Curacao Car Rental

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Rye22

Registered
Messages
35
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Location
London, Ontario, Canada
# of dives
50 - 99
Hey all,

Heading to Curacao in about 2 weeks and we'll be staying at the Lodge Kura Hulanda. Although we have a transfer from the airport to the hotel, we definitely want to get a rental car for most if not all of the week. I've heard that it is better to get the vehicle at Kura as opposed to the airport.

Can anybody advise on the following?
1. is it cheaper to reserve in advance, or do it when we're there?
2. are the lines generally long at the airport when getting/returning a car?
3. is there an airport fee/tax/surcharge with respect to obtaining/returning vehicles?

Any other experiences you may have would be greatly appreciated. Local knowledge would also be great!

Thanks
 
Louis from Ocean Encounters West/All West Apartments has rentals at the Lodge and All West. Email Louis or Bryan who will tell you how to get in touch with Froukia to arrange the rental (Kia small car or truck). Someone will meet you at the airport or tell you where to find the car. No lines at the rental desk. There are other local rentals but try Louis first. If you are going to rent, it's better to get the vehicle at the airport before you spend $50 or $60 to get to Westpunt.
From the airport, exit right and the first turn off the rotary will take you (a half hour) to Westpunt. I suggest going 1/2 way around the rotary, and take a right at the 2nd light. Centrum supermarket will be on your left. After 8pm there is a New Minimarket in Tera Cora (on the road to Westpunt) that stays open until 10pm. It's not only a "new" mini market, it's actually called "The New Minimarket". It's also next door to the gas station.
Sorry, I just read that you have a transfer. No Problem, the vehicles nest at the Lodge.
 
i usually rent from hertz at the airport and drive to the lodge kura hulanda. make the reservations now and see if a double cabin pu truck is avail. you can drive to the lodge and save $70 as sunshine said. it should be about $55 per day for the truck not including the collision damage waiver insurance charge. usually we agonize over the cdw insurance but we don't normally get it. we will be there in may again and will dine at sunshine's if she lets us in.
 
I'm actually not worried about where I get the vehicle from, as I have transfers from the airport to the lodge... however, we will be the first in from our group of 15-20, and picking up some "supplies" (aka booze and food).

I'm just looking for a good company with relatively good vehicles for a fair price.
 
Whether you rent from Louis at the Lodge or one of the major rental agencies, I'd suggest "gittin 'er dun" soon. The prices should all be comparable but.... sometimes through your credit card or Sam's Club or someplace similar you can get a deal. It is VERY important that you bring a copy of your receipt or they will try to charge you more.
 
We picked up a car at the airport from Budget. Very smooth pick up and drop off. It was nice having a car the whole time for the drive to and from Westpunt, shopping, restaurants. It was reasonalbly inexpensive, filled up with gas once.

Best, Craig
 
We have used both Avis at the airport and All West apartments. Never had a problem with either. I have a Sam's Club membership and never thought abut checking with them-great idea Sunshine! I would definitely arrange your rental ahead of time. I think going through the internet has the advantages of price checking, an opportunity to read the fine print on your own, non- rushed time table and the ability of bringing the receipt with you when checking in. Keep in mind that cars are quite a bit smaller in Curacao. We reserved a six person mini van for four of us to go shore diving. Anything much smaller would be a challenge!
4921512543_f4eb0d1d43_o.jpg
 
It's 30 minutes to LKH. So are you going to shuttle to LKH, get your vehicle, drive 30mins. back to Centrum, then another 30mins. back out to LKH? Seems counterproductive to me...

Do what Sunshine suggested instead:
From the airport, exit right and the first turn off the rotary will take you (a half hour) to Westpunt. I suggest going 1/2 way around the rotary, and take a right at the 2nd light. Centrum supermarket will be on your left.

We booked online from Budget, Avis - can't recall. A U.S. sized Kia SUV was under $500 total w/ins. a couple years ago. We also were the first on-island and picked up supplies at Centrum for the drive out. Unless things have changed recently there's no large market near Westpunt. Centrum sells throwaway styro coolers - on top of the middle aisles - for like a dollar or two if you buy anything perishable. They also bag/load your stuff so have a few $$ for the courtesy clerk.

There was no line at the airport to rent cars - unless you count the 2 people ahead of us. And we were in with another flight simultaneously. The only unusually long line was at the American Airlines counter when we left.

We did a lot of shorediving all over the island. What worked best for us was the SUV for most of us and a truck rental to haul tanks - 10-15 of them take up a lot of room.
 
cowbells, love that vehicle. where did you get and how much. did you get the cdw... need it!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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