The Netherlands Antilles will be dissolved as a unified political entity on October 10, 2010 Curacao and Sint Maarten will become autonomous states within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius BES Islands will become special municipalities bijzondere gemeenten of the Netherlands, with a local mayor and municipal council
Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curaçao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863 Its prosperity was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields The island of Sint Maarten is shared with France; its northern portion is named "Saint-Martin" and is part of Guadeloupe
Tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Five islands in two groups Generally hilly, volcanic interiors
The different islands of the Netherlands Antilles vary enormously and so do the accommodations On Bonaire it is forbidden to build higher than three floors up, resulting in many smaller accommodations scattered along the islands coast On the largest island Curaçao, you will find basically any kind of accommodation, from large hotel chains to small privately owned properties that you can rent per week or even per day Some good places to stay include:
