Port Marie?

[kevdds]

I'm interested in snorkeling while in Curacao and have heard that Port Marie beach is a really great place. But how do you get there, and equally important, how do you get back to the ship? Anyone have information on this place? Thanks.

Kev

[rjscott]

Hi, Kev! We loved Playa Porto Marie. We were 2 couples who then picked up another two couples who wanted to go to the beach, so we nabbed a taxi van. He charged $10 pp each way, and, since we only wanted to spend a couple of hours at the beach, he waited for us. It's a very nice, sandy beach and the snorkeling was good. We had our own equipment, so not sure about equipment rentals. Here's the website:

 

http://www.playaportomari.com/

[kevdds]

Thanks for the info. The taxi waited for you? Wow. What if we have a driver who doesn't want to wait? Is this place so remote that we'd have trouble finding a ride back to the ship? If that's the case, we may rent a car, although that sounds like quite a hassle, but much less expensive than the $80 it would cost us for the round trip.

[rjscott]

Kev, it is about a 20 min. ride to the beach. I would negotiate the return trip when you are hiring a driver, either to wait or to come back for you at a predetermined time. It was $10pp each way, so for the two of us it was $40 total. Does your sailing have a roll call on CC? Maybe you can find others to share a car rental or a cab. That's how we got our group together.

 

Becki

[kevdds]

Hi, Becki--

I found the earlier thread about this same topic that you also replied on. I'm not sure how I missed it in the first place! Anyway, thanks for your help. I'm not sure still if we'll brave the taxi or the rental car. I guess I'll just look into the rates. Sounds like everyone who rents is using Avis, so that must be the one by the pier.

Thanks again!

Kev

[mslaabs]

We wanted to do this in May, but the cab driver told us (party of 2) that the cab fare is $40 EACH way. I think the $10pp was based on the fact that there were at least 4 people in the group. We tried to get the driver to come down on the price, but he stuck to $40 and we did not go with him we just ended up going into town. We'll be going back next year and will be more prepared then.

[rjscott]

mslaabs, I'm sure you're right about the price. We started out with a group of four, but picked up a couple more from our CC group, and since we were filling his van, I'm sure that's why the driver quoted us the $10 pp each way. That's why I suggested looking on the roll call for others that might want a beach day.

 

Becki