Some Curacao/Breezes questions

[scubascaff]

Hi!!

My husband is more of a frequenter of the board, but Im planning a surprise trip to Curacao in two weeks!

I booked a week at Breezes. Im having a little bit of "buyers regret", but they have a 15 day cancellation policy. I'm nervous that they only offer the one shore dive a day. Was it worth booking a not so nice hotel?

Should we rent a car for the week? Or will taxis be just fine? I'm a secluded beach lover, and will probably not want to hang out at the Breezes beach all that much.

And how many boat dives should we book? We'll probably only go to Curacao once, so I want to make the most out of it!

Thanks so much! Im also sorry if these posts are redundant- I appreciate your input!

 

[joyceschur]

Hi Scubascaff! I'm also planning my first trip to Curacao (end of June), so I've already done quite a bit of research and can answer some of your questions.

The "one shore dive a day" offer, at the Breezes (as I understand it) is included in your package price. In other words, you don't have to pay extra for it. But you can still arrange other dives because there are two well-recommended operators in the area that offer complimentary pick up/drop off services, so please check them out: The Bus Dive and Ocean Encounters. The Bus Dive offers a wide variety of shore dive opportunities (but no boat dives) and Ocean Encounters offers 2-tank boat dives every morning and a 1-tank boat dive every afternoon.

Car rental depends. If you want to stay in the east end area you can probably make due without one. I read that the Breezes offers complimentary shuttles to/from Willemstad and airport transfers. If you want to explore the island at your own pace and on your own schedule, especially if you want to spend time in the west end area, it makes more sense to have a car.

Good luck with your trip. I'm certainly looking forward to mine!

 

[TheDiveBus]

Hi scubascaff

As joycescnur mentioned (thanks!), The Dive Bus is right next door to Breezes hotel, and we offer pick ups and drops off from the lobby. We can take your husband shore-diving for the day, and you can come along and snorkel with him, if you like, or take a day off at Breezes Spa when you need to...

That way you don't need to rent a car (unless you want to, in which case you can follow the Dive Bus).

If this sounds interesting, PM me or email me through the website The Dive Bus - HOME

All best and happy planning
Suzy

 

[GeneV]

Hi Scubascaff
As mentioned the "free" shore dive at Breezes is part of the package and applies to anyone over the age of 14 with a c-card. When I was there the dive was guided in the afternoon, around 2:30, or you just go on your own. Please note, you have to use a dive flag that is supplied.

As for the car, do you want to get out and about, or are you just interested in going into Willemstad? Breezes has a shutlle that runs during the day and there's a bus stop right accross the street, and taxi fairs aren't that bad. But if you want to visit more of the island then a car might be in order.
As for diving, do check out the Dive Bus, Mark, Suzy and gang are great and you'll enjoy your dives with them. They put up with me and never complained once....

As for boat diving, a couple of should do, are Mushroom Forest, East Point and Klein Curacao.
and the folks at Ocean Encounters at Breezes can help. A little more pricey then they're regular boat dive, but it's an all day thing.

As far as secluded beaches, do you mean sand beaches, if so they're usually pretty busy. There are some, but not with nice sand. The beach a breezes is a fair size beach, with a brake wall, no big waves, and when I was there it really wasn't all that crowded the further from the pool and main bar you got.

Check the follow website, http://www.curacao.com/en, some pretty good information. Tourism Board website.

Hope you enjoy it, I know I did and plan on returning to Curacao soon.

 

[TheDiveBus]

Correction Gene, we DID complain, you just didn't hear us cuz you were laughing too much

 

[scubascaff]

Wow! Thanks for the great input!

We ended up renting a car for the week! I like to explore, so I figured we would pay that anyway in taxi and tour fees- it also seems to give us more flexibility with diving.

Suzy, is the DIY package 65 dollars a day per person? We're both looking to dive!

(btw, I couldnt keep it a secret, as always- my husband will probably show up here soon- EastMR2)

 

[scubascaff]

Joyce! We'll probably see you down there!

 

[joyceschur]

That's great scubascaff, I look forward to it. I'm staying at Lions Dive and scheduled with The Dive Bus June 16, 17, 18. Then I'm heading to Westpunt for the rest of my stay. There are a whole group of ScubaBoarders planning to dive together in Westpunt (Playa Kalki - Alice in Wonderland site, I think) on Tuesday 22nd. Westpunt is a 45-60 minute drive from where you're staying.

If you plan to be in the Westpunt area on a weekend, check out curacaosunshine.com. Sunshine and David have a rental property in the area, but they open their place as a weekend restaurant (Sol Food) for lunch/dinner on Fri, Sat, Sun. From everything I've read/heard it's THE PLACE to be.

Since you've rented a car, one suggestion: It makes no sense to book West End boat dives from the End end, you'll spend too much time on the boat getting to dive sites. Some of the top-rated, must-do dives are on the West End (Mushroom Forest, Watamula). So consider driving to the West End, make a day of it, and book your dives with Ocean Encounters West.

Best of luck, enjoy your vacation and hope to see you there.