4-Day Itinerary for Exploring the ABC Islands

The “Netherlands Antilles” hasn’t existed as a political entity since it dissolved in 2010. What travelers actually visit today are three separate constituent countries and islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly grouped as the ABC islands: Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. They share Dutch colonial roots and the Papiamento language, but each runs its own government, and increasingly its own currency, so planning them as one seamless trip needs a few adjustments most guides gloss over.

Day 1: Curacao

Places to Go

1. Willemstad, the capital, where the pastel merchant houses of Punda and Otrobanda form a UNESCO World Heritage historic district split by St. Anna Bay. Walk across the pontoon Queen Emma Bridge, which swings open for passing ships.
2. Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, one of the oldest continuously used synagogues in the Americas, with a sand floor that recalls the Sephardic Jews who fled the Inquisition.
3. Kura Hulanda Museum in Otrobanda, built into a restored merchant compound, which confronts the transatlantic slave trade directly rather than glossing over Curacao’s role in it.

Activities

1. Snorkel or dive off Blue Bay or Playa Lagun. Curacao’s reefs sit close to shore and stay healthier than much of the Caribbean because the island lies outside the hurricane belt.
2. Visit Christoffel National Park for a look at the island’s dry, cactus-studded interior and, if you’re lucky, the endemic Curacao white-tailed deer.
3. Skip the sea aquarium if your schedule is tight; the wild snorkeling nearby delivers more for less money.

Things to Know

• Currency: this is the biggest factual trap in older guides. Curacao and Sint Maarten retired the Netherlands Antillean guilder in 2025, replacing it with the Caribbean guilder, coded XCG, at a flat 1:1 rate. Old guilder cash is still exchangeable at banks for a long transition window, but new prices are quoted in XCG. USD is still accepted everywhere, so most travelers never touch local currency at all.
• Language: Dutch and Papiamento are official; English is spoken fluently in tourism.
• Electricity: 127V/50Hz on a mix of American and European sockets, so pack a two-pin adapter.
• Safety: Willemstad is generally safe, but Otrobanda after dark and unlit stretches near Riffort warrant normal city caution.

Visa Requirements

Citizens of the US, Canada, the UK, and Schengen countries do not need a visa for short tourist stays. Check current entry rules directly with the Curacao government’s official tourism and immigration pages before booking, since requirements shift with little notice.

Transportation

A taxi from Hato International Airport into Willemstad runs on a fixed government zone rate, roughly 63 to 72 XCG, or about 35 to 45 USD, not a metered fare, so confirm the zone price with the driver before you get in. Renting a car is worthwhile if you plan to reach Christoffel or the west-coast beaches independently.

Day 2: Curacao, Continued

Places to Go

1. Knip Beach, on the quieter west coast, with turquoise water that gets far less crowded than the beaches near Willemstad.
2. Shete Boka National Park, where Atlantic swells crash into limestone caves and blowholes; go in the morning when the light is best for photos of the surf.
3. Hato Caves, a limestone cave system with stalactites, fruit bats, and ancient petroglyphs from the island’s earliest Arawak inhabitants.

Activities

1. Tour the Chobolobo estate, home of the original Blue Curacao liqueur, distilled from the dried peel of the laraha citrus, a fruit that only grows properly on this island’s soil.
2. Book a boat trip to Klein Curacao, an uninhabited sandbar island with a working lighthouse and some of the clearest water in the region; full-day trips typically include lunch and snorkeling stops.
3. Wander Pietermaai after dark. The restored townhouses now hold small bars and boutique hotels, and it has become the most interesting nightlife strip in the city, ahead of the more commercial Mambo Beach area.

Day 3: Bonaire

Getting here matters more than older itineraries let on. There is no car ferry between the islands and no passenger ferry from Aruba to Bonaire either; the only regular passenger ferry link in the ABC group runs between Willemstad and Kralendijk, taking about 25 minutes. Otherwise you fly, and even a 20 to 40 minute inter-island hop requires full immigration and security formalities on both ends, so arrive at least 90 minutes early.

Places to Go

1. Kralendijk, Bonaire’s low-key capital, with waterfront restaurants facing the tiny offshore islet of Klein Bonaire.
2. Washington Slagbaai National Park, a former plantation now protected as a rugged reserve of cactus scrub, salt flats, and volcanic hills.
3. Bonaire National Marine Park, which effectively wraps the entire coastline. Nearly all shore diving on the island counts as marine park access, and divers pay a mandatory nature fee that funds reef conservation.

Activities

1. Rent a truck rather than a regular car if you plan to reach the north of Washington Slagbaai; the interior roads are rough coral rubble.
2. Take a boat trip to see the pink flamingos at the Pekelmeer sanctuary; this is one of only four wild flamingo breeding grounds in the entire Caribbean.
3. Visit the Donkey Sanctuary on the road toward Rincon, home to several hundred rescued donkeys descended from Spanish colonial stock.

Things to Know

• Currency: Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands, not part of the Curacao/Sint Maarten monetary union, and it uses the US dollar as its official currency, a legacy of a 2010 currency switch when the island came under direct Dutch administration.
• Language: Dutch and Papiamento, with English widely understood in tourism areas.
• Electricity: 127V/50Hz, same plug types as Curacao.

Visa Requirements

Same entry rules apply as for Curacao, since both fall under Dutch Caribbean immigration policy, but confirm current rules for your nationality before departure.

Transportation

Renting a car or truck is the standard way to see the island; taxis exist but are pricier and less frequent than on Curacao.

Day 4: Aruba

Places to Go

1. Oranjestad, Aruba’s capital, with Dutch colonial facades painted in brighter, more saturated colors than you’ll see in Willemstad.
2. Arikok National Park, covering nearly a fifth of the island’s total land area, with desert terrain, sea caves, and the wild donkey population that roams the eastern coast.
3. Palm Beach, the island’s most developed strip, backed by resort towers; go early if you want it without the crowds.

Activities

1. Dive or snorkel the Antilla wreck, a scuttled German freighter from 1940 that is now one of the most accessible large shipwrecks in the Caribbean for recreational divers.
2. Watch sunset from the California Lighthouse at the island’s northern tip.
3. Book a Jeep or UTV tour into Arikok’s interior; the terrain is too rough for a standard rental car.
4. Eat dinner near the Fisherman’s Huts area, where the beach bars stay lively well past sunset and fresh-caught mahi-mahi is the thing to order.

Things to Know

• Currency: the Aruban florin, AWG, pegged to the US dollar. Aruba is not part of the Curacao/Sint Maarten monetary reform and kept its own currency through the 2025 changes elsewhere in the kingdom.
• Language: Dutch, Papiamento, and English, with Spanish also common given the proximity to Venezuela.
• Electricity: 127V/50Hz, matching the other two islands.

Visa Requirements

Same as Curacao and Bonaire for most nationalities, but Aruba runs its own immigration checks separately since flights between the three islands are international, not domestic, journeys.

One planning note worth internalizing before you book: because there is no direct ferry network linking all three islands, and inter-island flights require full immigration both ways, treat this as three short international trips stitched together rather than one continuous itinerary. Build in the 90-minute airport buffer each time, and you’ll actually enjoy the destinations instead of sprinting between gates.