Best area(s) around Curacao to stay near restaurants/bars/nightlife?

[wgw04024]

I think the lads and I are going to try Curacao in January. Have been to Bonaire numerous times. We'll most likely do primarily shore diving. Best area to stay? Airbnb is usually our method vs. hotel/resort.

Bill

 

[divesergeant]

Thanks for starting this thread.

Can’t help with an answer, but am eagerly awaiting info from others as we’re going to head t Curacao spring 2019.

 

[wgw04024]

Me too. From reading some other threads, I'm not sure how convenient shore diving is here if we have to use a f'n car.

 

[rhwestfall]

Stay at Lions, and sign up with the Dive Bus (they can even pick you up)!

(did this in April, and doing it again in a few weeks)

 

[wgw04024]

Ok, the dive bus PLUS having a dive truck sounds good!

 

[diversteve]

I'd choose between two areas.

One is around Lions Dive since it's pretty touristy there - not in a bad way. Mambo Beach Club is staggering distance away and they've recently added Mambo Blvd which is more shops/restaurants. Also the beach bar at Lions Dive had a decent crowd one afternoon. Hemingway there advertised a band some nights.
We never got there but Wet and Wild Beach Club is a little farther east afaik.

It's also about 5mins south of downtown. If you like Jazz clubs - there's one at the Avila hotel on the way some nights.

Also when we were there the weekend dance clubs were in Salinja which is a few minutes east near the harbor. I think they move around though.

The other area would be Piscadera Bay although it's quieter. We rented a duplex condo for a few days at Piscadera Bay Resort - older but full amenities.

From there you can walk to Pirates Bay beach club - they'll have music later in the week. There's a little casino at the Hilton across the street and they have a beach bar. fyi there's a nightclub at the Floris Suites also - it's gay.

It's generally a really quiet area at night - there's a rarely used convention center there.

About 5mins south is the Rif Fort/Renaissance Mall complex - there's some restaurants there - I dont know about clubs though. At the Reniassance resort is the largest casino on Curacao - it's the size of one you'd see n Reno.

It's also possible to walk across the Swinging Bridge there to the old downtown.It did not seem very active at night but we were only there two weeknights to eat.

Driving south towards town on the interior road - the one that goes over the bridge - we passed a club that nightly had loud music and a crowded parking lot - I didn't get the name.

You will find much more nightlife there than Bonaire.

Curacao's Nightlife - Bars Dancings

 

[diversteve]

Curacao diving is very much like Bonaire but the difference is the reef starts a little farther out so most entries are off sandy beaches. Most except for Lagun do not have rental properties close enough to walk to shore dive. Even though Lions Dive is a resort - they also have some larger units with full kitchens.

Almost all of the sites do have on-site dive facilities, tank rentals etc. And some sort of food from a snack bar to a full service restaurant at Trunk Bay and a couple other locations.

Drive up to Westpunt one day - 45mins. - and shore dive Playa Kalki off Go West's dock. Go the day they boat dive Watamula and you'll have done two of the better dives.

We also liked the Tugboat which is about as far east as you dive - not for the boat but for the wall around the point. The boat is only 17' deep so makes a good safety stop.

Trunk Bay is a good dive also - head east (sems south) and there's a pontoon boat starting in about 80' - follow it down deeper to the other Carpile Wreck site - it's what they used to get the cars there. They must be in tough shape though - were barely identifiable when we were there about 6 years ago.

You can get pretty deep there, my buddy did a bounce to 145'. We found seahorses by the mooring ball and a group of squid under the dock. Along the beach just east of the diveshop there were turtles munching on the sea grass in 6'. All in one dive.

 

[Nivek Llekots]

If you are reasonably experienced divers you really don't need to pay for guided dives as most dives on Curacao are really easy. Just rent a car/SUV/truck, pick one or two sites for the days diving (depending on how many dives you want to do), if you have your own gear check to see if the sites have an on-site dive shop, if so, get your tanks and weights on-site (it usually costs a little more but then you can use their on-site facilities for free and don't have to lug around tanks), if not pick up them up at a convenient dive shop, and head on out to your dive destination. If you don't have your own gear then you may want to get a gear and tank package at a dive shop for the duration of your stay. If you do need to take a gear rental deal then shop around as the prices can vary quite a lot, and make sure you rent from somewhere that is handy for tank pick-up/drop-off depending on where you are staying.

At most dive sites you walk into the water from a sandy beach, swim out 50 yards or so, drop down onto the reef and then head either left or right for about half a tank (depending on current, usually very little) then turn shallow out and return to your entry point. For a second dive repeat but in the opposite direction, or move to your next site, some sites vary a little in their layout so if you are not sure just ask someone.

With regards to somewhere to stay, if you are looking for a variety of bars/restaurants and some night life then either the Mambo Beach or Jan Thiel areas are probably your best choices, as soon as you get North West of Willemstad things quickly get very quiet. Mambo beach is more hotel/apartment oriented although I do believe there are some Airbnb options in the area, whereas Jan Thiel is more of a mix of hotels/apartments with larger houses available for rent via Airbnb.

I'm not sure which site "diversteve" is referring to below but I think he means "Vaersenbaai" which has a dive op called "Trunk Divers"!

"Trunk Bay is a good dive also - head east (sems south) and there's a pontoon boat starting in about 80' - follow it down deeper to the other Carpile Wreck site - it's what they used to get the cars there. They must be in tough shape though - were barely identifiable when we were there about 6 years ago."

 

[wgw04024]

Right on. Yes, we are experienced, have all our own gear. I'll look on the map and put a location to this thread. Thanks so much!

 

[diversteve]

I'm not sure which site "diversteve" is referring to below but I think he means "Vaersenbaai" which has a dive op called "Trunk Divers"!

I call it Varsenbaai too as that's what it was when we dove there. I noticed someone recently using Trunk Bay so thought it had changed.

You knew what I meant...