and floating market, Klein Curaçao out on its own with a lighthouse and two wrecks, and a west coast of small bays and caves.
Further east and a different proposition — rainforest, Carnival, the Gasparee caves, and Buccoo Reef and the Nylon Pool off Tobago. Reachable on a longer itinerary.
A week here is usually built around all three islands, and the order depends on the wind — most crews work east to west so the last legs are downwind, which means starting in Bonaire or Curaçao rather than Aruba.
The days divide neatly. Bonaire is for the water: the marine park is exceptional and there is very little else asking for your attention. Curaçao is for going ashore. Aruba is for the beaches and, if you want it, a evening that goes on.
Because the islands are outside the hurricane belt, this is one of the few Caribbean cruising grounds that works in high summer and early autumn, when the rest of the region has stopped.
Dive a marine park that starts at the shoreline, anchor off an uninhabited islet with a lighthouse and two wrecks, and walk a UNESCO waterfront that looks like Amsterdam in the tropics.
The whole island is a marine park and has been since 1979, which is why the coral is in the condition it is. Reefs start in a few feet of water and drop away close in, so snorkellers and divers get the same sites. The Hilma Hooker wreck and the Salt Pier are the two everybody asks for.
An uninhabited islet a few hours off the south-east coast — white sand, a derelict lighthouse, a couple of wrecks on the windward side and turtles in the shallows. Best as an overnight, since the day boats leave in the afternoon.
A UNESCO World Heritage site and unlike anywhere else in the Caribbean: painted Dutch gable houses along the water, a pontoon bridge that swings open for shipping, and a floating market run off boats from Venezuela.
A shallow mangrove-fringed lagoon on the windward side, flat and consistent, and one of the best places in the Caribbean to learn to windsurf or kite. Kayaking the mangrove channels is the quieter alternative.
Nearly a fifth of Aruba is national park — desert, cacti, cliffs and caves, with the Natural Pool cut into the rock on the windward shore. A complete change of register from the beaches on the lee side.
Eight days across the three islands, generally worked from east to west so the passages are downwind. A sample only — your captain will set the order by the forecast.
Board in Aruba’s capital in the afternoon and move the short distance to Renaissance Island for the first night — flamingos on the sand, a swim before dinner, and the crew getting to know you.
Watersports off Palm Beach in the morning and a move up to Arashi to snorkel the reef in the afternoon. Barbecue on deck as the sun goes.
The longest leg of the week, usually overnight or early. Anchor off Klein Bonaire and spend the afternoon in water that is as clear as anywhere in the Caribbean.
Into Bonaire’s small capital. Galleries and provisioning ashore, the salt flats and the flamingo sanctuary by road, and a quiet night alongside or at anchor.
Round to the windward side for the lagoon — kiting, windsurfing and paddleboards, or the mangrove channels by kayak if you would rather be somewhere quiet.
West to Curaçao and into a deep, protected bay with hills either side. Walk the trails above it, swim off the boat, and eat on deck.
Down to the capital. Punda and Otrobanda on foot, the floating market, and either dinner ashore or the chef’s last night aboard.
Finish at the islet — beach, lighthouse and wrecks — before the run back into Willemstad to disembark.
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