How much was food at Habitat? My wife and I are considering going there this fall. I doubt we'll rent a car. Does the shuttle really drop off at 2:00 and pick up at 2:30? This hardly seems worth it. What would cab fare be to if we were to use that instead.
Habitat prices were not horrible... maybe $10-20 or so depending on what tickles your fancy. However the food is not all that great honestly. Definitely avoid the "bitter ballen", which was supposed to be some kind of Dutch meatball, but it was anything but that. We had the breakfast buffet included in our package; it's ok, pretty much the standard stuff.... eggs, pancakes, sausage, bagels and such. Unless you're really into getting up early before your dive and making something in your room (ours just had a micro & fridge, but some have stoves I beleive) then the buffet is probably worth it.
As has been said before, I really would advise getting a car to hit some of the other places (as well as some other shore dive sites). After a couple of taxi rides you would have paid for the rental anyway. We got ours from budget, and while you may have read things about them, ours worked out fine. Yes they have a stupid alarm system, but big deal. It was just under $200 for the week though them, however, you might want to check out Alamo and use the walmart ID (430710) as it usually gives a pretty decent rate from what I've seen. Budget (may the other guys too) have a good map of the island for $3 as well. Of course if your co-pilot can't read the map or just plain refuses to use it (freakin Bumblebee
, mumble mumble mumble), it's not going to do you much good.
They're a little crazy down there, but it's not that bad driving around. They like to tail gate, just waiting for the chance to pass you, so don't freak out when they come up fast on your butt.
And watch out for the goats as well.
Decent restraunts to hit: Of course Sunshines place (but everyone knows that by now). Daniels, which is right up to the main road from Habitat. Forgot the name, but there is a place right accross on the pedestrian bridge (in the city) where they have tables sitting along the waterfront.... we only had a drink there, but the rest of the menu seemed decent. You're on vacation... explore around and let us know if you find anything else good.
As has also been mentioned before, you'll need a car to hit OEW and do Watamula (and the shore dive there as well). They charged around $50/pp for a boat dive, but it really is a nice dive. Habitat has a deal with them, so you can use one of their tanks for the shore dive.
Hope that helps.
