Recommendations for lodging and dive shop

[gryffin]

Hi all:

We are trying to plan a dive-focused trip to Curacao. We love the Reef Divers/Clearly Cayman experience: dive shop with boat diving on site, good food onsite, clean comfortable rooms, nice scenery, not terribly noisy (most of the time).

Looking at the options on Curacao, it is not clear to me which resort could offer the most similar experience. We’ve been to Bonaire and the Caymans several times, and Grenada once. We are interested in a trying a new location with warm water in February, hence the interest in Curacao.

It would be just my husband and I- we’d like to do two AM boat dives most days. In the afternoon we could do a boat dive or a shore dive with an easy entry. We love valet, but we can manage our own gear- we always do for Bonaire. For vacation, we really don’t want to do a lot of cooking, nor do we really want to drive around to local restaurants.

I’m interested in any recommendations or feedback!

Thanks!

 

[lexvil]

VRBO and a dive package through dive bus including a truck and air, no resorts added costs and save the boat money, plenty of shore diving.

 

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

We have been to Curacao 4 times . 3 Times at Coral Estates and rented a house (3 couples) but they also have condos to rent, 3 restaurants, spa, pool etc. Dive shop is all shore dives there.

 

[Damselfish]

VRBO and a dive package through dive bus including a truck and air, no resorts added costs and save the boat money, plenty of shore diving.

They specifically asked for boat diving. Some people (including me) prefer it.

~~~~~~~~~~
This is a little tricky. There used to be some real dive resorts on Curacao with boat diving, on site shore diving, and a generally similar experience, but several have disappeared over the years. There are a ton of resorts and other accommodations, and lots of dive ops scattered around, but it's hard to find the "dive resort" experience like Clearly Cayman.

Lions Dive is probably the closest thing to an turnkey dive resort nowadays. Ocean Encounters (the biggest op on the island) is based there. You get breakfast with a dive package, and you can get meal plans if you want. Or there are plenty of dining options on site or in easy walking distance. Nearby Sunscape AI is worth looking at, though not a "dive resort" per se. But you can get a dive package with Ocean Encounters which is on site there too. Both have boat and shore diving, though I'm not in love with the shore diving on site and there is much better to be had if you go explore. One thing they may not offer is peace and quiet - the area has become rather built up and busy. The other drawback is in many people's opinion, most (not all) of the best diving on Curacao is towards the western end of the island, which is where the old dive resorts used to be. But one of them may work for you. If you want to shore dive elsewhere, you have tons of options. If you don't want to figure it out and drive around, look into an op called "the Dive Bus."

Near the western end of the island is Go West diving, with plenty of boat dives and very good shore diving. Unfortunately the nice resort it was adjacent to has been closed for awhile. Nearby All West apartments are popular with divers. They have tanks/lockers/rinse tanks etc there and a shore dive, but for boat diving you'd need to drive a couple minutes to Go West diving. And you'd need to cook or drive to the decent but not huge selection of restaurants in the area. Marazul is another place in the area people stay, though not as well set up for diving from what I read. Both are great options options for many but probably not what you're looking for. Quiet you will get.

The Marriott might be worth looking into. Again, not really a dive resort, but there is a dive shop on site. They have a boat, but I'm not sure if their boat reliably runs daily or if they have issues meeting minimum diver #s. There was a shore dive there year ago with the previous shop, not sure if that is still available, but for better shore diving you'd really want to get out and explore. There's restaurants there and around there, and not too far to town. (The island, the town, and the multitude of restaurants are very worth exploring on Curacao.) You could also check what the nearby AI Dreams has on offer, they have a dive shop.

 

[lexvil]

They specifically asked for boat diving. Some people (including me) prefer it.

~~~~~~~~~~
This is a little tricky. There used to be some real dive resorts on Curacao with boat diving, on site shore diving, and a generally similar experience, but several have disappeared over the years. There are a ton of resorts and other accommodations, and lots of dive ops scattered around, but it's hard to find the "dive resort" experience like Clearly Cayman.

Lions Dive is probably the closest thing to an turnkey dive resort nowadays. Ocean Encounters (the biggest op on the island) is based there. You get breakfast with a dive package, and you can get meal plans if you want. Or there are plenty of dining options on site or in easy walking distance. Nearby Sunscape AI is worth looking at, though not a "dive resort" per se. But you can get a dive package with Ocean Encounters which is on site there too. Both have boat and shore diving, though I'm not in love with the shore diving on site and there is much better to be had if you go explore. One thing they may not offer is peace and quiet - the area has become rather built up and busy. The other drawback is in many people's opinion, most (not all) of the best diving on Curacao is towards the western end of the island, which is where the old dive resorts used to be. But one of them may work for you. If you want to shore dive elsewhere, you have tons of options. If you don't want to figure it out and drive around, look into an op called "the Dive Bus."

Near the western end of the island is Go West diving, with plenty of boat dives and very good shore diving. Unfortunately the nice resort it was adjacent to has been closed for awhile. Nearby All West apartments are popular with divers. They have tanks/lockers/rinse tanks etc there and a shore dive, but for boat diving you'd need to drive a couple minutes to Go West diving. And you'd need to cook or drive to the decent but not huge selection of restaurants in the area. Marazul is another place in the area people stay, though not as well set up for diving from what I read. Both are great options options for many but probably not what you're looking for. Quiet you will get.

The Marriott might be worth looking into. Again, not really a dive resort, but there is a dive shop on site. They have a boat, but I'm not sure if their boat reliably runs daily or if they have issues meeting minimum diver #s. There was a shore dive there year ago with the previous shop, not sure if that is still available, but for better shore diving you'd really want to get out and explore. There's restaurants there and around there, and not too far to town. (The island, the town, and the multitude of restaurants are very worth exploring on Curacao.) You could also check what the nearby AI Dreams has on offer, they have a dive shop.

There are those who need crutches and those who think they do, boat diving is ok if someone is going to a place with limited shore diving. Resorts are ok but there are other ways, cheaper and more relaxing and private.

 

[Damselfish]

There are those who need crutches and those who think they do, boat diving is ok if someone is going to a place with limited shore diving. Resorts are ok but there are other ways, cheaper and more relaxing and private.

Has nothing to do with needing crutches, you're insulting people who simply have different preferences than you. A resort where I can stroll to the boat or jump off the dock is way more relaxing to me than dragging my crap all over the island, and well worth it to me. If that's not what you prefer, it's great you have that choice there, and I won't insult you for making it.

And, I tried to answer the OPs actual question, not tell them what they want is lame. We generally avoid AI or resort dining most of the time, preferring to explore places and check out the local restaurant scene - but I wouldn't tell someone they're wrong if they like something different.

 

[scubadada]

...Near the western end of the island is Go West diving, with plenty of boat dives and very good shore diving. Unfortunately the nice resort it was adjacent to has been closed for awhile. Nearby All West apartments are popular with divers. They have tanks/lockers/rinse tanks etc there and a shore dive, but for boat diving you'd need to drive a couple minutes to Go West diving. And you'd need to cook or drive to the decent but not huge selection of restaurants in the area. Marazul is another place in the area people stay, though not as well set up for diving from what I read. Both are great options options for many but probably not what you're looking for. Quiet you will get...

My wife and I stayed at Lodge Kura Hulanda and used Ocean Encounters West, now Go West Diving, in 2010. It's really a shame that the resort is not currently in operation, beautiful location, nice rooms with a view, and good food. The boat diving was very good as was the shore diving. The house reef at Go West, Playa Kalki/Alice in Wonderland was quite nice. We have thought of a return trip to Curacao but have not made it yet.

Back in the day, Sunset Waters Beach Resort was well thought of. They had very variable reviews towards the end and went bankrupt and closed in 2009. We docked there one day when the swells were too big to return to Ocean Encounters West and were bussed back . The place was totally decrepit, stripped and vandalized. The beach and ocean there were gorgeous. Oh well.

 

[Rob9876]

The Marriott might be worth looking into. Again, not really a dive resort, but there is a dive shop on site. They have a boat, but I'm not sure if their boat reliably runs daily or if they have issues meeting minimum diver #s. There was a shore dive there year ago with the previous shop, not sure if that is still available, but for better shore diving you'd really want to get out and explore. There's restaurants there and around there, and not too far to town. (The island, the town, and the multitude of restaurants are very worth exploring on Curacao.) You could also check what the nearby AI Dreams has on offer, they have a dive shop.

We stayed at the Marriott Beach Resort last October for a brief trip. Overall fairly nice experience, but besides breakfast we found the food mediocre at best, sometimes bad, and definitely high resort prices for what you get. Other than restaurants at the Marriott, it is not really near other restaurants, and taxis in Curacao seemed to be $20 or more (each way) even to just go about 5 minutes away. If I stayed there again I'd be inclined to rent a car.

The beach at the Marriott Beach Resort is a nice easy entry (though a layer of small shells when entering, so recommend booties) and I snorkeled out a little way and found a lot of brain coral. Did not end up doing a shore dive there, but seems like it might be nice (water was clearer there than my boat dives).

The resort does have an on-site dive op (Goby Divers), but I ended up going with Caribbean Sea Sports (which is the dive op at the Dreams Resort nearby) mostly because they were much better at responding to emails, and they were happy to pick me up from the Marriott. CSS was very nice to dive with.

 

[Damselfish]

My wife and I stayed at Lodge Kura Hulanda and used Ocean Encounters West, now Go West Diving, in 2010. It's really a shame that the resort is not currently in operation, beautiful location, nice rooms with a view, and good food. The boat diving was very good as was the shore diving. The house reef at Go West, Playa Kalki/Alice in Wonderland was quite nice. We have thought of a return trip to Curacao but have not made it yet.

Back in the day, Sunset Waters Beach Resort was well thought of. They had very variable reviews towards the end and went bankrupt and closed in 2009. We docked there one day when the swells were too big to return to Ocean Encounters West and were bussed back . The place was totally decrepit, stripped and vandalized. The beach and ocean there were gorgeous. Oh well.

We also enjoyed Kura Hulanda a few times, was nice while it lasted.

The place I really miss is the former Habitat at Coral Estate. Looks like the resort itself, which had been falling apart, is much improved now. But the dive ops since Habitat have been erratic about having/running a dive boat, and apparently don't now. The shore diving is nice there, but maybe not the most convenient base if you do want to shore dive other spots.

Never stayed at Sunset Waters, but in its early days Habitat stopped there to fuel the dive boat (from barrels they drove there!) so we wandered around a fair bit. If it was still open then, was just barely.

 

[Damselfish]

We stayed at the Marriott Beach Resort last October for a brief trip. Overall fairly nice experience, but besides breakfast we found the food mediocre at best, sometimes bad, and definitely high resort prices for what you get. Other than at the Marriott, it is not really near other restaurants and taxis in Curacao seemed to be $20 or more (each way) even to just go about 5 minutes away. If I stayed there again I'd be inclined to rent a car. The beach at the Marriott Beach Resort is a nice easy entry (though a layer of small shells when entering, so recommend booties) and I snorkeled out a little way and found a lot of brain coral. Did not end up doing a shore dive there, but seems like it might be nice (water was clearer there than my boat dives).

The resort does have an on-site dive op (Goby Divers), but I ended up going with Caribbean Sea Sports (which is the dive op at the Dreams Resort nearby) mostly because they were much better at responding to emails, and they were happy to pick me up from the Marriott. CSS was very nice to dive with.

Too bad about the Marriott. We've only stayed there one night ever, but eaten a number of times and the restaurants used to be pretty good, if resort over-priced. CSS always had a good rep and used to be at the Marriott, until the resort shut down for years for renovations. There was a great beach restaurant and dive op almost next door which probably got wiped out by new resort development, and a good restaurant at a hotel across the street, which I think is now Zoetry.

Starting halfway through our first trip to Curacao (Lions dive) we have always rented a car.