Kralendijk was founded in 1639 to protect the main harbor of Bonaire and was then named Fort Orange. The city was renamed in about 1840 (the name of the city in Dutch means "Coral Dam"). Although the population of the town does not exceed 1500 people, many tourists come here to not only swim in the waves of the Caribbean Sea, but also to plunge into the measured, relaxing flow of life of the "old Holland."

Contents

  • 1 How to get to Kralendijk
    • 1.1 Search air tickets in Kralendijk
  • 2 Transport
  • 3 Climate
  • 4 Kralendijk hotels
  • 5 Restaurants
  • 6 Entertainment, excursions and attractions of Kralendijka
  • 7 Events
    • 7.1 We also recommend

How to get to Kralendijk

By plane: in addition to KLM flights from Amsterdam to Quito, stopping at the Flamingo International Airport, American Eagle from San Juan, Continental Airlines from Newark and Houston, Delta Airlines from Atlanta are arriving in Kralendijk. You can fly to Kralendijk from the neighboring islands by KLM and Arkefly flights.

On the ship: sometimes cruise liners visit Kralendijk (and then all the shops and restaurants work late). Kralendijk can be reached from neighboring islands by water taxi company Seacow Watertaxi.

Search air tickets in Kralendijk

Transport

By car, you can drive around the whole island in a couple of hours. You can rent a car at the airport in Kralendijka. The bus service of the city and its surroundings is represented by an unofficial network of carriers on jeeps and minivans. Also there are several tourist buses.

Taxi (which mainly serve cruise ships) every year becomes more and more. There are taxi stands both in the city and at the airport. Motor scooters, motorcycles, bicycles and scooters can be hired in the city. Regular passenger boats sail to Bonaire Klein from the pier in the city center.

There are no traffic lights in the city and its outskirts, and the speed of traffic is limited to 40 km per hour, as the road with motorists is divided by domestic animals - sheep and goats.

Climate

Kralendijk weather forecast for 10 days

Kralendijk hotels

Arriving on holiday in Kralendijk, you can stay in a large modern hotel or a small private hotel. Diving schools along the entire coastline usually also provide housing at very affordable prices.

The Plaza Resort Bonaire, located 2 km south of Kralendijk, offers its guests a private beach, a pier, a swimming pool, boat rental, a spa and an excursion program at prices starting at $ 190 per room. In a small cozy hotel Den Laman Condominiums, which is located 3 km north of the city, the price for the room starts from $ 130.

The three-star Sorobon Beach Resort is a string of pretty chalets by the sea. Each house has its own kitchen and all amenities. In the upscale Harbor Village Beach Club, located next to the private beach, own yachts and a restaurant of French cuisine, the price of rooms starts at $ 400. Happy Holiday Homes offers its guests accommodation in a bungalow and family hotel at prices starting from $ 130.

Restaurants

In the city and surrounding area there are many establishments of Dutch, Colombian, Chinese, Italian, Indonesian and French cuisine. Local culinary traditions are stewed meat, fresh fish, lobsters, rice dishes and funchi (a traditional dish of corn).

The traditional local dish is meat iguanas, although you are unlikely to find it in restaurants.

Map of Kralendijk

Entertainment, excursions and attractions of Kralendijka

Museo Boneriano, which presents various artifacts from the past of Bonaire. The traditional colonial mansion houses exhibitions on the history of Indian tribes inhabiting the island, the architecture, geology and history of the island.

Fort Orange, built in 1639, and never participated in the sea battles. The fort is guarded by English guns of the early 19th century. Next to the fort is a stone lighthouse, which replaced its wooden predecessor in 1932.

The main shopping street (Kaya Grandi), which combines many architectural styles of the 19th century. The first floors served as shops, and local entrepreneurs lived at the top. Interesting and the former monastery of St. Francis of Assisi, founded in 1856. Currently, the Dutch sisters have returned to their homeland, and the Bonair sisters - to their home.

Other attractions:

  • Protestant church, built in 1847 for the Dutch community in Bonaire, and the church of St. Bernard built in 1829.
  • Parks named after the Dutch queens of Wilhelmina and Juliana.
  • Monuments to the first director of the Dutch East India Company, Eleanore Roosevelt (who visited the island during the Second World War), the national hero of Betico Croes, Simon Blivar (who visited Bonaire in 1817).
  • The fish market, which once a week sails a boat in vegetables and fruits from Venezuela, and the rest of the day trades local fishermen.
  • The uninhabited island of Klein Bonaire, which is located 1, 5 km from the harbor of Kralendijk. Here you can not only engage in diving, but also arrange an unforgettable picnic in nature. Seabirds nest on the island and lay eggs of the turtle.
Carnival in Kralendijk

Events

The New Year is celebrated with a traditional masquerade, which attracts residents from all over the island. You'll see lovely miniatures, listen to local nuggets playing Hawaiian guitars and drums.

In the days dedicated to the holidays of the Catholic saints San Juan, San Pedro and San Pablo to give special weight to their prayers, the inhabitants of the city light many lights and jump through the bonfires. March-April is the traditional Simadan harvest festival.

At the end of February in Kralendijk there is a carnival with songs, folk dances and a parade through the city. Pictures of Kralendijka (1)