Curaçao Trip Report!
The Marriott Emerald Casino Resort is a very nice and pretty place to stay for the week. Everyone at the Resort was very nice and helpful. The beach is a great place to lay out, relax, & have a drink. The best snorkeling is on the other side of the rocks. Swim through the open area and let the waves take you to the end. I couldn’t believe the amount of fish on this side. You can get out of the water down by the dive shop.
We did our first dive here to get our fins wet. I really liked the dive and it was very easy to navigate. There were a lot of fish and the reef was very nice also. We stayed around 40 feet with no problems, but if you like to dive deeper you can. Caribbean Sea Sport was great to work with and gave us a great overview of the dive site.
Tugboat: I wanted to dive the tugboat and the wall but the shop didn’t have tanks (they do work with another company to supply whatever you may need). It is also a great place to hang out before or after your dive. We were running short on time so we just snorkeled. We were not disappointed. When you get to the site swim past the number 5 post about 30 feet to get to the tugboat then swim back along the rocks. Lots and lots of fish. The drive was a little confusing and took us longer to get there, but I think it was worth it. We ate at Papa’s on the public beach before you get to the ruins. Very nice waitress and the view of the bay was nice also. The Chicken Stew is my favorite thing I ate all week. The girls had the BBQ and really enjoyed the meal also.
Alice and Wonderland: I must say that Go West Divers had the most pleasant people to work with from the counter staff to the guys handing out what we needed. The only problem for me is that I liked it here so much I spent more money here then I planned. Keep up the good work Go West Divers!!!
We dove twice here and both dives were great. I did like the dive going to the right better. The reef is the best of the dives I did on the island. We saw the biggest blowfish and lots of sea life.
We ate on the beach; the Red Snap was very good. The shakes are good but don’t get them to go; the cups are smaller so drink them there.
Playa Lagun: I loved the cove with the boats and cliffs on both sides. It looks bigger from the pictures that I have seen.
We worked with Bahia Divers at the resort and the dive shop guy was very nice to work with. He went over with us the dive site and where to look for things in the water. The reef was very nice with lots of fish. I came here in hopes to see turtles and didn’t see any. I did see an eagle ray that was eating in the sand.
We ate at the resort and the view of the bay was outstanding. The chicken sate was great. Watch out for the iguanas; there are a lot of them, but we loved it. The girls were jumping out of their seats and I was laughing so hard. They do like to eat tomatoes and cucumbers. If you feed them you may want to wait until after you are done eating.
Porto Marie: I have to say that this is our favorite spot on the island because it fit all of what we were looking for when coming on this trip. Great beach, very good place to eat, and diving that is very hard to beat. The water is the bluest that we have seen all week on the island.
Marie Sport Divers had 3 guys that were very nice, fun and helpful. They also went over the dive site which made navigating the reef very easy and more enjoyable. The reef was a full with fish with big snappers.
Off the beaches:
We ate at Landhuis Daniel Plantation Restaurant twice - once for dinner and again for breakfast the next day. Great place to stop at when going between Willemstad and Westpunt. We enjoyed dinner, we all ate their Caribbean style three course meal and love it. We came back for breakfast on the way to Porto Marie. The Dutch pancakes were not what we were used to but I didn’t mind one bit. One of the priciest places we ate at but loved it!
Steak and Ribs at Fort Riff - Fort Riff was very nice and how they turned the arch rooms of the fort into the kitchens was interesting to me. The steaks are good (and HUGE) but I really liked the atmosphere the best.
Gouverneur Restaurant - I thought the food was good but not for the price. What I liked the most is sitting on the balcony with the view of Punda. The restaurant’s building structure was very interesting to me also.
Iguana Grill in Punda - I liked the food. The sunset over Otrobanda was real beautiful and relaxing. We also had the chance to see the bridge open. If you like to people watch, this is a great place to do that.
We rented a KIA Sportage which worked great for haling all of our gear and handling the bumpy roads. For four divers I don’t know how we would have hauled all of our gear all week. If you add tanks, I don’t think it would have worked. We picked up our tanks at the beaches. Driving on the island is easier to me on the west side of the island. For the east and west side we used the roundabouts to keep track of where we were. Street signs are very minimal to none, but that made exploring the island more like an adventure. With a good navigator by your side you can’t go wrong (cough, cough my almost 17 year old daughter)!
I have to say that the island has a special place in my heart that will never go away. The people are so wonderful to talk to and are very happy. There wasn’t a place on the island that I felt unsafe. For what we like to do on the islands you can’t go wrong here. Beautiful island, water, reefs, and people. What pulls it all together is the food!!!
For me, coming to Curacao with my girls is something I will never forget. I hope to come back soon!!!
