Netherlands Antilles Dos and Don'ts

The city is alot of fun to go see with great shopping, bars and restaurants, but make sure you go in groups after dark. Some of the locals can be a bit shady after dark.

If you're a scuba-diver, chances are you've heard of this place. The waters surrounding this entire island are part of an underwater marine park, and the locals are crazy gung-ho about protecting the reef, which is SPECTACULAR! All you need when you show up is a dive site map. All the sites are marked along the road, with yellow painted rocks with numbers which correspond to the map. This place is REALLY set up for diving.

In addition to the coral heads which are unbelievably beautiful, we saw seahorses, octopus, eels (on a night dive) tons of parrot fish, a HUGE tarpin (also on a night dive) along with the usual clown fish angel fish, barracudas....

There is a beach in Bonaire called Pink Beach. The sand is of course made of pulverized coral which, at sunset, shimmers the most beautifully delicate shade of pink, over the blue/green/turquoise waters of the Caribbean, with the huge mountains of sea salt across the way.

I try never to go back to the same place twice - it's a big world after all - but I will definitely return to this island one day....

Bonus, it's outside the hurricane belt, so there's never a bad time to go!

When in Curacao.... Stay away from the guy with the snake!!! He'll try and seduce you with this beast!!! Z

Having been fortunate enough to live in Curacao for two years, this is easily one of my favourite places to live/visit. Most people will travel to Curacao for the climate, and for a laid back beach holiday. Yet, there is so much more than this once you scratch the surface. Willemstad is full of history, and with all the old colonial buildings that are being resotred, it's easy to see why it's a UNESCO world heritage site. Many people (probably from Cruise ships) say they go to Curacao for the shopping, but to be honest, I could never quite see the attraction. There are lots of jewlery shops in Punda, but other than that, the shopping would be the last reason I'd visit Curacao. There's an abundance of outdoor activities to do, ranging from Scuba Diving, Swimming, Windsurfing, Sailing, Mountain Biking, Horse Riding, Hiking, Fishing ... the list goes on. The climate is as close to perfect as I've ever experienced, ranging from 26-29 degC during "winter", to 28-31 degC during the warmer part of the year. Although Curacao is in the tropics, the steady trade winds that blow almost every day out of the NE take the edge off the heat, and the low humidity (only about 50%) make it shorts and T-shirt weather all year round. Mind you, many of the locals will wear jeans, especially during the cooler part of the year (go figure). There is a reasonable amount of tourism in Curacao, but one of the things I liked about it was that it doesn't (yet) feel over run with tourism, like so many other Caribbean islands (eg. Saint Martin). One of the benefits of the tourism, is that there's an exceptional selection of good restaurants to choose from. Also, there's no shortage of places to party (eg. Mambo beach), so there's something for everyone. With daily direct flights from Miami and Amsterdam, it's super easy to get to Curacao. You can also fly direct from Curacao to Bogota, Caracas, and Jamaica (amongst others), making it easy to include in a Caribbean or South American trip. Check out www.curacao.com for all the details.

Beer costs only $1, great after paying $4 to $6 for two weeks! Also visit the local bars - the guys are really friendly.