Pacific Diver
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Curacao Trip Report: Diving/Lodging/Dining
I pestered a number of you here on the board as I was preparing for a recent dive trip to Curacao, so I thought the least I could do was write up a bit of a report that might be helpful to others.
My wife and I (no kids) traveled to Curacao in mid-April, primarily for diving. We are experienced divers; I have just shy of 180 dives, my wife has well over 200. We've dived all over the world; we've stayed at luxury hotels as well as basic dive accommodations. Our most recent previous dive trip was to Bonaire, where we appreciated the flexibility and economy of renting a pickup and shore diving according to our own schedule, so we decided to do the same on this trip.
Lodging: We stayed at the Marriott. We weren't expecting luxury but, even so, the property was overdue for repairs and renovations. The carpets and furniture were showing their age. A couple of bathroom fixtures had at some point been pulled from their moorings and seemed ready to fall apart again; the desk lamp had exposed wires and constantly shorted out. The mattress needed replacing. On the positive side, the staff was helpful, the hot water plentiful, and the (not-free) Internet speedy. I've heard only terrible things about the Hilton next door. If you prefer a brand hotel with a dive operation attached, as opposed to an apartment rental, the Marriott is probably your best bet but its expensive.
If you do stay at the Marriott, avoid eating there. It's overpriced even by Curacao standards, and the quality is poor. Never before have I needed a steak knife to eat fish. We filled the minibar with fruit, yogurt and cheese for breakfast; we ate the rest of our meals elsewhere.
Diving: We did all shore dives on the northwest part of the island. (While we were in Curacao, the Queen Juliana Bridge was under repair with only one lane open in each direction, resulting in traffic congestion that made getting to the eastern end of the island more trouble than it was worth.) We did about a dozen dives at about ten different sites up the west coast. We rented a Daihatsu SUV from Budget whose rear suspension groaned under the weight of tanks and gear. At a couple of dive sites we saw new pickup trucks with the Holiday Rentals Curacao logo, which looked like a better option for those looking to get to shore dive sites with a rental vehicle.
With one exception (Playa Hundu), the dive sites were easy to find, well marked with signs on the main roads. We were able to get everywhere we needed to go with a free map that we picked up at the airport. A number of previous posters to the forum complained about the difficulty of finding the dive sites, so I assume the signs were a recent addition. Even so, what was really lacking was a comprehensive Curacao dive guide. We cobbled together our dive plans from looking at different sites and boards. We did not find the Curacao Diving Guide useful.
Shore diving in Curacao required lots of driving; the dive sites were farther apart than those in Bonaire. There was also more walking from the car to the water's edge in Curacao compared to Bonaire. Hauling gear across parking lots and down to the beach was a pain. That said, most of the entries are sand beaches with little surge, which made getting in and out of the water easy, something not always true in Bonaire. Some sites had longer swim-outs than others, but all were manageable. The dives themselves were pretty straightforward: swim out to the reef, descend, pick a direction (there was little current when we were there), and go. The coral and fish were consistent from site to site; no one site was better than the others in that regard. Our deepest dive was 20m. We did not dive the Mushroom Forest, which was only accessible by boat and we couldn't find a dive operation that fit our schedule. Overall, our favorite sites were:
· Playa Jeremi (an isolated beach with an easy swim out),
· Playa Piskado (a small, uncrowded fishing pier with an easy entry),
· Playa Kalki (home of Go West Diving, $5 per person for a shore dive if youre not diving with Go West, steep stairs down from the parking lot),
· Daaibooi Baai (a broad beach, plenty of parking), and
· Playa Cas Abao (a wide beach).
Some on the board have reported vehicle break-ins. We did not have that problem. We dived both crowded beaches and isolated spots without incident. The Marriott dive shop (Caribbean Sea Sports) warned us away from Superior Producer, claiming that break-ins were almost the rule rather than the exception at that site.
We got tanks and weights from Caribbean Sea Sports. They were helpful, letting us take tanks on the honor system and giving us a spare key to the equipment locker for days that we left for dive sites early or returned late. We bought a couple of plastic bins at a local market to haul our gear around in.
Dining: Prices in Curacao can be eye-popping, no more so than in restaurants. In Willemstad, on the Punta side, avoid the tourist traps on Waterfortstraat mediocre, expensive food. If youre overlooking the water, youre overpaying. Get away from the water to the smaller streets in Punta and you'll have better luck. We liked a little outdoor place near the synagogue that we think was called Circle Bar. Sails, at the Maritime Museum, was a nice and reasonable restaurant.
We found a few places for lunch when we were out diving. Theres a restaurant at Playa Lagun at the bottom of the hill near the parking lot. Convenient for diving at Playa Lagun, of course, and also convenient to Playa Jeremi. Jaanchis is on the main road near Playa Piskado. Playa Porto Marie has a decent, large outdoor bar and restaurant, crowded on weekends.
If you have a rental car, Centrum Supermarket is easy to find, on the road to Bullenbaai just off the road to the airport.
If we go back, well probably skip the hotel and rent an apartment. We would try to find a place that is further from downtown than the Marriott, but close enough that going into town for a meal would still be convenient. While all of the best diving is far to the west, there are not enough other distractions that would encourage us to stay all the way out there.
I pestered a number of you here on the board as I was preparing for a recent dive trip to Curacao, so I thought the least I could do was write up a bit of a report that might be helpful to others.
My wife and I (no kids) traveled to Curacao in mid-April, primarily for diving. We are experienced divers; I have just shy of 180 dives, my wife has well over 200. We've dived all over the world; we've stayed at luxury hotels as well as basic dive accommodations. Our most recent previous dive trip was to Bonaire, where we appreciated the flexibility and economy of renting a pickup and shore diving according to our own schedule, so we decided to do the same on this trip.
Lodging: We stayed at the Marriott. We weren't expecting luxury but, even so, the property was overdue for repairs and renovations. The carpets and furniture were showing their age. A couple of bathroom fixtures had at some point been pulled from their moorings and seemed ready to fall apart again; the desk lamp had exposed wires and constantly shorted out. The mattress needed replacing. On the positive side, the staff was helpful, the hot water plentiful, and the (not-free) Internet speedy. I've heard only terrible things about the Hilton next door. If you prefer a brand hotel with a dive operation attached, as opposed to an apartment rental, the Marriott is probably your best bet but its expensive.
If you do stay at the Marriott, avoid eating there. It's overpriced even by Curacao standards, and the quality is poor. Never before have I needed a steak knife to eat fish. We filled the minibar with fruit, yogurt and cheese for breakfast; we ate the rest of our meals elsewhere.
Diving: We did all shore dives on the northwest part of the island. (While we were in Curacao, the Queen Juliana Bridge was under repair with only one lane open in each direction, resulting in traffic congestion that made getting to the eastern end of the island more trouble than it was worth.) We did about a dozen dives at about ten different sites up the west coast. We rented a Daihatsu SUV from Budget whose rear suspension groaned under the weight of tanks and gear. At a couple of dive sites we saw new pickup trucks with the Holiday Rentals Curacao logo, which looked like a better option for those looking to get to shore dive sites with a rental vehicle.
With one exception (Playa Hundu), the dive sites were easy to find, well marked with signs on the main roads. We were able to get everywhere we needed to go with a free map that we picked up at the airport. A number of previous posters to the forum complained about the difficulty of finding the dive sites, so I assume the signs were a recent addition. Even so, what was really lacking was a comprehensive Curacao dive guide. We cobbled together our dive plans from looking at different sites and boards. We did not find the Curacao Diving Guide useful.
Shore diving in Curacao required lots of driving; the dive sites were farther apart than those in Bonaire. There was also more walking from the car to the water's edge in Curacao compared to Bonaire. Hauling gear across parking lots and down to the beach was a pain. That said, most of the entries are sand beaches with little surge, which made getting in and out of the water easy, something not always true in Bonaire. Some sites had longer swim-outs than others, but all were manageable. The dives themselves were pretty straightforward: swim out to the reef, descend, pick a direction (there was little current when we were there), and go. The coral and fish were consistent from site to site; no one site was better than the others in that regard. Our deepest dive was 20m. We did not dive the Mushroom Forest, which was only accessible by boat and we couldn't find a dive operation that fit our schedule. Overall, our favorite sites were:
· Playa Jeremi (an isolated beach with an easy swim out),
· Playa Piskado (a small, uncrowded fishing pier with an easy entry),
· Playa Kalki (home of Go West Diving, $5 per person for a shore dive if youre not diving with Go West, steep stairs down from the parking lot),
· Daaibooi Baai (a broad beach, plenty of parking), and
· Playa Cas Abao (a wide beach).
Some on the board have reported vehicle break-ins. We did not have that problem. We dived both crowded beaches and isolated spots without incident. The Marriott dive shop (Caribbean Sea Sports) warned us away from Superior Producer, claiming that break-ins were almost the rule rather than the exception at that site.
We got tanks and weights from Caribbean Sea Sports. They were helpful, letting us take tanks on the honor system and giving us a spare key to the equipment locker for days that we left for dive sites early or returned late. We bought a couple of plastic bins at a local market to haul our gear around in.
Dining: Prices in Curacao can be eye-popping, no more so than in restaurants. In Willemstad, on the Punta side, avoid the tourist traps on Waterfortstraat mediocre, expensive food. If youre overlooking the water, youre overpaying. Get away from the water to the smaller streets in Punta and you'll have better luck. We liked a little outdoor place near the synagogue that we think was called Circle Bar. Sails, at the Maritime Museum, was a nice and reasonable restaurant.
We found a few places for lunch when we were out diving. Theres a restaurant at Playa Lagun at the bottom of the hill near the parking lot. Convenient for diving at Playa Lagun, of course, and also convenient to Playa Jeremi. Jaanchis is on the main road near Playa Piskado. Playa Porto Marie has a decent, large outdoor bar and restaurant, crowded on weekends.
If you have a rental car, Centrum Supermarket is easy to find, on the road to Bullenbaai just off the road to the airport.
If we go back, well probably skip the hotel and rent an apartment. We would try to find a place that is further from downtown than the Marriott, but close enough that going into town for a meal would still be convenient. While all of the best diving is far to the west, there are not enough other distractions that would encourage us to stay all the way out there.
