Heading to Curacao in a few weeks - few questions

[mbs]

Hi, we are heading to Curacao in a few weeks and have some questions please. Been there once about 8 years ago, but we did not shore dive. Since then we have gone to Bonaire annually and did a ton of shore diving so we plan to do the same in Curaco! We are staying at All West Apts and diving with Go West. The plan is to do 2 boat dives in the am and shore dives in the afternoon.

So a couple of questions on shore diving. For anyone that has stayed at All West and dove with Go West, how much of a hassle is it going to be moving equipment around? If we boat dive in the am and take our stuff back to shore dive the afternoon we will most likely end up storing it at the apt and then dragging it back to Go West in the am. About the shore dive at the All West apts, are the stairs to the shore as bad as they look in the pictures

I have read a ton of appends with great info! There doesn't appear to be anything like the bonaire shore diving made easy book. Is there anything I can order from home map-wise or just deal with it on the island?

On Bonaire I leave nothing but water and towels in the truck. Is the petty theft issue the same or can I relax a tad and leave flipflops and tea shirts and wraps behind?

Finally this is the first time staying in an apartment. I would like to (or better stated, my wife would like me to) cook some meals at home. I believe I read there are some markets out in Westpunt so I don't have to drive all the way in to town to shop? Would those smaller markets have fresh fish and produce? For the meals we do go out, are reservations taken/required? Read so much about Sol Food I expect that will be our first stop when we get in Saturday afternoon

Thanks!!

 

[rvdniet]

Why dont you leave your gear at Go West?

Yes, the stairs are a pain at All West apartments but also the ones at Go West / Playa Kalki are no fun with equipment ;-) Fortunately there are a lot of dive spots which are very accessible. In your area, Playa Lagun for example.

The theft issue on Curacao is the same as on Bonaire: dont leave any valuables in the car.

 

[mbs]

Why dont you leave your gear at Go West?

Yes, the stairs are a pain at All West apartments but also the ones at Go West / Playa Kalki are no fun with equipment ;-) Fortunately there are a lot of dive spots which are very accessible. In your area, Playa Lagun for example.

The theft issue on Curacao is the same as on Bonaire: dont leave any valuables in the car.

Thanks rvdniet! I thought I read that the lockers at Go West close at 5PM. If we are shore diving in the afternoon I am not sure we would make it back by then.

I would never think of leaving valuables in my vehicle anywhere on the planet if at all possible I'm asking if silly stuff like a dry change of clothes is cool.

 

[tkaelin]

Look forward to a trip report. We have looked at booking a trip to curacao staying at all west apts.

 

[diversteve]

At least the shop/tank pickup at All West is on top of the hill - not down the stairs. Although Brian at Go West mentioned something about improving tank access at the LKH site last year. The steps are rough enough that when it was still OEWest there was a tank trolley - rusted and hadn't been used in years though when we were there.

A lot of people needing food out west stop at the markets in Willemstad first. Our apts. in Lagun even recommended it. As you leave the airport there's a rotary. West(right) is to Westpunt. Go south instead - it's probably marked Piscadera. About a mile or so at one of the stoplights is Centrum Market on the SW corner. They sold us old styro shipping containers for $1 for the drive out and I believe even had dry ice. We found the containers on top of the frozen section. Cost U Less is in that same general area also - IDK specifically where. Unless things have changed recently there's only one small market near Westpunt. I've seen another mentioned in Barber inland to the east.

We never even considered making restaurant reservations. I suppose you might want to at the Landhuis's (Misje or Daniel) or maybe Bistro Le Clochard in town. Everywhere else we ate was too casual - we like beachfront places.

We were told the same thing about securing the vehicles. One difference is that many of the Curacao dive sites are also beaches with concessions operators on them. Many have a dive operator also. A lot of times the parking lot is in front of them with the beach past it so they can watch if asked. One even volunteered and asked us to point out our vehicles. I read somewhere recently that Curacao Tourism has people patrolling at Porto Mari also now - possibly other locations also? Playa Jeremi is one that's mentioned for theft - it's a little set back from the main road and from the beach you can't really see the parking lot above so I can see why. No facilities there either.

The dive book is TRUNKDIVERS - Handboek duiken I believe all the shops and even some bookstores sold it.



Or get it from them at Varsenbaai which is also a nice dive. Look for seahorses around the ball then head south. Around the turn point there's a large pontoon wreck in 80' and the smaller carpile site is supposed to be deeper - wee didn't look. Coming back in hug the beach and turtles should pop-up - they feed in the grass in about 8'. The operator said they're always there. We also saw squid under the dock on the 2nd dive.

 

[drrich2]

The plan is to do 2 boat dives in the am and shore dives in the afternoon.

I'm curious about some things that may be of interest to the OP, too.

1.) In Bonaire, it's sometimes said there's no point in boat diving, because the diving's much the same vs. shore. Not everyone prefers shore diving, of course, and I'm told there are worthwhile sites (e.g.: Klein Bonaire) you can't reach from shore, though from what I understand it's mostly similar diving.

How true is that in Curacao? Do you 'need' boat dives to get the Curacao experience? Is it just a couple of sites, or does boating really get you a distinctly different dive experience?

2.) Are you pretty much stuck waiting till you're on island to get that book? Seems like it'd be nice to get in some advance planning. In fact, I've seen a number of threads about our favorite Bonaire dive sites, top 10, etc... Anybody remember a thread like that on Curacao dive sites? Seems like it might make a nice reference, if well done.

3.) My 2 boat dives in Bonaire were on a 2-tank smaller boat trip with Buddy Dive, but all the other boat dives I noticed at Buddy's that week were single tank trips, and tended to be big boats. Anybody get an idea whether the boat trips at the op the OP will be using tend to be 1 or 2 tank?

Richard.

---------- Post added November 13th, 2015 at 07:04 PM ----------

P.S.: Turns out you can buy a digital version of the Curacao Diving Guide, 2nd Ed.

 

[rvdniet]

1.) In Bonaire, it's sometimes said there's no point in boat diving, because the diving's much the same vs. shore. Not everyone prefers shore diving, of course, and I'm told there are worthwhile sites (e.g.: Klein Bonaire) you can't reach from shore, though from what I understand it's mostly similar diving.

I go to curacao now 2 time a year for the last 4 years and I never did a boat dive. The south side of the island is the quit side with more then 60 dive sites you can do from the shore allthough some are difficult to get to by car. For those a boat would be usefull. The north side is the rough side (big waves) and there you do need a boat. But with the amount of possibilities to do a shore dive and the price of boat dives, I never did one. In the morning we get 4 tanks, drive to a nice location, do 2 dives and spend a nice day at the beach.

 

[Damselfish]

Yes, unless something's changed Go West locks up everything at 5, it's a pain. (There is a separate locked gear/tank room nearby for after hours, but AFAIK it's only available if you're staying at LKH. And you have to plan ahead, and it's also at the bottom of the stairs, so it's still a nuisance. I wish they would stay open a bit later, and on a few designated nights. Even better if they had a setup with 24hr accessibility to gear and tanks, but I'm not sure they have the space for that. But I digress.)

If you're doing boats in the morning and shore diving elsewhere in the afternoon, the choice is simply if you want to cart your gear down the stairs at GW at the end of the day or the next morning. So I would think you could decide each day on the fly depending on what time you get back and how lazy you are at the time. The shore diving there is pretty nice so it's certainly worth just hanging out there and diving at least an afternoon or 2 and take advantage of the convenience - I'm happy to dive it every afternoon when staying there.

Grocery shopping - I would plan on hitting one of the large markets near town mostly likely Centrum for your initial main shopping, then filling in as you need from a closer small market. The California market on the way out west (about half way) is a medium size, pretty well stocked compromise, but I don't remember what all they had for fresh stuff.

Dinner reservations seem like a good idea anywhere nicer and most places around town, especially if you want to eat later. I'd say the locals and the heavily European tourist crowd tend to eat on the late side, so if you like to eat earlier you're more likely to be able to walk in. We've almost always walked into any of the restaurants in Waterfort Arches, but we usually eat early. Best to make a reservation for Sol Food, it's popular. Landhuis Misje seemed to prefer only reservations and might not even take walk-ins. Landhuis Daniel you're more likely to get away with walking in especially if it's early. I would not count on Bistro Le Clochard without a reservation. Thing about early at the really nice places is, it may look like there's lots of space but I don't think they necessarily plan for more than one seating at a table or 2 max, they're not expecting to turn over a table as many times as it would in the US. So all those empty tables may be reserved for a later and they might not want to put someone there that might not leave.

 

[morecowbells]

So a couple of questions on shore diving. For anyone that has stayed at All West and dove with Go West, how much of a hassle is it going to be moving equipment around? If we boat dive in the am and take our stuff back to shore dive the afternoon we will most likely end up storing it at the apt and then dragging it back to Go West in the am. About the shore dive at the All West apts, are the stairs to the shore as bad as they look in the pictures

Since you are staying at All West are you doing the unlimited tank package as well? The tank room and gear storage layout are the reason we return to these units. It is a far more diver friendly set up than the Kura Hulanada. You can pick up and return tanks any time. The storage area is well ventilated, clean and spacious. There is a gear set up/donning bench right before you take the steps to the shore. While there are several steps, it was not as difficult as I anticipated. While the steps at Go West are less plentiful, they are far more difficult for me to negotiate. Some steps are wider and steeper than others. I know I am getting old when I look at the steps and think how bad the orthopedic injuries would be if I bit the dust. Not a deal breaker, but I much prefer the steps and layout at All West. Attached are photos of the tank room and set up bench at All West.

 

[diversteve]

How true is that in Curacao? Do you 'need' boat dives to get the Curacao experience? Is it just a couple of sites, or does boating really get you a distinctly different dive experience?

I'll echo the others in that we did one boat dive in 10 days. We also moved from out west to town after a few days to focus on different dives.

Your other question depends on who you dive with partially. Ocean Encounters is one of the larger operators - they have several boats at their main location and keep one at two other resorts. On their dive list I've done three from shore. Once in fact, there was an OE boat moored to the ball when we surfaced. They also dive sites not reachable from shore. Mushroom Forest being about the most famous of them. On the west side Go West dives Watamula - arguably the best boat dive. Not shore accessible unless you're a rock climber.

3.) My 2 boat dives in Bonaire were on a 2-tank smaller boat trip with Buddy Dive, but all the other boat dives I noticed at Buddy's that week were single tank trips, and tended to be big boats. Anybody get an idea whether the boat trips at the op the OP will be using tend to be 1 or 2 tank?

Go West does 2 morning/1 afternoon on a relatively fixed schedule - GO WEST Diving - EN - Boat schedule - GO WEST Diving Curacao
To answer question #1 further - I've also dove 3 of Go West's 2nd tank dives from shore.

Unlike Bonaire Klein Curacao is either a morning or an all day trip depending on operator selected. It's actually fairly far SE of the main island - never been there.