Bus service on Curacao

[70sGringo]

I have read plenty about the bus service on Aruba, but don't see anything posted about bus service on Curacao. Can anyone comment on whether there is decent bus service on this island?

 

We will be on Curacao Wed June 29, 2005 from AOS and would like to know our options. Primarily, we would like to get to a good snorkeling beach. Thanks.

[Coolcruise02]

Please come back and tell us about your day in Curacao after your cruise! I would also like to know about the bus service and snorkeling. :)

[70sGringo]

We visited Curacao on June 29. We decided that snorkeling at a beach would be the day's excursion. We actually did three snorkel beaches during our weeklong AOS trip. Jan Thiel was probably our third favorite, because they "nickel and dime" you here (we also did St. John, Cinammon Bay--easily the favorite and Arashi Beach, Aruba, also very good).

 

Right as we got off the boat, there were taxi drivers trying to get your fare. I talked to one who hurriedly wheeled his car around to me. I asked him how much to Jan Thiel beach? He quickly replied $30 (me and my two boys). I quickly shut his open door and decided to walk the 3 blocks to town. Near the foot of the pontoon bridge, I found another taxi stand. They wanted $25. I came back with $20. The driver said "you got a deal". I suspect you could even get them lower, but there are no posted rates, so you have to rely on your ability to bargain and/or move on to another driver. The short walk saved me $20 (if you count the roundtrip, so I was satisfied).

 

The trip to Jan Thiel was further than it looked on the map. It took about 30 minutes of driving. Winston (a genial guy who I realized spoke better Spanish than English, so I conversed with him in Spanish) drove us there in his ~1978 Cadillac. He assured me that the snorkeling was better at Jan Thiel (over Seaquarium beach). We pre-arranged with him to meet us in three hours.

 

My tourbook said it would be $3.50/carload at Jan Thiel. This was flat wrong. It was $3/person. While I was out snorkeling with one son, the other grabbed a lounge chair (probably one of a hundred not in use). He was eventually asked to pay for this chair. The girl said "3". He wasn't sure if she wanted NaFlorins or $US. She shrewdly acted dumb about exchange rates and got $5US out of him. I'm certain that she pocketed the $2 extra. No one came around again, but I made sure I got use out of at least one more chair. Jan Thiel also has a bar and a restaurant and a dive center. Also windsurfers and catamarans to rent. I wouldn't call this place cut-rate, but it is also a fairly nice destination. The snorkeling is good, but you must get out of the small bay and around each point to get the best snorkeling. I made sure to ask "where the best snorkeling is", and the tips about getting out of the bay were worth the asking.

 

Winston was back at Jan Thiel right when he said he would be there. Another $20 got us back to the ship.

 

One lesson learned from the AOS cruise. The boat is in port (3 of 4 ports) from ~8AM to 5:30PM. If you are going to do an activity such as snorkeling, pick ONE quality destination and go there and have fun. Stretching for more than one beach or activity would really be a time crunch.

 

I did see bus stops, but never saw any credible way to view a schedule or a route. So, you are left with taxis or renting your own car.

[Coolcruise02]

Thanks for coming back with a review! :)

[CaribbeanBlue]

There is a local bus service that travels the island. Its clean and low price ( I dont recall the exact price but at the time it seemed fair to me) Just ask around and someone will tell you where the stops are. It does hit most of the local attractions, shopping, dining places and hotels.

 

CaribbeanBlue

 

http://www.*****.org

[70sGringo]

CaribbeanBlue-

The great thing about this website is getting info up front. When the ship itinerary only allows a limited amount of time onshore, knowing exactly how to use the bus service is important. If, say, you compare Aruba to Curacao (two islands we visited on AOS in June), the amount of info, ease of use and availability is very different.

 

In Aruba, there is a main transit hub right across the street from the pier. There is also a billboard displaying the bus numbers, routes and times. There is also much written about it in the Aruba section of this website. We found the bus service extremely user-friendly and really was the "deal of the week" on our cruise ($2pp roundtrip to their best snorkeling beach!).

 

As far as Curacao, I saw none of the same as Aruba. Perhaps the taxi industry on Curacao has discouraged making bus service easy to use for visiting cruisers. I don't know. I agree with you that I did see some bus stops, but there is nothing on the web, nothing in travel books I read, nothing in these threads that gave me enough info that I was able to come up with a plan ahead of time. It appears to be a missed opportunity for Curacao that they don't make it convenient for the cruise ship travellers to avail themselves of the local mass transit system.

[CaribbeanBlue]

It's possible to get around the island by bus, but public transportation is somewhat limited. Curaçao has two types of public transportation; the large yellow or blue busses called konvoi and, on the most traveled urban routes, collective cars or vans called bus. You can recongnize them by the word BUS on the license plate. Major bus terminals are located outside the post office on the Waaigat inlet in Punda and beside the underpass in Otrobanda.

Bus fares are NAf 1.00 in town and for point east and NAf 1.50 to the western end of the island. Busses run most city routes hourly, every two hours for point west, and less frequently on Sundays.

 

By Taxi

Taxis are easily identified by their sign and/or the letters TX on the license plate. There are taxi stands at the airport, in Punda and Otrobanda, and outside major hotels. Taxis have no meters, but fares are standard; confirm these before departure. Expect to pay about US$ 10.00 from the airport to town, US$ 12.00-15.00 to hotels and US$ 8.00 from Otrobanda to Punda. Fares are based on 1 to 4 persons, with a 25% surcharge for a fifth passenger and/or after 11:00 pm, and a US$ 2.00 fee if excess baggage prevents the trunk from closing. Tipping, while not obligatory, is usually 10% of the fare. You can rent a taxi for sightseeing for about US$ 20.00 per hour. To get a taxi, call 869 07 47.

 

CaribbeanBlue

 

http://www.*****.org

[jplewis]

I thought I had read that there was a sightseeing trolley. Did anyone see anything like that? We did that in Key West and it was a good overall view.

Patsy