Aruba vs Cabarete (March)

[PeconicPuffin]

If you bring your own gear you can sail or SUP out to Bonaire's reef and play in the waves as well. I just got back from a week in Bonaire...didn't hit the reef myself but it was 6-8 feet out there.

[PeconicPuffin]

As a final note on why to skip Aruba for Bonaire (and I speak as someone who has had ten windsurfing vacations on Aruba, and seven on Bonaire, all with my wife) the only advantage Aruba has is there are more flights.

Bonaire has two high-quality rental and instruction centers (located less than 100 yards apart)...Aruba has one.

Bonaire has a much easier launch with steadier winds. The Aruban launches are gust zones, and offshore to boot.

Bonaire offers a vastly larger sailing area with shallow water. If you're bringing a wife or girlfriend or windsurfing newbie, it's probably the easiest and friendliest place to windsurf in the world.

For freestylers, there's not only great conditions, but half the time you'll find yourself sharing the water with 2-4 of the top ten freestylers in the world.

The restaurants are probably better. The beach is more child friendly. The nature tours, spa stuff, bicycling etc is outstanding. And for diving it's spectacular.

There is a windsurfing specialist travel agent named Ann Phelan who can help you dial in your lodgings, gear rentals etc for max savings (google her...either her name or Caribbean Wind and Sun vacations...she posts here on occasion, and sails in Bonaire often).

Aruba used to be the best bet. But now by comparison there's nothing there except gambling (and crowds, overcommercialized crap, too much traffic people crowded beaches etc) that you won't find better in Bonaire. For Caribbean windsurfing, Aruba is the past, Bonaire is where it's at now.

My wife and I returned yesterday. I got two sessions per day in for a week (except for the day we arrived...one sesh then.)