myiW Current Conditions and Forecasts Community Forums Buy and Sell Services
 
Hi guest · myAccount · Log in
 SearchSearch   ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   RegisterRegister 
Aruba vs Cabarete (March)
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Windsurfing Discussion
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
PeconicPuffin



Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 1830

PostPosted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 3:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.


damel wrote:


Bonaire is also a good choice if you like flat water Caberete has a little bit of everything and you can always SUP out to the reefs and find something to have fun with.

_________________
Michael
http://www.peconicpuffin.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
PeconicPuffin



Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 1830

PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.)

_________________
Michael
http://www.peconicpuffin.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
ascott72



Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 124

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have been to Aruba and Bonaire. Have not been to Cabarette yet.

Aruba - is flat-water sailing. The island is very developed with large resorts, restaurants, shopping, casinos, air conditioning. As others have mentioned, it may feel like you haven't left the US - which can be good or bad depending on your sense of adventure and how pampered you want to be. Also just read on the Vela website that the new Ritz Carlton may affect the wind slightly at Fisherman's Huts, the main windsurfing beach. There will still be wind but you may have to walk out further to get it. (I am curious abut this myself. Will start a separate thread.)

Bonaire - Also flat water sailing with some bump and jump in the deeper part of the bay. Water in the main section is very shallow making it a great place to learn and try new tricks. (Why do you think they are so good at freestyle?) There are 2-3 shops that rent right on the beach and I mean right on the beach. Also, some simple restaurants and bars where you can get food and drink. It's a very convenient set-up. Also nice for the non-windsurfers if they just want to lounge around. Bonaire is nowhere near as developed as Aruba. It is a poorer and simpler island. It does not have the huge resorts or fancy shopping and fancy restaurants that Aruba has. VERY different feel.

Aruba and Bonaire are very close geographically and I assume have roughly the same water and air temps and get the same trade winds.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
U2U2U2



Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 5467
Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

since these are the ABC Islands
just go to

Curaçao

crikey I wish I had this to fuss over

_________________
K4 fins
4Boards....May the fours be with you

http://www.k4fins.com/fins.html
http://4boards.co.uk/
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Ugly_Bird



Joined: 04 Nov 2008
Posts: 335

PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:55 am    Post subject: Re: Aruba vs Cabarete (March) Reply with quote

berrazuriz wrote:
Hello all

I am planing a one-week trip on the beginning of March to either Aruba or Cabarete. Does anybody know which place is more windy during that time of the year?

Also, I am going with my wife to the trip. Which of the two places is more spouse-friendly? In particular, which has a beach that is less exposed to the wind?

Thanks in advance.


Being to each two times in April I would vote for Cabarete.

Andrei.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bhgant



Joined: 02 Jan 2014
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually just got back from Aruba this past weekend. Spent 6 days there and it was incredible. It was blowing all week 22-28 mph! Had a blast! While the Ritz has caused a wind shadow for Vela (next to Marriot), I rented all my gear down at the fisherman huts from Aruba Active Vacations. No wind shadow there! Great group of guys. Actually both places now are owned by the same guy Geert who has a small bike/windsurf/kite shop about a mile away. I would say the only drawback down there were the number of kiters. At one point in the afternoon, I was sharing the water with 12 others kitesurfing. It got a little nuts but everyone stayed clear of each other and we all had fun.

Aruba is definitely more developed than places like Bonaire. But with a wife and 2 kids, they would be bored silly spending a week in Bonaire. Well, the kids would be. Aruba has a lot of other things to do, and lots to see which I think is why it has grown so much in the past several years. Definitely worth considering.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
beaglebuddy



Joined: 10 Feb 2012
Posts: 1120

PostPosted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 5:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was reading someone's account of a trip to Cabarete, used cash for everything, used the credit card one time and within 20 minutes someone had charged $4K against it Shocked
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jamieinnyc



Joined: 26 Apr 2010
Posts: 108

PostPosted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 5:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BBuddy- Was me who had the CC problem in Cabarete. My bank refunded everything, but had card cancelled while I was there, had to go through the hassle, not fun. And it was $5K, not 4.

And... I have just returned from a week on Bonaire. If you are an experienced windsurfer and just want to go for the windsurfing, Cabarete gets my vote for waves and for more wind. But as a travel experience I vote for Bonaire, because there is lots to do there - diving and snorkeling is first rate, great hiking and mountain biking, great food, etc.. And I like the culture of the island - no guys with guns guarding the banks and hotel entrances as in Cabarete.

Puffin- I eyed the reef break outside Lac Bay, but didn't look very accessible to me, though if 6-8ft. is not scary. Maybe next time. Where do you stay?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
PeconicPuffin



Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 1830

PostPosted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 6:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jamieinnyc wrote:


Puffin- I eyed the reef break outside Lac Bay, but didn't look very accessible to me, though if 6-8ft. is not scary. Maybe next time. Where do you stay?


Lately we stay at Sorobon (sp?) right on Lac Bay...100 steps to windsurfing! Previously we stayed at places on Klein Bonaire (the best diving bay) like Bellafonte. You can scuba and snorkel amazing water right out the back door. With a rental car the windsurfing bay is less than ten minutes away.

_________________
Michael
http://www.peconicpuffin.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 12:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Got 16 days of sailing in March here (Cabarete). Most of them on 77l and a mix of 4.7 & 5.4.
Waves can be large in March here. So you can score insane rides or pout out when it's double mast high.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Windsurfing Discussion All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Page 2 of 3

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum

myiW | Weather | Community | Membership | Support | Log in
like us on facebook
© Copyright 1999-2007 WeatherFlow, Inc Contact Us Ad Marketplace

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group