dfx
Contributor
Most of our recent vacation trips were to AI resorts around the Caribbean (Mexico, DR, Roatan...) which mostly had a schedule of half day (morning) diving and half day other stuff, either sight seeing or just lazing on the beach. AI is convenient because the resorts we book have a dive shop on site, prices aren't excessive and you don't have to worry about food or drink.
Now we're looking into Curacao and judging from reading up on it and from the severe lack of dedicated AI resorts, it seems that people don't usually go that route, but more tend to stay in non-AI hotels or other forms of accommodations, rent a car and travel around the island using that, buy their own groceries, maybe even cook their own food, and do a lot of shore diving and/or make their own way to the dive shop and boat dock if that has the better diving. Which suits us just fine if that's the way to go.
So what would you guys recommend for a "first timer"? We (a couple without kids) don't necessarily care for luxury, especially not if it involves wasting a lot of money (as the AI options in the various resorts seem to be excessively priced), but we do like to have a nice relaxing, hassle-free vacation with a certain amount of convenience. We don't want diving 24/7 but would rather like to combine it with either sight seeing and/or some easy time on a beach. We'd be totally ok with driving ourselves (even on a scooter, as we did in Bermuda).
Now we're looking into Curacao and judging from reading up on it and from the severe lack of dedicated AI resorts, it seems that people don't usually go that route, but more tend to stay in non-AI hotels or other forms of accommodations, rent a car and travel around the island using that, buy their own groceries, maybe even cook their own food, and do a lot of shore diving and/or make their own way to the dive shop and boat dock if that has the better diving. Which suits us just fine if that's the way to go.
So what would you guys recommend for a "first timer"? We (a couple without kids) don't necessarily care for luxury, especially not if it involves wasting a lot of money (as the AI options in the various resorts seem to be excessively priced), but we do like to have a nice relaxing, hassle-free vacation with a certain amount of convenience. We don't want diving 24/7 but would rather like to combine it with either sight seeing and/or some easy time on a beach. We'd be totally ok with driving ourselves (even on a scooter, as we did in Bermuda).