?? Nassau vs Curacao

[torontoscubagirl]

Me and three other diving girlfriends are planning a dive trip for January and can't decided where to go. Nassau - Sheraton or Breezes OR Curacao's KH Lodge. Where would the better diving be. Where would be more fun. Any advice would be super appreciated : ):cool2:

 

[diversteve]

Me and three other diving girlfriends are planning a dive trip for January and can't decided where to go. Nassau - Sheraton or Breezes OR Curacao's KH Lodge.

Where would the better diving be.

My opinion - Curacao.

Where would be more fun.

Define fun. Nightlife fun? Nassau - although both have clubs/casinos etc. Non-dive water fun? - it's a toss- up - probably Nassau/Cable Beach/Paradise Island. Shopping? It's a toss-up but I'd go with Curacao. Both places get a lot of cruise traffic so there's shopping downtown.

On Nassau, you're staying in the city and Stuart Cove's picks you up for the 45min-1hr. drive to their location for daily diving. Or dive with Bahama Divers just off Paradise Island - I don't know where Breezes is in relation to them. Pretty much that's all your options except for a new charter which no one seems to have used yet. Shore dive options are really limited on Nassau if that's a consideration.

At Kura Hulanda, you're at some of the better diving but except for a couple restaurants in West Punt nearby, it's a good 45min. drive back to Willemsted and civilization of any sort. Part of it's appeal is that it's so quiet out there.

And there's good shorediving all along the coast that you can drive to in 10-20 mins. There's well over a dozen diveops across the island also - most shoredive sites have their own on the west side.

I wouldn't go to Curacao if I wasn't a diver. I might go to Nassau for a fun vacation. Curacao's cheaper also but not by much. Comparing the Lodge to the Sheraton or Breezes isn't fair either, the Lodge is one of the Leading Small Hotels of the World. There's also a Breezes on Curacao in Willemsted if that's a criteria.

 

[torontoscubagirl]

thanks steve ! hm.. nassau means 1 hour boat rides to the dive sites. curacao it is !
will post a little report when i get back.

 

[diversteve]

Actually Nassau means 1 hr. bus rides to get to the boat ride...

We stayed in the Piscadera Bay area, there's diving offshore, about 3-4 hotels and condos behind them. The Marriott, Hilton and one other are waterfront. Good local beach bar/diveop there called Hooks Hut and there's diving offshore. It's about 15mins. to downtown and 20mins. to some really good dives to the west. It's the resort area on the west end of town - 15 mins. to the airport.

Or look at Lions Dive or Breezes, they're farther east but more in town. The Dive Bus is right next to Breezes if you want to do escorted shore dives from there - although most Curacao shore dives (we did 15) were easy walk-ins off the beach/dock. Both LD/Breezes share the Ocean Encounters boats so might be a little more crowded - we did one dive with them but canceled a second since their boat was full - instead we drove 10mins. east and had Tugboat to ourselves late morning - except for the snorkelers. There's also the other Kura Hulanda Hotel nearby - not exactly sure where.

 

[Damselfish]

The other Kura Hulanda hotel is smack downtown, Otrabanda (western) side of the channel. Really neat place but probably not the best base for a dive vacation.