OK, back from Bonaire! There are some similarities with Curacao (great Dutch supermarkets!) but overall, they're quite different. We spent almost no time on a beach in Bonaire--there are only a couple that are what you think of when you think of a nice beach, and the nicest (no name beach on Klein Bonaire) is accessible only by water taxi. That and the minimum 25-knot winds when we were there made beach time not really easy or fun (although Klein Bonaire is great and water taxis are only $25 round trip). Curacao wins big time on beachiness.

Bonaire is smaller than Curacao, with overall shorter drives to get to key spots. In fairness, we stayed at the absolute western edge of Curacao, and many people stay closer to Willemstad (which is very much a city), but the best beaches are in the west so you'd probably be doing some driving anyway. On Bonaire we stayed at Sand Dollar Condominiums in the Hato neighborhood, just outside the center of Kralendijk. It was a great location, with one of the few tiny sandy beaches and a long seawall with loungers. Our condo was just right for us--a very well equipped studio with a screened in porch and great view for $160 per night via VRBO. We really love screened porches and don't understand why more island places don't have them. I really hate bug spray, so I love screened porches! Sand Dollar has wonderful snorkeling (and diving) at Bari Reef, right offshore, and it's easy walking distance to some good restaurants. We can recommend Pizza Mare and Breeze n Bites, both right next door. Lodging is a wash vs. Curacao, or maybe a slight advantage to Bonaire.

We are avid snorkelers and both islands were great in that regard. Bonaire's shore entries are mostly fairly difficult--lots of ironshore, some fairly rough seas and strong currents. It makes up for the level of difficulty with some of the most amazing sea life we've ever encountered, but almost all of the sites drop off very quickly and there isn't much coral near shore. We took the morning water taxi to Klein Bonaire that drops you off at the edge of the reef to drift back to the beach, plus a second boat trip for some night snorkeling. On Curacao we were able to snorkel the cliff sides of the bays and get in very close to see tiny creatures and lots of bright encrusting corals and sponges. Both islands would make any snorkeler happy.

So that's about it. If you have any specific questions, just ask!