Caribbean

[scubadiver888]

Something tells me scubadiver888 that there are a lot of people out there that have little to add to the thread so they will give you a geography lesson....all because of a simple slip. Hopefully people actually read the thread and see that you have explained your slip a couple times now and stop pointing it out. That would be a nice break for you.

That is okay. I'm pretty thick skinned. It only bugs me when my friends pick on me.

Let the geography lesson begin!

 

[nelsonrl]

Thanks to all for the replys. The choices I had were based on hotel points and airline miles I can use. Obviously this is not the idea way to select your dive spot, but free is sometimes good.

 

[diversteve]

Seriously it's probably your best choice. Nassau would be all boat diving and Stuart Cove's - one of three diveops on the island - is about a 45min-1hr shuttle ride each day from town/Paradise Island which is where most people stay. For me that would get old fast.

Besides the Divebus (great people btw, I also recommend them) there are a lot of simple entry shore dives that you can try on your own or with a local guide. A lot of them are on the west side of the island, I'm not sure how far west the Divebus travels since they're based east of downtown. fwiw, I'd rent a car at the airport when you arrive, everything is pretty spread out. Most of the good dives on the west side require you to drive in a couple of miles off the main road to the shoreline.

I recommend Varsenbaai, Habitat resort's house reef (Nos Kas?) or Playa Kalki/Alice in Wonderland as good easy entry dives. All have dive docks and full facilities right near the waters edge. Sunset Waters also has a simple beach entry if you'd like to try that, you wade out through a little, breakwater protected cove to the dive. There's a small airplane wreck (Cessna) just off the breakwater entrance in 40' and good diving to the east.

When we were there in May, there were no currents to speak of at any of these sites. The cool thing about Varsenbaai was that there were about 100 squid just off the divedock, turtles feeding in 8' of water to the east, and there's a seahorse (2?) that lives just off the mooring ball in under 40' of water. So you can see a lot of stuff without getting too far out or needing to go deep.

Habitat's reef is similar, there's good diving in 40' straight off the dock, a resident octopus (may be dead now - old age) just off the "beach" and I had fun chasing flounder in the shallows one afternoon waiting for my buddies. And there was a barracuda living under the diveboat dock - I filmed him but he didn't get too close - which I didn't mind...

Another really easy dive would be Tugboat, it's a beach entry and sits in 20' of water. The better part of the dive is the wall around the point though, it's full of life. It's east of Willemsted - a mile or two (more?) past the DiveBus office. Suzy from the Divebus posts here regularly. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/members/thedivebus.html

 

[diversteve]

We just booked a trip with Suzy at the Dive Bus, and we are anxious to get diving again in two weeks. The diving looks good in Curacao, but prices seem to be a lot higher than other Carribean destinations.

Depends on where you go or how much shorediving you want to do. We bought an all day air ticket at Habitat one day for $26, did two dives there and then loaded two tanks each in their parking lot for a drive over to Porto Marie for two more dives.

Closer to town, Hooks Hut rents tanks for $10. Or Ocean Encounters has an all day deal for $30.

 

[RJP]

Curacao sounding better. I can get free airfair and hotels in Curacao. So for a quick winter trip its hard to beat.

Which hotels can you get for free? I'm assuming Marriott or Hilton based on points, and if that's the case I can tell you that given the choice I would PAY for a room at the Marriott before I would stay at the Hilton for free.

Family and I were at the Curacao Marriott - right next to the Hilton - a few months ago. (Marriott Points) As a major Hilton fan and Hilton Honors Diamond member, I took a walk over to the Hilton to check it out for future travel potential.

We had been told to avoid it when we were booking our trip to Curacao, but were still truly disappointed in seeing the Hilton in person.

- Tiny, tiny, tiny cramped pool area
- No beach, other than a tiny patch of some trucked-in sand overlooking the little cove the hotel sits on
- Generally run down condition all the way around

I would rate it about on par with any mid-tier business-class airport location Hilton that hasn't been updated since the early 80's. Forget points, I wouldn't stay there for free.

Here's some other info I posted recently about the Curacao Marriott:

Curacao. Did this trip from NJ recently. Direct from Newark. Stayed at the Marriott (all inclusive Breezes type place not really for us)

- Dive op on site for easy shore diving right there, including night dives, boat dives too

- Dive lockers, etc right on site

- They have a "branch" of their dive op up north at a beautiful beach where you can access Mushroom Forest and other sites via Zodiac while the wife/kids hang out on a beautiful beach

- Nice beaches and pool at Marriott

- Dive Bus can pick you up/drop you off easily enough for other shore dives

I got in a total of 6 dives during our week there in May.



And another post, not 100% germane if you and your spouse are both divers, but does have some info on the Marriott...

As my wife points out "diving comes right before divorce in the Yellow Pages"

Another good point for the Marriott (or any place with a shop on site and a decent house reef) is that you can get a dive in and only be "gone" for the amount of time you're in the water.

We sat at the beach right by the dive shop (Carribean Sea Sports) which happened to be the nicest/quietest beach at the Marriott and has the wonderful "Board Room" beach bar too. So I was able to hang out and "be with the family" right up until the moment I put my gear on and walked into the water. At the end of the dive my wife and kids were under an umbrella right there when I exited the water. So I was only "gone" for 45min. If I had gone to another dive site or did a boat dive it would have been 3-4hrs away from the family, probably missing one if not two meals.

Night dive was same sort of thing. We'd all walk to the water, and as I submerged my wife and kids sat down at the beach bar for a drink and played "spot daddy's dive light" for a bit while I enjoyed my dive. I surfaced 35-40min later, tossed my gear in the rinse tank and we all walked over to Hooks Hut for dinner.

When I did Mushroom Forest and another great dive up that way ("Scary Stairs") we went from Carribean Sea Sports location on Cas Abou beach. Beautiful beach with a bar/restaurant, bathroom/shower facilities, lounge chairs, umbrellas, etc. Drove up to Cas Abou after a great breakfast together at the Marriott. Played with the family on the beach for a while, then jumped in the Zodiac and zipped off to the Mushroom Forest for a dive. Returned to the beach for surface interval, during which I swam with the kids and got some snacks. Then jumped back in the Zodiac for the second dive, returning about an hour later to have lunch with the family and spend the rest of the day on the beach. In my wife's mind we had a great day with the whole family on a beautiful beach, even though I did get in two fantastic dives. Had I done the exact same two dives as a typical "two tank morning boat trip" I would have left the hotel before breakfast and not gotten back until after lunch, thereby selfishly abandoning my wife for most of the day to watch the two kids all by herself.

Was able to do a total of 6 dives during our week there in this sort of "stealth" fashion and my wife hardly even noticed. First time in a long time where she didn't feel that diving monopolized the vacation.

 

[Rhone Man]

I have never dived any of the three, but Barbados is nothing to shout about, Bahamas is (people tell me, never been) quite overrated, but I have only ever heard good things about the ABC islands.

 

[Rhone Man]

As my wife points out "diving comes right before divorce in the Yellow Pages"

That cannot be a coincidence!

 

[Damselfish]

Which hotels can you get for free? I'm assuming Marriott or Hilton based on points, and if that's the case I can tell you that given the choice I would PAY for a room at the Marriott before I would stay at the Hilton for free.

I do have to agree with that somewhat. I haven't stayed at either, but explored both and eaten at the restaurants. Between that and everything I've heard I think the Hilton Curacao leaves a lot to be desired and the Marriott is much nicer. I don't know if I'd go as far as saying pay for the Marriott instead, especially if that would sink the trip. (And if I was going to pay that opens other choices that might be more appropriate than the Marriott.)

 

[nelsonrl]

Thanks for the information on the Hilton. Thats where most of my points are. Kind of disappointing to here, but not nearly as disappointing as it would be to get there and not be happy. Paying for the hotel will not sink the trip. In fact, it would open it up to more locations if I were not trying to get both airfare and hotel free. Call me cheap I guess!
Hey, all this business travel and being away from home has to have some sort of upside. That said, I can handle, lets say less nice hotels, better than my wife can. But, she has gone through a lot to get certified so pampering her in a nicer hotel is a good payback. I will widen my search to include places where I have to - gulp - pay for the hotel.

 

[Tigerman]

Personally, as long as im not ripped off as far as the prices goes (which wouldnt be the case on a free stay) I dont really care much about the hotel. Im only gonna sleep there anyways
The rest of the days I spend diving or sightseeing. I dont usually even eat more than maybe 1 dinner during a week at the hotels Im staying