Best Beach for Beach Day in Curacao

[Lsimon]

I can not find any beaches online in a google search for Holiday Beach and Blue Bay. Are they called anything else? Would love to see some pictures of the beach, but nothing comes up under their names. thanks in advance

 

Click here for a picture of Holiday beach - look carefully it is protected by the breakwater and is in the center of the photo. I have to say from the perspective I saw it, Holiday Beach did not look very appeaking with all the industrial stuff nearby and the port so close. But others have reported enjoying it so perhaps it looks better once you are there. I took this from the balcony of our cabin on the Millennium at port last March. The rest of the pictures show Porto Mari which is not close to the pier but worth the ride in my opinion.

[hildacloake]

post #14 on page 4 explains the location. Hopes this helps.

[curacao]

Click here for a picture of Holiday beach - look carefully it is protected by the breakwater and is in the center of the photo. I have to say from the perspective I saw it, Holiday Beach did not look very appeaking with all the industrial stuff nearby and the port so close. But others have reported enjoying it so perhaps it looks better once you are there. I took this from the balcony of our cabin on the Millennium at port last March. The rest of the pictures show Porto Mari which is not close to the pier but worth the ride in my opinion.

 

It is really not industrial .... it is the desalinazation (sp ??) plant, Aqualectra. You can actually drink the water in Curacao, unlike parts of the US.. Their industrial area is in Spanish Waters areas, which is up the channel, past the shipping piers and to the left. They jet ski, sail, and wind surf in Spanish waters, but I never did because of the Oil companies, Valero and Curoil are all back there. There is a great wreck dive just yards off the MegaPier but noone can dive the wreck as long as there is a ship in port. The water is very clear and lots of sealife in this area, just like the rest of the island.

 

Guess it depends on what ya want to do ... be close, be halfway or 45 minutes away...... there is a beach for everyone. Cannot see them all in one day, but I am going to try in November

[RUDIMAY1]

lsimon thanks for the pictures. even if that is a water treatment plant it still looks industrial with the smoky stacks in the background. I would be dissapointed if my day was planned going to a beach day on Holiday beach i can do that at home which has beaches close to industry. That is why I go away. But the other beach porto playa mari looks great and just what i would like to enjoy for a beach day. love amstel bright, nice cold small bottles, yum.

 

I had one other trip to Curacao and missed a beach day to shop because when we pulled into the pier noticed it look kind of industrial and went to plan b. which was our loss for not being informed about other parts of the island.

 

Curacao: As for US drinking water being a problem! It is great in my area and I haven't had any issues in the other parts of the country. Where have you had problems?

 

A few weeks and I'll have my own opinion of beaches in Curacao. Planning on Blue bay at this point. And I'll drink Amstel Bright not water even though it is purified salt water.

 

Thanks to everybody for all the info.

[RosieRoo]

I have tried to read through all the posts here and I am still not sure where to go. We are a party of six and would like a nice beach with snorkeling and facilities. I see that some are recommended over and over. LSimon had some great pics on another thread. Sorry can't remember the name of the beach. Could someone please tell me which ones have amenities (changing facilities/bathrooms/food), how far from the port and how much it would cost to get transportation there for the six of us? Thanks!

[Lsimon]

I have tried to read through all the posts here and I am still not sure where to go. We are a party of six and would like a nice beach with snorkeling and facilities. I see that some are recommended over and over. LSimon had some great pics on another thread. Sorry can't remember the name of the beach. Could someone please tell me which ones have amenities (changing facilities/bathrooms/food), how far from the port and how much it would cost to get transportation there for the six of us? Thanks!

 

The only beach we've spent a lot of time at is Porto Mari. After we spent a day there we wanted to return on our next trip to the island and are planning a 3rd trip there next spring. Porto Mari has all the facilities you are asking about and all are very nice. Taxi cost is $10/pp each way or $20/pp round trip. Admission was $10 for two of us, including chairs. I can't say exactly how far from port it is but seems like the ride was a little over 20 minutes or so.

 

I've also been to Kontiki once and it is closer to the port. We only went there for lunch and it was a nice facility, with food a little more upscale than at Porto Mari - although Porto Mari had a nice selection of beach food including some fresh sea food. I've heard there is snorkeling there and don't know if there are changing facilities or not.

[RosieRoo]

Lsimon, thanks for the info. I showed my husband the pics you had of Porto Mari and he was sold. Sounds like it has everything we need. Thanks again.

[GypsyOBRN]

The only beach we've spent a lot of time at is Porto Mari. After we spent a day there we wanted to return on our next trip to the island and are planning a 3rd trip there next spring. Porto Mari has all the facilities you are asking about and all are very nice. Taxi cost is $10/pp each way or $20/pp round trip. Admission was $10 for two of us, including chairs. I can't say exactly how far from port it is but seems like the ride was a little over 20 minutes or so.

 

I've also been to Kontiki once and it is closer to the port. We only went there for lunch and it was a nice facility, with food a little more upscale than at Porto Mari - although Porto Mari had a nice selection of beach food including some fresh sea food. I've heard there is snorkeling there and don't know if there are changing facilities or not.

 

 

Thank you for sharing! You have me sold as well! Awesome pictures! :D

[Lsimon]

I have tried to read through all the posts here and I am still not sure where to go. We are a party of six and would like a nice beach with snorkeling and facilities. I see that some are recommended over and over. LSimon had some great pics on another thread. Sorry can't remember the name of the beach. Could someone please tell me which ones have amenities (changing facilities/bathrooms/food), how far from the port and how much it would cost to get transportation there for the six of us? Thanks!

 

The beaches I've read the most about are Porto Mari (which we've been to), Cas Abao (which we haven't but are considering) and Kontiki - all of which I believe have the facilities you are looking for. Porto Mari taxi is $10/pp each way and I think I read that the cost to Cas Abao is about the same. Kontiki is closer and less expensive but I'm not sure of the total cost. Porto Mari had an entrance fee of about $10 for the two of us which included beach chairs. There were no umbrellas there but chairs were available under palapitas and in shady areas near trees. I don't know what the fees are at the other beaches. The only time we went to Kontiki we only had lunch at the restaurant there (pretty nice) and didn't sit on the beach.

[theklingfam]

We were taken to the Mambo beach as part of our excursion and I didn't like it at all... it was dirty and smelled like raw fish that was coming from the kitchen there on the beach. The beach chairs were old and crammed into this tiny beach. I would not go there again. Seemed like a beach where a lot of locals hung out but not many tourists.

[Travel Bear]

Blue Bay Resort was very nice. It is closer than Porto Mari which is really where we wanted to go, but Blue Bay was half the cab price so we went there. Blue Bay was very nice, 8.00 pp ent.fee includes chairs, shades, pool and beach. I loved the beach and thought it was beautiful and peaceful. There are some large rocks to beware of but you can see them so it wasn't a problem for us. We had beers and snacks from the snack bar, very reasonably priced and they take US dollars but change is in local currency. There is also a full resturant a la carte and seemed a bit more pricey. Pool was mostly empty, large and shady. Very quiet. I don't care for the louder noisey beaches and this was perfect for us.

[workn2cruise]

We got a taxi to the Hilton $3pp and bought day passes for $11. It was a nice beach, rather small though. We had loungers, umbrellas and bar service on the beach.

 

Holiday Beach was disgusting; our friend tried to go there and said the smell was horrible.

[Lsimon]

...Holiday Beach was disgusting; our friend tried to go there and said the smell was horrible.

 

I've seen some posts about Holiday Beach that paint it as a nice place. This surprised me since it didn't look very nice viewed from our ship. Yours is the first post relaying an unsatisfactory experience there.

 

I have two photos of Holiday Beach, taken from the ship on our last cruise there, just before our photos of Porto Mari: http://simon-pics.smugmug.com/Cruises/Caribbean-March-15-2010/Curacao-and-Playa-Porto-Mari/11693566_BRKPr#825044918_JAsze

[workn2cruise]

I've seen some posts about Holiday Beach that paint it as a nice place. This surprised me since it didn't look very nice viewed from our ship. Yours is the first post relaying an unsatisfactory experience there.

 

I have two photos of Holiday Beach, taken from the ship on our last cruise there, just before our photos of Porto Mari: http://simon-pics.smugmug.com/Cruises/Caribbean-March-15-2010/Curacao-and-Playa-Porto-Mari/11693566_BRKPr#825044918_JAsze

 

It didn't look nice from our ship either; we were happy to end up at the Hilton. The frozen mojitos were delish!

[stag]

We have been to Kontiki couple times. Can't remember the fares now. I think it was very cheap. Here are my guess, taxi $5 pp, resort entrance fee $3 pp, drinks $3-5. We usually just hanged around the beach. Last year, we brought our own snorkeling equipment. The ocean was rough outside of the breakwater, but was calm inside. Unfortunately the rough ocean stirred up the sediment that affected the visibility.

[HappyCampers3]

The beaches I've read the most about are Porto Mari (which we've been to), Cas Abao (which we haven't but are considering) and Kontiki - all of which I believe have the facilities you are looking for. Porto Mari taxi is $10/pp each way and I think I read that the cost to Cas Abao is about the same. Kontiki is closer and less expensive but I'm not sure of the total cost. Porto Mari had an entrance fee of about $10 for the two of us which included beach chairs. There were no umbrellas there but chairs were available under palapitas and in shady areas near trees. I don't know what the fees are at the other beaches. The only time we went to Kontiki we only had lunch at the restaurant there (pretty nice) and didn't sit on the beach.

 

Did you arrange for the taxi to return for you or do they regularly come through/taxi stand?

[maria14]

Hello I have a question about porto mari beach. I am going there with my husband, mom and dad so there are 4 of us and I really want to go to porto mari beach but I am hearing a lot of different things about pricing. Does anybody know how much it is to take a taxi from the cruise port to porto mari and back? Also are there buses around to take there?

[Lsimon]

Hello I have a question about porto mari beach. I am going there with my husband, mom and dad so there are 4 of us and I really want to go to porto mari beach but I am hearing a lot of different things about pricing. Does anybody know how much it is to take a taxi from the cruise port to porto mari and back? Also are there buses around to take there?

 

There are no buses. The taxi fare as of 18 months ago was $10pp each way ($20/pp round trip). I've read a couple of posts that say if you have less than 4 people then there may be a higher minimum cab price of $40 each way ($80 round trip) but can not confirm as we've always gone in a larger group. Many of the taxi's are vans which can easily carry around 8 or so. If you have only 2 and there is a minimum you might be able to hang around the taxis a bit and see if there are others going there to group up with - the taxi drivers and dispatcher would probably help with this.

 

Did you arrange for the taxi to return for you or do they regularly come through/taxi stand?

 

We've always arranged a return time with our driver when he dropped us off. There is no taxi stand there and the only taxi's I've seen are those waiting for arranged return trips.

[janna1]

We've always arranged a return time with our driver when he dropped us off. There is no taxi stand there and the only taxi's I've seen are those waiting for arranged return trips.

 

We are going to Curacao next month. Our ship will dock from 8am to 5pm. This is our first time visit the island. We plan to go to porto marie and also want to tour around the port such the floating market. How long do you suggest to stay in porto marie? Should we tour the town first or go to the beach first? Thanks.

[Lsimon]

We did this with friends a couple times. We went to the beach first and had the driver pick us up early enough that we'd have a good 2 hours+ before we had to be back on the ship. We had the taxi driver drop us off by the floating bridge and walked into town and then walked back to the ship.

 

If I'm starting to run late I'd rather be close to the ship then far away - so personally I'd go for the beach first. Only problem is you're then carrying your beach things into town with you and also might have slightly damp swimwear on - although it is hot and dry enough there that I don't remember that being much of an issue.

[moondoggie]

Lots of differing info here--we leave on Thursday for Friday 12/3 sailing. So, we just like a quiet clean beach--which one? I believe we can walk to Holiday but must take a short cab to Hooks Hut--is there a local bus? We much prefer riding with the locals.

 

And must we buy a daypass at Holiday or Hooks?

 

Thanks for the latest info, fellow cruisers!

[janna1]

Anyone been seaquarium beach? Does it worthy to visit? It seems more closer to the port and more activities there.

[2CoolCanucks]

Sea Aquarium, Mambo and Kontiki are basically the same beach /area. They have separate entrances but are on the same strip of beach/water.

I liked it there but it's not great for snorkeling unless you go around the breakwall and that often has some sizeable waves.

[2CoolCanucks]

For those who want to take a quick FREE swim, and have the opportunity to do some other things in your day, here is a suggestion.

There is a beach that is relatively close to the pier called the Sonesta Beach. (At least that is what is used to be called)

You catch a local bus which are quite reasonably priced, to the "World Trade Center" which is by the Marriott Hotel. A few hundred yards further, at the end of that road, is this cute little beach. It has two sides, a windy and a calm side.

It has some nice snorkeling depending on the wind/wave activity. You can swim from there, into the "beach" of the Mariott which is right beside it. You can't walk from the one to the other because they have a fence and a guard there, usually to keep the locals out. The locals swim at this beach and it has palm trees and some cute little beach huts on it. Check it out on google maps.

[MommaFaye]

The only beach we've spent a lot of time at is Porto Mari. After we spent a day there we wanted to return on our next trip to the island and are planning a 3rd trip there next spring. Porto Mari has all the facilities you are asking about and all are very nice. Taxi cost is $10/pp each way or $20/pp round trip. Admission was $10 for two of us, including chairs. I can't say exactly how far from port it is but seems like the ride was a little over 20 minutes or so.

 

I've also been to Kontiki once and it is closer to the port. We only went there for lunch and it was a nice facility, with food a little more upscale than at Porto Mari - although Porto Mari had a nice selection of beach food including some fresh sea food. I've heard there is snorkeling there and don't know if there are changing facilities or not.

 

Your pictures are great. Did you take your own snorkel equipment or is there a dive shop where you can rent?