[trip style = beach + sun}
The ABCs: the first three letters in the alphabet, as well as a collection of the Caribbean's southernmost islands lucky enough to grow up in the right part of town, outside the hurricane belt. Formerly known as the Netherland Antilles, Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire are tight, sitting less than 46 miles apart at the longest distance and only 15 miles above the Northern tip of Venezuela, in South America.
As a quick intro, Aruba is the largest and most populated island with a hefty handful of hotels and resorts dotting the sandy shoreline. Curacao is where city and country life mingle and visitors can spend part of their time suiting up like a seal and diving right off the beach or just off-shore on the island's outer reaches, or eating well and exploring the shops in the Dutch colonial town of Willemstad. Bonaire is the smallest of the three islands primarily known for its diving and low-key accommodations.
Over the coming weeks I'm going to profile each of the ABC islands through destination Spotlight and Roam+Board features, but for now I wanted to give an overview since the ABCs seem to lose some much-deserved Caribbean clout in the shadow of the Bahamas, Jamaica and Dominican Republic!
{Trip Styler Tips :: you can drink the water on every island and USD are accepted everywhere, especially on Bonaire where it's now the official currency.}
Getting There & Inter-Island Major carriers like American Airlines, KLM and Air Canada {seasonal service} fly to Aruba, Curacao or Bonaire. Getting between the islands you might assume you can take a ferry, but you can only fly. Carriers like Insel Air and Dutch Antilles Express do the short island hops. Despite the less than 30-minute flights you'll still have to be at the airport up to 2 hours in advance!
[photos via trip advisor, sorobon & trip styler]