Curacao or Grand Cayman

[kristen8416]

I was planning a trip to Grand Cayman for the end of April. Just went to book it and found out Marriott has a $45 per day resort fee which seems crazy for how many points it takes to stay there.

So, now I'm debating if I stick with GC or try out Curacao. There is a Marriott there as well. (I have points). I could also stay one more day in Curacao for the same amount of points.

My questions are, which is better diving? I kind of think I know the answer to that. How hard is it to get there from Aruba? I have Delta points and could fly to Aruba for free. I've never shore dived before. Is it pretty easy?

Any thoughts and recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[dfx]

Shore diving in Curacao is very easy, but I'd still suggest taking one or two guided shore dives at the beginning, just to see what the usual procedure is. A rental vehicle is required of course if you wanna do it on your own.

There's also options for boat diving, or you can just do guided dives or semi-guided dives (with the Dive Bus for example), then you don't need your own vehicle.

The diving in Curacao is quite pretty, but it's mostly about smaller stuff, whereas GC has more larger marine life.

There's a few local airlines flying between the ABC islands. While they can certainly get you from A to C and back, their service is usually on the crappier side of things. Prepare for delayed flights. There's a reason why Insel Air is known as Insult Air locally.

 

[kristen8416]

I just get more and more confused every day. I'd really like to see the larger palegics and don't want to deal with problems with the airlines. I'm ready to throw in the towel and go back to the Keys :depressed:

 

[BUDMANOK]

I love Curacao but it's almost a full day of travel for us whereas it's about half the time to get to GC. The walls on GC are the reason to go there IMO and if you can dive north it's very good.

I would return to Curacao in a heartbeat but my wife is now in love with Cayman Brac so it will probably never happen. my suggestion would be to save your points for Curacao and make trip to LC or CB you won't be disappointed.

We stayed at the Marriott at the Rif Fort while on Curacao and enjoyed it very much.

 

[cdemith]

GC diving was very good. We stayed at East End, which offers somewhat different diving than on the west (Marriot side). The walls were beautiful. We lucked out and saw a hammerhead in the distance one day. Other than that, it was all wall with a few reef sharks. The fish life was good, but far from great. The only way they got the sharks in was by offering speared lionfish.

Ive never been to Curacao, but am heading there in March. I am looking forward to the sea life, yes, the small stuff.

Id use the points for Curacao. Save up for the big Cayman trip. With even a burger and a beer for lunch running $30, youll need the money. There is no such thing as doing Cayman on the cheap.

 

[drrich2]

Since cost is usually cited as an issue in Grand Cayman trips, I'm curious about something you G.C. veterans may know.

One way to get a very fixed cost tip is to do the Cayman Aggressor. That would entail hopefully getting over to Little Cayman and maybe Cayman Brac for what's often claimed to be better diving, too.

Another way to get a 'pretty fixed' cost trip is to go A.I. at Cobalt Coast, in which case I suppose a car rental to get around might be the main added expense.

This would at least give someone a ball park figure as to what a week diving Grand Cayman, or 'G.C. +,' might cost.

Do people save much by staying elsewhere, not doing A.I., etc…? Or is, say, a week at Cobalt Coast pretty much what you're going to pay?

Richard.

 

[BUDMANOK]

Everyone says GC is so much more expensive and it can be if you let it but there are cheaper options that can save you money while staying there.

We avoid staying on SMB like the plague and stay in West Bay for $149 a night which includes breakfast for two. We eat out at places like Sunshine Grill , Triple Crown pub, Al Fresco, the bar at Turtle Beach (can't remember the name), Good Eats, the little Mexican restaurant by the airport, Chicken Chicken, Laurens and avoid the higher priced places that cater specifically to tourists. We have never had a bad meal at any of those places. I drink beer and my wife has the occasional mudslide but we limit the alcohol which really helps.
We go to Rum Point which is free as opposed to some of the other beaches that charge for chairs and umbrellas. If you shore dive that is an additional savings.

With the costs of the flights factored in we usually spend about 10% more going to GC vs. Curacao.

 

[kristen8416]

I'm not as worried about GC being more expensive in general. Since I don't have to pay for a flight or hotel, that really opens up money to spend while I'm there.

My issue was that GC takes a lot of points, more than Hawaii would and you still have to pay the resort fee. I may just have to suck it up and pay it. It's still cheaper than paying for a hotel somewhere else. I would love to try Curacao but it sounds like a real hassle to get there.

The challenge I always have when looking at my next destination is that I'm limited. I try to fly Delta and stay Marriott. I realize there are much cooler places to stay but free is free, especially since diving is not cheap and I'm going specifically to dive. I think when I've exhausted my options that fit that criteria I will start to go to places that have one or the other. I justify spending most of my time away from home by saying it pays for my vacations. At this point I'd rather take a mini vacation (5-6 days) every few months than save up for a "big" trip. I'm land locked, so nowhere to dive from here.

 

[Doctorfish]

If the original OP question is which island has better diving, then it depends on what you are looking for.
GC has big walls, excellent visibility and a chance to see occasional pelagics. Curacao has very healthy reef and macro life. Curacao arguably has more charm than GC.

You certainly can do GC on a budget as Budmanik stated. Just stay away from Georgetown and Seven Mile Beach.
There is good less expensive condo accommodation on the west side near West Bay, and many less expensive but still good restaurant choices all over the island.

If we are careful, can do GC accommodation, meals, car, AM boat diving and PM shore diving for about $1600-1800 pp per week, 3-4 people sharing a 2 bedroom condo.
Probably the least expensive good diving option for the Cayman Islands overall is Brac Beach Reef resort, or Little Cayman Beach Resort off season. Cobalt Coast is OK, but a week there does not compare to Brac or LC.


Curacao can be done for a little less but then again, it takes longer to get to and the flights are more expensive than GC.