Porto Marie Questions

[vavasmom]

We are booked on the Liberty of the Seas with port times of 7am - 3:30 pm Nov 8th.

 

Last year we had a port stop in Curacao and did the IRIE western tour. Both myself and BFF loved Porto Marie. We are looking forward to visiting the island again

 

I have been doing reading this week and think this will work but have some doubts:

 

- Catch a cab at the port to Porto Marie around 8:45 (It opens at 9:30)

The cab should be approx $45 each way and take 30 - 45 min

 

- Pay admission and rent a couple of chairs ($3 per person + $11 or 15 for chairs)

 

- we may buy a snack and a beverage (or two) (I am having a hard time finding approx cost)

 

- catch a cab back around 1pm - how do we get a cab back?

 

Will this work? is there a better plan or another beach we should consider?

He loves to snorkel (has own equipment) and I like to just be in the water and chill on the beach.

Edited May 29, 2015 by vavasmom

[EatonDoolittle]

Sounds just like my typical and perfect day in Curacao, also.

 

Your cabbie will pick you up for the return at a pre-arranged time - no need to pay till then.

You could probably wail till 1:45 or 2 and still make it back. Approx 30 to 45 minutes

 

Can't help with food costs, but I recall a beer being in the standard island price range..$5 - 7 bucks. Great wifi in the bar area.

 

Last time I was traveling solo, so I did wait a bit with the cabbie at the pier till we found 4 more to share the ride out. It's not mandatory to do that, but it drops the per person cost, and is certainly better overall for the environment, as most taxis are the vans.

[vavasmom]

Thank you for the feedback EatonDoolittle

[AmandaKaye79]

We just went to Porto Marie last week. We prearranged transportation through Henry Platte. For 18 of us, it was $360 total for the bus. We ran into 5 others that were not in our group. They had paid $25 per person round trip from the pier to Porto Marie. The driver will pick you up at your desired time. Our driver suggested 2:30 so we went with that.

 

Admission was $3.00 per person and the beach chairs were $3.50 per person. There were plenty of umbrellas. One thing you should know is that the beach is very rocky. You will need water shoes for sure. Once you get out about 25-30 feet into the beach, the rocks aren't so bad.

 

As far as food prices, we ordered 2 burgers, fries, and a couple of drinks. The cost was around $50.

[vavasmom]

AmandaKaye79 - thank you so much for the review. I can't wait to go back. This was our favorite stop on the IRIE tour last year.

[slabeaume]

I wanted to go there on our recent cruise, but no one else did and the cabby was reluctant to take us there. Guess it got in the way of him getting other rides. After waiting awhile, someone did want to go to Blue Bay, so we reluctantly went there. We too are snorkelers and this seemed more a beach for lounging. But I was pleasantly surprised when we went around the points on either side of the bay and found the snorkeling to be quite good. Check out my pictures of Curacao here:

http://travelingwithsue.blogspot.com/2015/05/2015-april-17-may-1-southern-caribbean.html

 

Curacao was our last port, so those pictures are near the end of the post.

[Jey01]

we are hoping to go there on our upcoming cruise or possibly to Cas abou. We are planning on cash for the chairs/entrance and of course the cab, but can you use your credit card at the bar/snack shack?

[vavasmom]

We paid cash for everything at Porto Mari. US dollars were accepted. I think the bar/restaurant would take a credit card but not 100% certain. Be aware that you would be paying a foreign transaction fee

[Jey01]

Our Card is a "travel card" and won't charge a transaction fee. But I didn't think about the bar/restaurant not being the same thing. I'm sure the beach bar is probably cash only. I just hate to bring anymore cash than I need to, plus I'm sure the taxi will take PLENTY of cash