They say “everything happens for a reason” and I’m starting to believe it. Had we managed to visit New York in 2022, the trip would have been very different than what we did this year. We also wouldn’t have visited the wonderful islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, commonly referred to as the ABC islands. It’s true that they’ve never been on my radar, but when we found out we couldn’t go to New York last year, I’ve looked into where the weather is good enough to visit. So instead of feeling sorry we couldn’t go on the trip we initially planned, we rerouted our tickets for a small price difference (shoutout to KLM for allowing this).

It’s also true that a lot of people didn’t even know where the islands are located, when I was telling them where I was going on holiday, they told me they had to look for them on a map. The ABC islands are located in the Caribbean, relatively close to the coast of Venezuela, and more importantly, outside of the hurricane belt. Which made them perfect to visit in June. Hope you’ll enjoy my collection of photos from this part of the world, and maybe they will make you want to visit yourself.

Aruba

Aruba is without a doubt the most developed and well known island of the three ABC islands. I would say it’s definitely the most commercial and the most expensive one (by far). But that isn’t to say I didn’t like it. Eagle Beach, with its super soft sand and crystal turquoise water, was the perfect start of our trip. The beach stretches for around 2 km and our part of the beach was quite empty. We ate delicious food, found a lovely cafe close to our accommodation and I got to practice my Spanish for the first time. We also saw many starfish close to the shore, the only place we’ve seen them the whole trip.

Bonaire

Bonaire was the last island we’ve visited, because geographically they’re more like the ACB islands (yes, it bothered me too). I didn’t have any expectations and I was surprised to find an island with unspoiled beauty, raw beaches with clear water, full of colourful fish and lovely turtles. At one of the beaches I was lucky to swim alongside a turtle, it was a wonderful experience. Everywhere we went, the locals were friendly and helpful, always greeting us with a smile. Not to mention that this was the first (and only place) I’ve seen hundreds of flamingos in the wild.

Curaçao

A very short (and expensive) flight from Aruba lies my favorite of the three islands, Curacao. Our accommodation was a small villa with an incredible view over the sea, and minutes away from it there was a beach where turtles would gather because the fishermen were feeding them, I could have spent hours watching them and taking photos. My favorite beach however was one that may not have looked as anything special on the surface, but once you had looked under the water there was an incredible spectacle with many types of fish swimming around. I had spent so much time underwater snorkeling, that I didn’t realized my back had turned a lovely shade of red. 😂

Have you ever been to the ABC islands? Would you like to visit or find out more about them? Let me know in the comments. Writing this post made me miss them like crazy, they truly are a wonderful part of this world. 😍