Curacao - Will I need a car?

[OHGoDive]

Hello all,

My wife and I will be in Curacao for 5 days just after Christmas. We're staying at the Lodge Kura Hulanda, way over on the western tip. My question is this, do we need a car? We'll have 4 days to dive, and I am thinking one day will be a boat dive out to Watamula & Mushroom Forest. But, what about the rest of the days? Their house reef, Playa Kalki gets great reviews as one of if not the best shore dive on the island, will we be bored diving just there for 3 days?

The resort offers a shuttle to/from its other hotel in town, so that should cover shopping, nights out, etc. if we choose. It doesn't look like The Dive Bus is an option out at the Lodge. I like the idea of not having to schlep ourselves and our gear over the island during the day if I don't have to (inertia and all), but don't want to be bored diving the same spot.

Opinions anyone? Recommend a car? Happy staying close to the lodge? What do you think?

Thanks!

 

[mow2000]

I spent a week in Curacao about six or seven years ago. Not sure what has changed since then but I recall driving around trying to find things in the tourist guide and either not having much luck or being very disappointed when we got there. The one exception was Christoffel Park and horseback riding near the park. Others might have different experiences but I would recommend sticking to the resort and taking a day to visit the park.

 

[ronrosa]

How many dives per day are you planning ?

4 dives a day for 4 days at the same site might get a little boring.

 

[scubatexastony]

makes for a long drive to another site that has rinse tanks or showers, but if you head a bit south, both the Knips (Klien and Groot), are nice. Kenepa is a long swim out, but really a nice dive, just take your time and have fun. All have nice beaches!

The house reef is Alice in Wonderland, and you'll enjoy it, even multiple times

tony

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

We kept a RAV4 the week we stayed in Curacao a few years ago, and we were very happy we did. We stayed near the opposite end of the island from the West End, at Papagayo by Jan Thiel beach. Having our own wheels to visit sites like Porto Marie, Director's Bay, etc. on our own schedule in addition to having a nice site across the street from our bungalow is something we valued. Boat dives for places like the Superior Producer however make loads more sense than shore dives.

Whenever we visit Curacao again, we'll try staying at the West End, to see which we wind up liking best.

It will depend on your tastes. I grew up in Texas and it takes quite a bit to pry the personal freedom of a steering wheel from my hands.

 

[Damselfish]

The resort offers a shuttle to/from its other hotel in town, so that should cover shopping, nights out, etc. if we choose.

Don't count on that. Like most hotels a distance from town, the shuttle schedule tends to be pretty useless for divers. Check with them but a few months ago it was just one trip a day, leaving at 8.30am and returning at 5pm. So it's of no use for nights out. Fine for a day of shopping for a non-diver that wants to go downtown for a whole day, but not for a diver that probably would want to dive a half day at least and just go downtown for a few hours. But they might be able to arrange transportation for you at a much better rate than you can for yourself. Normally I would say rent a car, but for a short trip you might just want to enjoy what's there and save the exploring for another trip when you have more time. The shore dive there is great but if you're concerned about variety no reason to limit yourself to boat diving only one day, assuming their boat is running.

Curacao isn't a difficult place to drive but can be challenging to find your way around and find what you're lookng for. I find Williamstad an interesting place to explore during the day. The ostrich farm is way at the other end of the island, not big but it's an interesting tour and the restaurant was surprisingly good. If you have a car not a bad thing to do the day before you leave.

 

[scubatexastony]

Boat dives for places like the Superior Producer however make loads more sense than shore dives..

I've done the Producer many times, several of which were night dives, and it can easily be done from the shore.

It will depend on your tastes. I grew up in Texas and it takes quite a bit to pry the personal freedom of a steering wheel from my hands.

A vechicle is the way to go... if you don't mind Texas county road type driving ....
I love explorining the island.

tony

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Although the Superior Producer can easily be dived from shore, I was uncertain regarding leaving the rental vehicle parked in the open in that area unattended (we had spent the previous week on Bonaire). Just a personal choice.

Yeehaa - barreling along county roads is something no one should miss out on! The standard transmission RAV4 was a good pick for the park and other sites my non-diving in-laws wanted to visit the 2 days they were on Curacao with us.

 

[CheddarChick]

We spent 2 weeks in Curacao in Feb and loved it. The Lodge is a loooong way out, and when we talked to people who stayed there, thier comments were not great about the shuttle. We rented a car for 12 days and spent the vacation just exploring the different beaches. The Producer to me was not that great of a dive. We swam from shore, quite a distance in medium surf. 105' down, swim thru an empty open BIG
boat. Not much in the way of sealife except for a few barracuda. I had so much more fun wth the 30' dives filled with sealife. There are tons of moray eels everywhere!!! If you want more info, PM me and see if I can help.

 

[nucem]

Get a car. My wife and I were there 2 weeks ago and the car was very handy. Go to playa Mari (aka the valley). It is a nice easy shore dive with a double reef, lots to see. The Superior Producer can be dine from shore but it is a long swim and it can only be dived when there is no cruise ship in port (found out the hard way). There were plenty of shopre dives there just purchase a drive and dive map at the dive shop and ask which ones they recomend, that is what we did and had a good time.