Being a huge SXM fan we are looking for some great beaches in the ABC's while on a cruise ship. We would like to know what the taxi fees are and if there may be any particular beaches on these islands where the wife can go topless without causing a "stir"? Anyone out there with this experience? Thanks

Aruba

Taxi fee to Manchebo/Eagle beach was like 15 bucks incl tip. Maybe cheaper. It is a quick ride.

We went to Manchebo reaort but then walked through their wide opulent beach and then through Costa Linda to Coco Loco beach bar. 40 bucks for a non front row Umbrella and two chairs on the credit card. Added our beers to that. If you want front row you hqve to pay more and in cash. Kindof dumb as i might have paid 60 for front row but only had 40 cash for souvenirs in aruba and the rest of the cruise.

Beers were about $6 each in a bucket. Ouch. More than ship prices.

Had a hohum burger. Didnt starve or get sick.

The beach is nice pretty turqoiuse and the surf alot of wave action. Zero snorkelability.

About 30 topless women, half landtrippers and half BN cruisers, at the beach. So much for Dutch conservatism on Aruba.

It was a good day but a far cry from Orient with better water, cheaper chairs, way cheaper beer, and better food.

Probably wont head to Aruba again unless we got free lodging from a friend.

Curacao

We rented a car from Avis at the port. Very short walk. Many walkups turned away. We had a reservation. Easy rental. About 70 usd with all insurances. Easy to drive. Much easier than SXM.

Went to several beaches.
The 1st Grote Knip. Very nice setting frames by rocks on both ends. Got chairs + umbrella for 20 bucks. Hamburger and 2 cokes for 10 bucks. Beautiful beach with calm water, good snorkeling, soft sand. Wenreally liked hear but wanted to s enmore sonoulled up chocks. Some topless scattered. Mostly dutch.

2) Little knip. Nice, not ss good as Grote in any reapect. Someinternet indicated AN potential, we didnt see any.

3) Cas Abao. This is anlong beach not as nice as Grote knip and a rocky entry. snorkeling very good at East end with many fish and Turtles. We were able to do some discrete AN at the far end nd as most people were l aving at 4pm plus.

Saw my best friend the KLM Blue 747 making its approack from right to left on this beach.

Drove by the HATO airport on way back to willemsted and saw the 747 again.

Went iver big bridge to Mambo beach arriving at dark. Picture beautiful mall shops and beach bars restaurants and very nice bars.
Mlots of industry and standard of living well above SXM.


we loved Curacao and will definitely return at some date.

Bonaire is diving diving diving. take 20 roundtrip shuttle to Kleine Bonaire. Most beautiful reef inthe world imho. able to get AN awaiting last ferry boat to beach and pick us up.

Thanks Irish for your tips prior to Curacao.

So glad you enjoyed Curacao. We agree on beaches there almost to a 't'.

It's definitely on our return list also. Aruba, not so much.

Glad it worked out for you!

Was there a reason why you didn't stay at Manchebo? We have a soft spot in our hearts for Manchebo, as we spent our honeymoon there, as well as returning several times thereafter. Prices in Aruba do seem have gone way UP...

It was defi tely primo and i see why you would like it. No real reason per se except no real beach boy to approach, unsure if anything was reserved or even available to us daytrip “trespassers”. We walked in from a parking lot not via a lobby. We assumed the very front row was reserved for quests. Id be ticked if i were a guest and got a back row. Recall back row might be 50-75 feet away from water.

At that early hour it was mostly single lady guests under canopies reading a book. I guess the men were playing golf or dead. Same at Costa Linda next Door.

We had no idea how far we should walk and well Coco Loco was as close to Manchebo we came. It was pretty we had a good day.

I would add Aruba also enjoys some industry as well. There were a few oil rigs anchored out to see fromthe port. Cabbie says they are parked awaiting being towed out to sea. It was clean and safe from our short visit. Cabbie also said all the new roundabouts have cut traffic accidents and injuries dramatically.

Inwouldnt turn down a free trip to Aruba or any of the ABCs.

Back to Bonaire. Im a certified diver but the boss had never scubad. We did the shipnexcursion and well it checked the box and she essentiallybalready did everything required in an open water cert test. The dive was literally 100 yards from the boat.

But back to Kleine Bonaire. Water shuttle leaves from Ketals restaurant right by the pier. $20 roundtrip. Kleine Bonaire is uninhabited and surrounded by an AWESOME reef. You walk from where the water shuttle beaches several hundred yards to a yellow marker signifying a clear area through the reef which is literally in waste high water 10 feet from waters edge. Anywhere else and you will damage incredible coral cut your feet and skin and violate anrule/law by touching the coral. There is a good current that takes you back several hundred yards back to where the shuttle beached. We brought our fins but didnt use them per anrecommendation. We took our water shoes mask and snorkel leaving our stuff at the shuttle beach. STRONGLY recommend fins and a snorkel vest. While one side of reef is in shallow water the other side you swim on is several hundred to possibly a 1000+ feet deep. As it was hard to just progress and time we swam with our shoes to make sure we were making time. If we had had a cramp there was few to any people who might ofheard us and you wouldnt be getting the report or wed be all scratched up crossing the coral to get out. IT WAS AWESoME and we will definitely go back to BONAIRE forna diving trip.

OK, I can see if you're just there for the day, you don't want to have to wait around to find a cabana boy. Manchebo was kind of a hole in the wall place when we first stayed there. It's gone quite upscale since then, but I still wouldn't mind going back again. It's been probably 10 years now since we've been there, at least.

We stayed for a week at Manchebo when we visited Aruba in December 2016 for Ed's 65th birthday. It was a very nice place, but the palapas and chairs were a bit of a distance from the water. Also, while we were there at least, the water was a bit rough. It was pricey though -- definitely not a hole in the wall place any longer. If we liked Aruba enough for a return visit (which we didn't), we would stay there again.

As I said, Manchebo has changed since we last stayed there..

An addition for Curacao.........

https://www.curacao.com/en/directory/plan/curacao-carnival/

https://www.google.com/search?q=cur...RCbDJAQ_AUIESgB&biw=1024&bih=661

We didnt get to see it, but we drove the route on our way back to Willenstad. I would guess several miles long of booths on both sides of the road. It looked like a really well participated in spectacle by both families and companies.

Service was still wonderful though.