Curaçao va. Bahamas

[V. James]

I apologize if this is not the correct place to post this. I am a new diver and am hoping to plan a dive vacation in January. I’ve been told Bonaire is a good place for newer divers and looked but flights from IAD are really expensive. So I looked and saw Curaçao as another possibility. However, I’m torn between Curaçao and Bahamas (as I’ve hard Bahamas is a good place to go dive also). Suggestions? Thanks!

 

[drrich2]

Hi:

The Bahamas are far enough north for water temp.s to get chilly in winter; All Star Live-aboards has a FAQ that for average temp.s gives:

Month Water Temperature (F/C) Air Temperature (F/C) Wetsuit Recommendation:
January 72-75 / 22-24 72-80 / 22-27 Full Wetsuit 5mm

That's chilly water, especially if you do a lot of diving. Curacao is one of the ABC islands in the extreme southern Caribbean; water temp.s don't vary much through the year, so it should be warmer.

There are a number of good places to go for new divers; Belize, Roatan, Bonaire, Curacao should be fine, Cozumel can be good if drift diving doesn't put you off, a range of places. You could hit the Bahamas; I'm just saying you've got other options.

From trip reports I get the impression a lot (not all) of Bahamas diving is done via live-aboard; spending the week aboard a large boat/yacht, doing a lot of diving, eating and some sleeping, chatting with fellow divers and...well, what more do you need?

If you're interested in a live-aboard in the Bahamas, Blackbeards is well known as the cheap, 'camping at sea' option; popular but take a close look at what you're getting (and not) for the money. Mid-range would be the Juliet (Blackbeards aims for around 19 dives for the week; if I understand correctly, the Juliet does also?), the Bahamas Aggressor if you buy during one of their big 30%+ off sales (which they've had at least annually the past 4 years I know of - and I would NOT pay list for an Aggressor Fleet trip, the savings are too big to ignore), the Cat Ppalu. More expensive is the often praised AquaCat (aiming for 26 dives), and perhaps the Bahamas Aggressor when doing the Tiger Beach itinerary (be careful you don't book Tiger Beach unless you want to be in the water with big sharks).

So, 2 big questions:
1.) Are you interested in a live-aboard, or planning to stick to land-based?
2.) If a live-aboard, are you willing to look beyond the Bahamas?

T.C.’s Report on Blackbeards May 2014.
Picking a Caribbean Live-aboard.
Bahamas Aggressor Tiger Beach Trip Report 8/4/18. Note: Plan was for Cayman Aggressor IV boat to become the new Bahamas Aggressor.

Curacao is not a live-aboard destination. It's a large, long island that offers civilized amenities near the capital, Willemstad, along with diving, but others have reported the better diving is out west, where it's much more rustic.

Curacao, like Bonaire, is praised for shore diving. Is shore diving something you want to try?

More questions:
1.) How many dives do you want to do per day, or for your trip?
2.) Is there anything else you want to do?
3.) Are you prone to sea(motion) sickness?
4.) Is anyone else going with you, and what (if any) topside entertainments does he/she need? A wife who wants to shop and lay on the beach can be a game changer.

If it's just you and all you want to do is dive, of the 2, I'd pick Curacao for warm water and good diving, maybe hit a Bahamas live-aboard someday during a warmer water season. Trying to decide between staying/diving to the east or west of Curacao will be its own hassle. Some Curacao links:

Curacao Trip Report Dec 2017 - ERRN’s informative report - Trip Report Dec 2017
Curacao Trip Report - Jan 2018 (tkaelin’s informative report) - Curacao Trip Report - Jan '18
Curacao vs. Bonaire - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/473036-curacao-vs-bonaire.html
Bonaire vs Curacao - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/bonaire-vs-curacao.535918/
Curacao 1st Timer Trip Report - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-1st-timer-trip-report.527457/
Curacao Trip Report - Curacao Trip Report
Curacao Suggestions - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-suggestions.536523/
Place to stay in Curacao - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/place-to-stay-in-curacao.518346/ See Damselfish Post #3.
Curacao Trip with Teenagers in June - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-trip-with-teenagers-in-june.525886/
Curacao Lodging - Curacao Lodging?
Curacao - First Time Opportunity - Curacao - First Time Opportunity
Curacao Solo Diving with Cert. - Curaçao solo diving with cert
Did I miss the Better Sites on Curacao? - Did I miss the better sites on Curacao?
Diving in Curacao - Curaçao Shorediving - Home

Richard.

 

[hilljo88]

Bahamas: you can stay in Nassau. Several mid priced all inclusive hotels. Dive w Stuart Cove. Large, professional full service dive op. They will send bus to your hotel to pick you up. Diving is from boats, features reefs, wrecks, sharks.

Curacao: a number of hotels w dive ops on premises or nearby. Lions dive has boat dives, shore diving, active beach bar/ restaurants in easy walking distance.

 

[tkaelin]

Jan water temps should be considerably warmer in CUR as noted above. Where also depends on what type of diving you want to do. As a relatively new diver are you comfortable shore diving, do you prefer to boat dive, will you be traveling with other divers or nondivers? Knowing more will help with suggestions

 

[V. James]

Thanks for the info so far. I’m not sure exactly what kind of diving I want to do (I’ve only dived in a quarry so far and never dived from a boat), but want to see sealife. I’ve done 4 dives so far and am doing my AOW class in Oct. Leaning against live aboard right now since I’ll be doing one in July, but not against it either. Probably want to do a couple days of diving while there (thinking of a 5-6 day trip with 3-4 days diving), so would like to do a couple other things too. Not going with anyone else. Not prone to seasickness, though I’ve heard that even people not prone sometimes get sick on liveaboards. I’m willing to look beyond these two places, but these are the two that have been suggested. Someone also suggested Galapagos but I heard from others it’s not the best for beginners either so I decided to wait on that one.

 

[tkaelin]

Traveling by yourself, you may want to look at a dive resort or a resort with a good dive op on site. If you can dive quarries in your area and taking a AOW you should be able to boat dive in the Caribbean without much issue. Your airport code if I recognize it is the DC area. A couple suggestions. GCM might be a good option with affordable nonstop flights. There are a number of places you can stay and dive and be around other divers. Never stayed at Sunset House but that might be an option. Oceanfrontiers/Compass point on the east end might be another. Been there three times and like it, the dive op is great and the diving can be as well. The potential downside is that it is on the quiet east end of the island and there may not be much in the way of activity or people once the diving is done. GCM is considered one of the safest islands in the Caribbean.

On CUR, a place like Lions Dive might be appealing. From all I heard the dive op is excellent. We stayed there two nights and the grounds, beaches, facilities are very nice. There is shore diving on site and I am sure you could hire a guide and give it a try. You may be able to find a dive buddy as well. Restaurants and bars on site and close to shopping and other restaurants. They run a shuttle into Willemsted so you could explore that as well. I not sure I would recommend staying out in Westpunt traveling solo but it could be done. Depends again on interest and preferences.

 

[drrich2]

Galapagos probably not in the cards right now, true. From what you've said about duration (many Caribbean live-aboards are 7-day trips) and desired amount of diving (3-4 days), you'll do land-based, not a live-aboard.

Some options that come to mind as popular, judging from reports on the forum - Grand Cayman, Ambergris Caye (Belize), Anthony's Key or CocoView Resort (Roatan), Cozumel (an island off the coast of Mexico), Bonaire and Curacao. There are others.

To make very expensive airfare 'work' for a dive trip, given that it costs the same regardless of other trip parameters (# days, # dives done), it makes sense to spend a week and rack up a high dive count if airfare is expensive (at least to me). Going to Bonaire and doing over 20 shore dives in a week, for example. You're not looking to do that.

Airfare can be pretty budget to some destinations; for me, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (from which I can drive to Key Largo, but weather could be an issue in January), the Bahamas (you're considering) and Grand Cayman (while airfare's cheap and I've read car rentals pretty decent, hotels, dining and diving can be pricy). Curacao's said to be cheaper than Bonaire. Don't know about getting to & from Ambergris Caye. Airfare to Roatan, when I looked in past, was pricy but not was bad as Bonaire.

For 3-4 days diving and a couple of days enjoying topside attractions, I'd think Curacao and Grand Cayman sound good. I'll be curious to hear what others think.

Richard.

P.S.: tkaelin posted while I typed. Comfort Suites and Sunshine Suites Resort are considered 'budget' options along G.C.'s 7 Mile Beach area, and Turtle Nest Inn good for package deals if you're willing to locate aways off. @KathyV knows the Cayman offerings better. Curacao's Lion's Dive isn't all that far from Sunscape Resort Curacao (where Scuba Board does some Surge events; one is scheduled in January); the latter is all-inclusive, in case you like to eat onsite and not bother roaming. The dive op. is Ocean Encounters. Nearby is the Dive Bus, which does guided shore diving.

P.S. #2: Are you flexible enough on dates to see if they've got any spaces left for the Scuba Board Curacao Surge week in Jan. 2019?

 

[hilljo88]

Check dive shops in your area for travel plans. Most dive shops run group trips. They will arrange travel details for you, and you can make new friends who share your interest in diving

 

[diversteve]

by yourself makes it more difficult since Bonaire works better at double occupancy - most of the dive resorts price that way with a substantial single supplement.

Also most people shore dive as their package includes it and a truck rental - so if you found the right people you could probably get a ride with them. If you go to the right places (Buddy Dive's Bar) and are relatively friendly someone will likely ask you to join them - I've been asked 2-3 times while standing around the rinse tanks waiting fo my buddy at different resorts Most people you meet there are divers, with divers or kitesurfers.

None of the shore dives outside of town have any sort of facilities and most of the entries are difficult over slippery ironshore (sharp dead coral) or the live reef is immediately off-shore in 2-3' of water so you have to carefully climb over it. OK with a buddy but not so easy alone. I went down twice and skinned my legs up and I had a buddy to lean on.

Bonaire boat diving would be a good option since all dives are DM led but it's sort of odd to pay for boat dives at sites where you regularly meet divers shore diving. Except for the dive sites around Klein Bonaire - a boat is not needed to dive Bonaire.

Curacao is more spread out - almost the same number of shore dives and Ocean Encounters caters to new divers - they have several locations.
There's also the Dive Bus which provides paid, escorted shore diving at the better locations - being single it's a good option as they'll buddy you up and the DM goes with you.

Most shore dive sites on Curacao are beaches, almost all have on-site dive facilities/food and with a phone call you can often arrange a paid dive guide for a reasonable fee. My friends wife was one.

Also what else do you plan to do on vacation? There's almost nothing else to do on Bonaire - some desert hiking, kitesurfing, no nightlife outside of the resort bars - most people dive all day, eat then go to bed early - it wears you out lugging the gear in the heat (even in Jan...it's a desert island)

Curacao has real nightlife, Mambo Beach is a good time, about a dozen small casinos, jazz clubs, dance clubs, seriously better beaches. On non dive days, shopping downtown is famous, there's the Aquarium, Ostrich farm and other attractions like old forts. Bonaire has none of that.

Plus Curacao has regular hotels, apts, condos for rent. Many Bonaire properties are for multiple guests so there's a single supplement at the resorts or you can alacarte reasonably at a few places in town but they're not waterfront. Even they have dive shop affiliatiations.

I would not go to Bonaire alone personally - it limits you on what you can safely do.

One thing you probably won't see on either - Sharks - or much big stuff other than Sringrays. Lots of excellent reef and small fish/invertebrates. Lots and lots of eels. On Curacao I saw seahorses, turtles, a nice reef and a deeper wreck all on one dive at Trunk Bay - I believe the Dive Bus goes there.

Now Nassau. It's hectic being a vacation destination for NYC residents with excellent beaches. Which means all the dives are more expensive boat dives.

You cab stay downtown, on Paradise Island or in the Cable Beach area as the shops both pickup.

Coves is a good operation but it's 45mins. via their shuttle daily to their south side location. They work with several hotels and 2 B&B's whre they pick up daily.Cove's also does the shark feed so that's a guarantee plus there's a lot of nearby wrecks/movie sets (2 of the 007 movies were filmed there plus the new Flipper) where they often lurk waiting for the feed. I lke that better as their behavior is more natural.

For you they can cater a lot of good shallower dives since the reef nearby is decent and there's a wall. It's also really bright, clear water - you will be astounded comared to the quarry. They also have the fleet size to handle both new and experienced divers and also do the contracted cruise dives - Nassau is a big cruise port.

The other option is Bahama Divers located near the Paradise Island bridge so 10mins. from anywhere nearby. They dive the Lost Blue Hole which is an interesting dive - at one time there were Hammerheads there but they may have moved on.

Cable Beach has some afffordable older hotels but expect a crowd on the beach in Jan. Nice thing about the area is there's cheap shuttle s running around it, downtown and Paradise Island (the Atlantis mega-resort is there) and ferries across as well. I oculd almost get by without a rental car there but the airport cab ride is high. Downtown is worth a look but touristy since the cruise port is down the street

wrote more than I planned, hope it helps.

Save Bonaire for a group trip - it's more fun when you can make your own entertainment.

 

[diversteve]

You need 100+ dives - at least some in high current condituons b4 you attempt the Galapagos.

It's live drop, tender diving and the mothership is too far away if you get separated. It's also recommended to know how to deploy an SMB so they can come get you.

Although generally benign - you are diving with apex predators there as well. It's not the quarry...very rarely someone gets bit. More often they likely step on something bad like an urchin.

stop listening to whoever told you that - they're clueless....

Curacao and Bonaire are like the quarry with waves. You have to specifically request to be taken to a site to drift dive - most you just float along. Usually if there is any current you swim into it so it helps you back. In 24 dives I can recall doing that twice and one I planned.

Except either end of Bonaire but those are advanced dives you wouldn't be doing anyway.