Pittsburgh_Mom
Contributor
Hello, everyone! This is a long, probably overly wordy post seeking some travel guidance from a new diver/newish mom who's feeling overwhelmed with travel planning, so please be patient with me!
I am getting my certification finally; I have dove before with an instructor with me, so I know I can get down and love it, and have done SNUBA (not the same, I know, but again, no problems) and anticipate continuing to enjoy diving. My husband, on the other hand, is a little bit more of an experienced diver, but not super experienced--he has done maybe 35-40 open water dives. Diving together is something we have dreamed of doing and we are finally in a position in our lives to make this happen. We are planning our first dive trip to Curacao in early October, in time for their dive fest. HOORAY! I am SO excited (for the diving, but also the trip away with him)!
I am here to ask for some advice on where to stay, and then also where to dive.
Where to Stay:
If it helps to give context, here is a little about what we are looking for and our experiences:
Finally, here is where we are looking so far.... Has anyone stayed at: (1) the Santa Barbara Beach & Golf Resort or (2) Coral Estate Curacao? Would you recommend either of those, or somewhere else?
Where to Dive:
I am going through NAUI OW and AOW coursework prior to this trip. My husband is PADI.
I really want to take a fish identification course and maybe snap some photos, but I probably won't snap photos because I'll still be pretty new.
My husband can handle his own equipment and gear, and has much of it, but he would prefer to have a DM with us/go with a group, since I will be so new overall, and it's our first real trip like this together.
We'll bring our own fins and masks and snorkels, but rent everything else.
My husband has seen a lot of fish and coral--I would love him to see some really cool stuff. He does not deep water dive, and he is not wreck certified. I have seen very little (though I did snorkel with whale sharks, and that was incredible!), so I could probably swim in a circle with 3 fish and be awed, but that won't do it for him.
I've spent hours going through maps and reviews of dive sites on my own through Google and the Curacao diving websites and am losing my mind. Desperate for a short list. Thoughts on where to dive that would be great for both of us/great for divers of different skill levels?
If you made it this far, thank you so very much. I really appreciate any help so I can narrow this down and just lock in on a place and make reservations. I used to be so good at trip planning, but my brain is baby-fried, I swear! Thank you again!
I am getting my certification finally; I have dove before with an instructor with me, so I know I can get down and love it, and have done SNUBA (not the same, I know, but again, no problems) and anticipate continuing to enjoy diving. My husband, on the other hand, is a little bit more of an experienced diver, but not super experienced--he has done maybe 35-40 open water dives. Diving together is something we have dreamed of doing and we are finally in a position in our lives to make this happen. We are planning our first dive trip to Curacao in early October, in time for their dive fest. HOORAY! I am SO excited (for the diving, but also the trip away with him)!
I am here to ask for some advice on where to stay, and then also where to dive.
Where to Stay:
If it helps to give context, here is a little about what we are looking for and our experiences:
- We partially want to dive on the trip for sure, but we're also looking for a vacation together just to relax and read and veg out without our kiddos, so the trip/resort/hotel does not have to be 100% dive focused.
- We would love to stay at a place where we can dive, but don't mind going off the resort/away from the hotel to dive. So ideally we'd be well positioned for various dives (more notes and questions on that below). I love a hotel feel (Starbucks in the lobby? Sweet!) as long as there is a nice, warm, CLEAN pool, while my husband sort of prefers more of a tropical resort feel (with a warm, CLEAN pool). We'd REALLY prefer adults-only, but it's not that big of a deal. (We have kids. We love kids. We love a break from our kids/kids in general once in a while.) All-inclusive is not necessary (not big drinkers), but restaurants nearby or on-site are really nice. We do NOT, for this particular trip, want to grocery shop, cook, clean, etc., so we're not looking for an "apartment" style vacay.
- For planning purposes about where to stay and eat, can someone help compare Curacao for me to elsewhere we might know in the Caribbean? How would you describe Curacao compared to any of these places?We've been to a lot of the Caribbean before and seen a wide variety of lifestyle, price points, languages, exchange rates, etc. I can't think of where all he, I, or the two of us have been, but some would be Aruba, Beilze, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Bermuda (not really Caribbean, I know), Key West and Key Largo (not sure if those count), the Dominican Republic, various places throughout Mexico and Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Paradise Island, St. Thomas, etc.
Finally, here is where we are looking so far.... Has anyone stayed at: (1) the Santa Barbara Beach & Golf Resort or (2) Coral Estate Curacao? Would you recommend either of those, or somewhere else?
Where to Dive:
I am going through NAUI OW and AOW coursework prior to this trip. My husband is PADI.
I really want to take a fish identification course and maybe snap some photos, but I probably won't snap photos because I'll still be pretty new.
My husband can handle his own equipment and gear, and has much of it, but he would prefer to have a DM with us/go with a group, since I will be so new overall, and it's our first real trip like this together.
We'll bring our own fins and masks and snorkels, but rent everything else.
My husband has seen a lot of fish and coral--I would love him to see some really cool stuff. He does not deep water dive, and he is not wreck certified. I have seen very little (though I did snorkel with whale sharks, and that was incredible!), so I could probably swim in a circle with 3 fish and be awed, but that won't do it for him.
I've spent hours going through maps and reviews of dive sites on my own through Google and the Curacao diving websites and am losing my mind. Desperate for a short list. Thoughts on where to dive that would be great for both of us/great for divers of different skill levels?
If you made it this far, thank you so very much. I really appreciate any help so I can narrow this down and just lock in on a place and make reservations. I used to be so good at trip planning, but my brain is baby-fried, I swear! Thank you again!