curacao......any "MUST Do/See"??

[deputydan1]

hey gang!
thanks to so many of you, we just booked our anniversary dive trip to curacao....staying at the marriott...since the wife likes the "plushy" resort stuff...

anyhow! just wondering! we'll be there 3/4-3/11~~

can anyone recommend any MUST-Do's/See's??
ie. dive sites, restaurants, nice shopping/museum, etc.....

i hope the house reef at the marriott is nice!!

thanks all!!

anyone wanna join us??? drinks on me!

-dan

 

[ronrosa]

Hey Dan. I'll be at the Marriott 3/8 - 3/15. My wife doesn't dive, so I'm definitely interested in meeting and diving with you as long as you don't mind that I shoot video.

Have you decided who to dive with ? I've been debating between using the Marriott operator or driving up to Sunset House. I may do 1 day with each and take it from there. The house reef sure sounds convenient.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

The day trip to Klein Curacao aboard the Mermaid is worth doing, non-divers can snorkle in the turtle grass bed where turtles were present when we visited Curacao.

Directors' Bay is a lesser-known shore dive near the famous Tugboat site. There's a few guilders fee to get past the security gates - so minimum vehicle security worries. This was one of our favorite shore dives when we visited.

Porto Marie was also an excellent shore dive site and nice beach with a good beach snack bar - again a few guilders entrance fee.

Check out www.shorediving.com if you haven't already done so.

Have a great trip to Curacao!

 

[herman]

I second Porta Maria, really nice site for both divers and non-divers. Cas Abo is another site similar to Porta Maria. I missed it when I was there but I understand the ostrich farm is really cool. The aquarium is OK, not the best one I have ever seen but worth going to as well. Parking near the Queen Emma bridge, walking across it and touring the floating market is worth doing. If they are still handing out the shopping bags at the airport DO get one. They were full of great information including a really nice restautrant guide.

 

[sharon]

Must do dive site- Playa Kalki, aka Alice in Wonderland, it's in Westpunt. Ocean Encounters West(Allwest) has their dive shop right on the beach there, call them, you probably can rent tanks from them. Both directions are nice on this shoredive, but I really love getting in and heading west/northwest, it is a fantastic dive. Ocean Encounters West also has a boat and they do a two tank dive with first site being Watamula and second site Mushroom Forest, also 2 must do dives on Curacao.

Topside, Boca Tabla out on the west end is a nice little park with a small sea cave. If your wife likes the sun, have her bring her suit and enjoy the seaspray along the north shore cliffs. The view from the road leading to Sunset Waters is a fantastic overlook. You also must stop at Big Knip Beach, it's just beautiful.

 

[Damselfish]

Don't miss a trip downtown, there's shopping of course but also lots of interesting sights, a few already mentioned, which any of the tourist guides will list. It's not your typical Carribean downtown.

The Seaquarium is small but I think it's worth checking out if you have time. The fish seem very healthy, I figure because the water is circulated right in from the ocean and I believe they also rotate the fish in and out. There's a bunch of resorts and stuff going on in that area. There used to be a Brazilian or Argentinian restaurant around there someplace that was really good (if you're a serious meat-eater) but that was a long time ago I ate there so I don't know anymore. Lion's Dive Hotel is right there too and if you want to eat while you're in the area their restaurant also at least used to be pretty good.

It would take a long time to work your way through all the restaurants.

Try a Indonesian Rijsttafel for dinner one night. This is a thing where they brings lots of small dishes of different things meant to be shared, like 20 courses. Think of it as Indonesian Dim Sum or Tapas. It's best to do this with a group. We wound up getting together with some other people on our dive boat to do this once and had a great time. Restaurant Rijsttafel Indonesia is excellent, someone local pointed us to this one. It's tucked away in a residential neighborhood and a little tricky to find if you're driving yourself and for better or worse you get to drive across the big high bridge you see in the pictures. A little scary if it's windy. There is or was a Rijsttafel place in Waterfoort Arches which was fine but not as good.

Astrolab Observatory restaurant in Hotel Kura Hulanda downtown (Otrabanda side) is supposed to be very good but I've never managed to get there. The hotel itself has a couple museums and is interesting to explore, it's very different.

I like Bistro Le Clochard which is downtown (Otrabanda) on the channel/ocean right on the corner in a renovated fort. Definitely reserve a table outside.

Grill King is a casual place upstairs in the same complex and the food was excellent.

We've eaten at La Pergola in Waterfoort Arches downtown (another renovated fort Punda side) a number of times which is pretty good if you want Italian. There are a number of restaurants in Waterfoort Arches with seating on the water, we once watched an eel hunting in the tidepools right from our table. Usually we just wander through and read the menus and see which one we're in the mood for at the moment.

We've also had good food and service at Landhuis Daniel, it's out in the boonies a bit.

I think Fort Nassau is an overrated tourist trap and you pay for the view, but the view is neat. Great place to go have a few drinks on the patio though and watch the refinery flames at night.

The Portofino restaurant at the Marriott is good too. And if I remember right there's a decent deli/ice cream place. I don't recall if I've tried the main restaurant there.

 

[scubamax]

A really nice place to eat on the beach is Kon Tiki, just down from Lions Dive resort. My wife liked it so much we went back twice!. Nice and romantic and all that good stuff, and the food is not bad either.

 

[scubapolly]

Dives- Mushroom Forrest is a great dive, also the Superior Producer is a fun wreck to dive. Schlong Bai- was another good dive site. Basically didn't have a bad dive the whole time I was there.

Non-diving- a day trip to Mt. Cristovel (or somthing like that, only "mountain" on the island) is quite a treat. The hike is a bit challenging, but the view is unbelievable.

Have a good trip- Curacao is still one of the best islands I've been too (hmmm...... thinking I need to start planning a return trip).

 

[Jchoby]

Ditto on mushroom forest... I think that was the best dive site of the trip..

Have fun..

 

[MarkUK]

Car Pile – dive is right in front of the Breezes Superclub and I am doing it in a few days! Hurrah! Where else can you dive a reef littered with cars covered in coral which get older the deeper you get??? I found a 1930s coupe down at 55m, smothered in whip corals, etc. Looked bizarre...

Mark