Too much for one day?

[SimplyMarvie]

We're trying to decide what to do in Curacao and have two competing priorities. 

 

On one hand, I've got a kid who is absolutely OBSESSED with sea turtles, and wants to get up to Playa Piskador to swim with them. This is literally his life-long dream and he's been working really hard to get over his fear of sticking his head in the water so he can snorkel and see the turtles, so it feels like a must-do. 

 

On the other hand, we have a chance to possibly relocate to Curacao in the next couple of years for work, so we'd like to wander around town and get a feel for the vibe of the place in order to decide if that's an opportunity we want to chase or not. 

 

If we're in Curacao for a day from 7:00am to 4:00pm, is it possible to do an early morning snorkel with the turtles, and then come back and wander around town for a few hours before we have to make it to the boat? Or that way too much? If we did do it, would it be better to hire a tour guide to handle the snorkeling part, or rent a car and have to deal with drop off and pick up?

[jean87510]

4 hours ago, SimplyMarvie said:

We're trying to decide what to do in Curacao and have two competing priorities. 

 

On one hand, I've got a kid who is absolutely OBSESSED with sea turtles, and wants to get up to Playa Piskador to swim with them. This is literally his life-long dream and he's been working really hard to get over his fear of sticking his head in the water so he can snorkel and see the turtles, so it feels like a must-do. 

 

On the other hand, we have a chance to possibly relocate to Curacao in the next couple of years for work, so we'd like to wander around town and get a feel for the vibe of the place in order to decide if that's an opportunity we want to chase or not. 

 

If we're in Curacao for a day from 7:00am to 4:00pm, is it possible to do an early morning snorkel with the turtles, and then come back and wander around town for a few hours before we have to make it to the boat? Or that way too much? If we did do it, would it be better to hire a tour guide to handle the snorkeling part, or rent a car and have to deal with drop off and pick up?

What other ports are you going to? 

[SimplyMarvie]

12 hours ago, jean87510 said:

What other ports are you going to? 

 

Aruba, Cartagena, Panama Canal, and Limon, Costa Rica. 

[jean87510]

I have only been to aruba and curacao in your trip. I have seen actually them in both but only a couple. If you were going to culebra or st. Thomas or Cayman I could tell you exactly where to go. If it were me, I'd research each island to see where to find them. They do like areas with sea grass. Rays like the flat sandy bottoms. Good luck! Your ports sound amazing

[bup1224]

On 7/5/2019 at 11:15 AM, SimplyMarvie said:

We're trying to decide what to do in Curacao and have two competing priorities. 

 

On one hand, I've got a kid who is absolutely OBSESSED with sea turtles, and wants to get up to Playa Piskador to swim with them. This is literally his life-long dream and he's been working really hard to get over his fear of sticking his head in the water so he can snorkel and see the turtles, so it feels like a must-do. 

 

On the other hand, we have a chance to possibly relocate to Curacao in the next couple of years for work, so we'd like to wander around town and get a feel for the vibe of the place in order to decide if that's an opportunity we want to chase or not. 

 

If we're in Curacao for a day from 7:00am to 4:00pm, is it possible to do an early morning snorkel with the turtles, and then come back and wander around town for a few hours before we have to make it to the boat? Or that way too much? If we did do it, would it be better to hire a tour guide to handle the snorkeling part, or rent a car and have to deal with drop off and pick up?

Price out rental cars vs. tour guide and rental car is cheaper.

Playa Piskado is amazing and I do suggest getting there early as it gets crowded. 

You will have time for both,  unless you choose a long tour.

With that being said, our downtown area of Punda is an area to explore as well.

Most likely, downtown is not an area where you would live if you relocated here (I live here full time).

A cruise ship stop is definitely not enough time to explore the island as far as moving/living here. Highly recommend a longer stay here if you like the vibe of our island in order to explore the island for a possible move here.

[SimplyMarvie]

2 hours ago, bup1224 said:

Price out rental cars vs. tour guide and rental car is cheaper.

Playa Piskado is amazing and I do suggest getting there early as it gets crowded. 

You will have time for both,  unless you choose a long tour.

With that being said, our downtown area of Punda is an area to explore as well.

Most likely, downtown is not an area where you would live if you relocated here (I live here full time).

A cruise ship stop is definitely not enough time to explore the island as far as moving/living here. Highly recommend a longer stay here if you like the vibe of our island in order to explore the island for a possible move here.

 

Thanks, that's what I was hoping -- if we can get the rental company to pick us up at the cruise pier, we can probably do both (and be at the beach before it's a mob scene). 

 

As far as moving, I really wish we could stay longer. But usually when we're relocated for work we've never even visited the country we're going to, so getting to make a stop and see anything is a huge bonus. (Plus, after living in Jamaica for a few years my husband swore we'd never live on another tropical island ever again, so I'm kind of hoping he ends up charmed so it's an easier sell...)

[bup1224]

3 hours ago, SimplyMarvie said:

 

Thanks, that's what I was hoping -- if we can get the rental company to pick us up at the cruise pier, we can probably do both (and be at the beach before it's a mob scene). 

 

As far as moving, I really wish we could stay longer. But usually when we're relocated for work we've never even visited the country we're going to, so getting to make a stop and see anything is a huge bonus. (Plus, after living in Jamaica for a few years my husband swore we'd never live on another tropical island ever again, so I'm kind of hoping he ends up charmed so it's an easier sell...)

Check with Advance Car rental for a 1 day rental.

You will have time to do both, enjoy your day here, it's a wonderful island!

[SimplyMarvie]

17 hours ago, bup1224 said:

Check with Advance Car rental for a 1 day rental.

You will have time to do both, enjoy your day here, it's a wonderful island!

 

Advance was able to hook us up and we're all set to go. Thank you so much for the advice, we're looking forward to checking out the island! 🙂

[bup1224]

On 7/7/2019 at 12:06 PM, SimplyMarvie said:

 

Advance was able to hook us up and we're all set to go. Thank you so much for the advice, we're looking forward to checking out the island! 🙂

My pleasure!

[canadianbear]

Playa Piskado was amazing-we were there in February.  Get there early as others have said before tours start.   I didn’t even use my fins, just snorkel/mask.  Lots around so I floated above them taking photos.   Our son and dil wore their fins to dive down so whichever option your son is comfortable with.   

 

Your son will have the biggest smile on his face after this experience.  We all LOVED it seeing so many turtles swimming below us!  Make sure he has water shoes (if not wearing fins) as it was a bit hard on bottom of my feet getting in and out.

 

It is fairly shallow at the dock where the fishermen clean their fish & feed the turtles.

[cruiseapril]

Curacao is way different from Jamaica.  We lived in Curacao for two years.

[SimplyMarvie]

On 7/20/2019 at 7:31 PM, canadianbear said:

Playa Piskado was amazing-we were there in February.  Get there early as others have said before tours start.   I didn’t even use my fins, just snorkel/mask.  Lots around so I floated above them taking photos.   Our son and dil wore their fins to dive down so whichever option your son is comfortable with.   

 

Your son will have the biggest smile on his face after this experience.  We all LOVED it seeing so many turtles swimming below us!  Make sure he has water shoes (if not wearing fins) as it was a bit hard on bottom of my feet getting in and out.

 

It is fairly shallow at the dock where the fishermen clean their fish & feed the turtles.

 

What gorgeous pictures! I showed my son and he jumped up and down and did a little dance of happiness. 🙂 

 

(And I'm very glad to hear about the difference between Curacao and Jamaica -- if I suggested going back to Jamaica, I think I'd have a family-wide revolt on my hands. I loved it because the work was interesting, but it was a hard place for our family to live.)

[canadianbear]

6 minutes ago, SimplyMarvie said:

 

What gorgeous pictures! I showed my son and he jumped up and down and did a little dance of happiness. 🙂 

 

(And I'm very glad to hear about the difference between Curacao and Jamaica -- if I suggested going back to Jamaica, I think I'd have a family-wide revolt on my hands. I loved it because the work was interesting, but it was a hard place for our family to live.)

 

Thank you-we enjoyed it so much.  The only thing that beat snorkeling with the turtles is when we snorkelled with whale sharks!!

 

Curacao is a family favourite for us.  Post a photo on here after your son has done this-would love to see his big smile and how he liked it!