Caribbean Criteria

[Damselfish]

And Dreams Curacao is an old Hilton that long had a general rep for being crappy (we never stayed but ate there once and wandered around, and wasn't impressed but that was long ago. Not sure how much they changed before it reopened as Dreams. I'm thinking Zoetry is probably pretty nice.

 

[PaulVS]

I believe Zoetry and Dreams are also owned by the same company, Zoetry is definitely more upscale.

 

[PaulVS]

"The artist's renderings of the property and the rooms on the website are not an accurate representation of what you see in person."

Some of the most dishonest advertising you'll ever see is AI brochures. I've known several people who went to resorts based on a brochure or internet photos and were deeply disappointed. The stories are sometimes hilarious if you aren't the one that paid for the trip. ;-)

 

[scubadada]

I believe Zoetry and Dreams are also owned by the same company, Zoetry is definitely more upscale.

You have a very interesting dive life and miss out on many good dive sites, in the Carribbean and outside. I get the strong feeling that diving is not a major interest. I also get the feeling that getting to know the more general feeling for where you are diving is not a priority. Best of luck with your wife' s fitness career. Many would be jealous of your discount.

 

[PaulVS]

Funny stuff. But I do get sad sometimes when I think about not being able to see that Kraken that lives in a bay on of a 10 acre nameless Island 300 miles off the coast of Shangri-La.

(And nice job editing your original post.)

 

[Rob9876]

You have a very interesting dive life and miss out on many good dive sites, in the Carribbean and outside. I get the strong feeling that diving is not a major interest. I also get the feeling that getting to know the more general feeling for where you are diving is not a priority.

Why say that? He's actively looking for new places to try, and he's already explained that he's focused on AI because his wife gets discount/free travel to AIs as an exercise instructor. Sounds pretty good to me!

 

[PaulVS]

So we're pretty locked in on Zoetry resort in Curacao, which is pretty centrally located on the southwest side of the island.

Nearest shore diving that looks decent is "Kokomo Beach".... About 4 miles away. I will have to check into what kind of boat diving we can get directly from the resort. We'll check into Ocean Encounters and Dive bus. We also found this list:

Curaçao: The Caribbean Getaway That Sets You Free

Here in Curaçao, you're free to explore every inch of our Caribbean paradise. Start planning your trip today, and Feel It For Yourself.

www.curacao.com

Everyone's been very helpful on this, so thank you! Any other diving information specific to Curacao is also appreciated!

Some of the locations like Grenada, Barbados, T&C, and St. Lucia are doable but may require a larger fitness class workload.... so those are in the "maybe" category. Cost of airfare from Chicago and duration of flights also figures into the equation.

 

[BoltSnap]

Zoetry resort in Curacao

No diving right at the resort?

 

[PaulVS]

Not sure about diving right at the resort. Would be great if there was shore diving right there.... still have a lot of investigating to do. It does look like sister-property Dreams next-door has Dive Bus onsite (?)

 

[Rob9876]

Not sure about diving right at the resort. Would be great if there was shore diving right there.... still have a lot of investigating to do. It does look like sister-property Dreams next-door has Dive Bus onsite (?)

For our short trip to Curacao we stayed at the Marriott Beach Resort near Zoetry and dove with Caribbean Sea Sports, which is on-site at Dreams. They would pick us up and drop us off, which was good because we did not rent a car.

Be aware that taxis from that area to almost anywhere else we went were $20 or more for most rides -- even 5 minute rides it seemed. And since there were really no restaurants or attractions near (other than the resorts), if I stayed in that area again I would seriously consider renting a car.

I was happy with Caribbean Sea Sports -- they were really good about responding to email questions, and good to dive with. Whether they do boat dives or shore dives seems to depend on the weather and other factors.

First day was guided shore dives at Snake Bay and Kokomo, and it was just me and the DM. Personally I could have used thicker soles on my booties for the entries and exits there, but my feet are a bit wimpy. Second day was boat dives at Blue Bay Buoy and Playa Largu. My non-diving wife and I also did a "snorkel with turtles" tour with them that I'd recommend.