The Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao: Alive! (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao Alive Guide) (Paperback)

~ Susan Brushaber (Author), Arnold Greenberg (Author) "If the thought of Aruba conjures up images of the palm-lined, sandy white beaches featured in Caribbean travel brochures, glitzy casinos and great shopping, you're..." (more)
Key Phrases: sunset happy hour, largest wreck, keshi yena, Netherlands Antilles, Palm Beach, Captain Don (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A treasure trove of facts. From critically acclaimed accommodations to itineraries, packed with take-along information essential to a visit." -- The Bookwatch

"Packed with in-depth information." -- Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer

"Written in a highly readable style, this guide seems to have omitted nothing." -- Pittsburgh Post

Product Description

A thorough revision of this comprehensive guide to the popular ABC islands, located just off the Venezuelan coast. Discover the quiet life of Bonaire, gamble away at Aruba's casino, hit the high-style designer clothing stores in Curaçao, and relax on the glorious white beaches of all three! Here is the ultimate guide to discovering the high life and cool spots of the ABCs, written by authors who have sacrificed their vacations to research this book (poor things!). This Alive Guide focuses on shopping (snatch up some duty-free bargains), hotels and restaurants (colorful local cuisine and fine dining alike), with special attention paid to the cream of the crop. Sightseeing, historical walking tours, wildlife discovery, and watersports are also covered. The activity-oriented Sunup to Sundown sections will fill your day with beaches, deep-sea fishing charters, diving excursions, moped rides and more, while After Dark tells you of the best happy hours, the liveliest clubs and the bars where things really hop! Handy A-Z sections for each island provide all the practical details – airline offices, banking hours and locations, emergency telephone numbers, shopping hours, tourist information booths. Easy-to-read maps and a detailed index complete the picture.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Hunter Publishing (NJ); 2 edition (December 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588432599
• ISBN-13: 978-1588432599
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #406,693 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good coverage of each island, July 27, 1998

By	[e-mail] (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao Alive Guide (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao Alive, 1996) (Paperback)

I am planning a trip to Bonaire and picked up this book. After visiting all of the local book stores and not finding any books specifically about Bonaire, I thought I better check Amazon. I was concerned that this book might focus on the more populated islands only. However I was pleased to find that it dedicates about 1/3 of the book to each island. While it has the usual reviews on hotels & restaurants, it also has some interesting coverage of local history and driving tours. I was also pleased to find some coverage of scuba diving sites including maps locating the dive sites and skill ratings for each.

If you need info on the ABC's, I suggest you get this book.

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Are You Serious?, December 19, 2002

By A Customer

I would bet a thousand chip at the casino that all of these perfect reviews were written by people who are affiliated with the guide and who stand to profit from it. Tell me I'm wrong. Look at the language in these reviews, it screams plant.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful and well organized guide., April 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao Alive Guide (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao Alive, 1996) (Paperback)

Highly recommended! Handy size paperback, with practical information that doesn't insult your intelligence. Especially helpful in describing transportation options. The authors have written the book from the perspective of the traveler: needs and interests. Each island's history, people, government and culture are described in succinct, useful terms. Very insightful in how to make the most of your time. I found the descriptions of things to do especially helpful and the hotel and retaurant reviews and price ranges were accurate, for a refreshing change. Far better than the "advice" you get from the usual travel agent who only knows what the brochure writers said. If you're going to take along one guidebook to the ABC islands, this is it.