First time Curacao advice - with non-diver/driver

[Professor_Chaos]

Hi all -

I'll be going to Curacao for the first time this December. We're spending 6 days there. Looking for some advice on:

1) Where to stay? I'll be with my fiance who neither dives nor drives, so I was thinking staying in Willemstad would be best. Opinions on the Avila Beach, Renaissance, or other places nearby?

2) Dive operator? And should I just be doing shore diving, or are some boat dives worthwhile? I'll probably be diving 3-4 days of the trip.

Thanks!

 

[diversteve]

The Renaissance dive operator is Caribbean Sea Sports. Afaik they shuttle you to their other location at the Marriott/Emerald Casino in Piscadera Bay. If you want to drive out west (45mins.), the best (IMO) shore dive is probably Playa Kalki. Ocean Encounters West - located at Lodge Kura Hulanda - also does Watamula, the best boat dive, several days a week. But it's all good. There are several nice beach dives if your fiance likes the beach. Porto Marie is one with full facilities, Playa Lagun is a great dive with a beach shack for rentals etc. The Dive Bus is a great option for escorted shore diving.

 

[msudiver]

My wife and just got back on Saturday after spending a week on Curacao at All West Apartments in Westpunt.

For diving, Ocean Encounters was our operator and was just fine. We did all shore diving, which is pretty easy if you know where to go (get the Drive and Dive Map at OEW and talk to them about spots to go).

As to where to stay, my wife and I were just down the road from Kura Hulanda and had dinner there one night... looked really nice and OEW is right next door. Also the House Reef at OEW is EXCELLENT and Kura Hulanda has a reallly nice beach and pool area. The west end of the island is a little ways out though, making trips into Willamstad a bit of a chore, especially if your fiance does not drive. Be we did a couple of days where we would dive in the a.m. and head into town in the afternooon... figure about 45 min- 1 hour to get from Westpunt (if that's where you end up). Otherwise, I understand there are some really nice resorts in the Willamstad area.

 

[bubbasbaitshop]

We stayed St Murack Hulanda last year for a week. Nice rooms and quiet. It is a drive into town so we rented a car while we were there. The dive shop is right off the beach and they were great.

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[bubbasbaitshop]

Sorry Kura Hulanda. Stupid auto correct.

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[Professor_Chaos]

Thanks for the input folks! Right now I am thinking of taking advantage of the Kura Hulanda's "Best of both worlds" offer - a few days out at Westpunt, and a few days at their Willemstad hotel. I understand they have a free shuttle that goes between their two locations.

 

[airaslt3]

I would seriously steer you to carribean sea sports at the Mariott. The mariott is a nice place to stay, close to downtown and Caribbean sea sports is IMO the best dive shop there. I have had horrible experiences with ocean encounters and think that to say their customer service is bad is a huge understatement. Although, I haven't dove at the west end operation I have actually heard some good stuff about them from people who have dove through some of ocean encounters other hubs (there are 8 total) and agreed the main office and one of their hubs were as customer unfriendly as one could be. Ocean encounters is also (as far as I have found) the most exspensive and largest operator in curacao. Kura is a drive from the city and I haven't heard anything negative about it except you have to drive to get food. If you stay at breezes (I wouldn't if you are just wanting to dive), the dive bus is located two to three minutes down the street and they will pick you up. They do some really good shore dives at the same locations that ocean encounters and Caribbean sea sports do from the boat. Not all of the boat divers locations are accessible from the shore, but a lot are. Dive bus I believe is the least expspensive of the ones I have mentioned. Regardless of what you choose I hope that you reply to this thread to let us know where you ended up and how it went. Good diving!

 

[CT Sean]

Thanks for the input folks! Right now I am thinking of taking advantage of the Kura Hulanda's "Best of both worlds" offer - a few days out at Westpunt, and a few days at their Willemstad hotel. I understand they have a free shuttle that goes between their two locations.

That is correct, they do. If I remember correctly there are two trips from the Lodge into the city in the morning and two returns in the evening - though my wife and I didn't use it (wanted to, just didn't have the time).

 

[drrich2]

Curacao has an ostrich farm & you can ride one; how could you pass on that? If I ever go, I'd love to get video footage of my wife riding one.

Richard.

 

[Spg01]

I stayed at the Breezes on my last diving vacation, it worked out pretty well. I brought the wife and kid and my buddy brought his wife and none of them were divers. My buddy and I went diving with Ocean Encounters while the rest stayed behind at the resort. I really liked the Breezes because it was all inclusive, my 1st time doing all inclusive. There were plenty of activities and enough variety of food to keep everyone happy.

After 2 boat dives a day you could do shore dives if you wanted right in front of the resort. I heard lot's of horror stories about the breezes, but it was fine. Not super elegant and not a dump. So it worked well for us.

They also have a shuttle that you can take into the city that drops you off and picks you up later if you want out of the resort.