curacao2011

A bunch of buddies of mine and myself (all guys) are taking our first vacation from the working world, after graduating from college a few years ago.

We booked a trip for the last week of May 2011! We are staying for 8 days on the island. For the first five we are staying at the Marriott, but for the last 3 days we are looking for recommendations of where else to stay..perhaps staying in another part of the island to see more?

Anyways, we are a group of guys in our mid-20's looking to have fun, meet girls, relax on the beach and drink a fair amount.

I haven't found many reviews from travelers similar to our age, but if anyone has any input of where we should go, we are all ears! thanks

KVR

I would look at hotels around Mambo Beach. At night it can get very lively. There are several restuarants and bars in that area.

Kontiki Dive And Beach Resort

Lions Dive

curacao2011

Awesome, thanks. So is there not much near the Marriott or should we just plan to go down to Mambo area when its time to go out?

Google maps shows the Marriott is like 10 miles from Mambo and even though we will probably rent a car, that won't go well with trying to get home after drinking.

The Kontiki area seems fun and we will definitely be spending some time there...too bad we couldn't redeem marriott points there!

KVR

I'm sorry I can't give your more info about the Marriott area. I never even saw it when we where there. We stayed at the Lions Dive in a 2 bedroom apartment. We are much older than you, but we checked out the area and there was a huge beach party on Mambo Beach. We joined in, but were the oldest there. We did feel a little uncomfortable though. From what I understand the Marriott is really for families, which is why we didn't stay there even though they have an AI plan we would have benefited from. The Lions Dive seemed a little more tame than Kontiki.

Have you checked out the reviews and forums on Trip Advisor?

curacao2011

Thanks for your advice. Yes, I have checked out the TripAdvisor reviews and many of the reviewers for Kontiki seem to be people in older age groups. These people seemed to be frustrated with the nearby beach/party scene(but that would not be a problem for us). I did not find reviews from people at Kontiki who went there for the partying. It seemed that most people reviewing were venting their annoyances from their honeymoons or family trips, but it was good from my standpoint to hear about the nightlife.

KVR

Curacao is not a big draw for people to rush to for partying like Cancun for example. The partiers are mainly locals. I found Curacao and Aruba were mainly for the 40+ with families, honeymooners or empty nester couples. It's interesting that you picked that Island unless you are huge snorkelers or divers. We did an intro dive at the Sea Aquarium (certification was not required) and it was so awesome.

Check out this site for nightlife info.

http://www.enjoy-curacao.com/island-...acao-bars.html

Also, there is a restuarant called Ay Caramba you might enjoy.

curacao2011

Thanks again, alot of those bars are coming up in my research. Surprisingly, we are not huge divers. We had Marriott points to spend and we found great reviews about the resort in Curacao.

While from this thread's topic it may seem that we are hardcore partiers, we simply wanted to visit a place that would have more of a "vacation" feel to it, rather than a spring break destination. For us it will be great to have a relaxing day roaming around the island, while also knowing there will be fun nighttime activities.

The tripadvisor forums seem to be more active regarding this topic, and someone mentioned this website: http://www.k-pasa.com/index.html

If you scroll down to the entertainment menu section on the left, there are daily activities from happy hour to dance parties.

Zachstickler

Dont miss Bermuda Carribean Discoteque in Punda.

annesherrod

We just came back yesterday from the Marriott and there was a mix of people, we did see several guys and girls in their 20's. YOu will see a few families but not many.
Great snorkeling and a fun swim up bar - you will be fine!!
Look for Elvis - the bartender at the swim up bar!!! He is awesome!! Tell him Anne who was just there said Hi!

There are def clubs in Willemstad - walked by them the other night - looked liek fun!! dont have specific names though.

Have fun!!!

curacao2011

Thanks Anne, I will try to remember to say Hi for you. We leave in a bit over a month, I cannot wait.

When you left the Marriott area to go out did you usually take a cab or did you rent a car?

We have found some pretty cheap deals for rental cars, but it seems like it would get in the way of having someone to be sober and drive around the group.

Knowing

There is a jeep tour that you may like.
Meeting women: Curacao has a lot of Dutch visitors, as it is a Dutch island. In the winter, there are a fair amount of girls that come up from Columbia, but I'm not so sure about in the month of May. On the beach, you will see the Europeans. Easy to identify as they are the ones sunbathing topless. Maybe not the best time to meet them.
As far as families go, around the pool you will see the Americans and more of the families.
There are some great restaurants and bars in Curacao so you have a decent nightlife. We rented a car about half the time we were there and the other times we just used a cab.

curacao2011

Thanks, I think we will go the same route and rent a car for a few days to explore the island during the day. I guess at night we are going to have to pay to play and take taxis around.


Would it be recommended to convert dollars before arriving, especially when it comes to paying for taxis/drinks/bar tabs?

annesherrod

You can pay for taxi's w US dollars.

Otherwise, I would just use the ATM's while there.

There is a great Argentinian Steak restaurant on the highest point on the island and they will come to the Marriot and pick you up for free. It is called El Gaucho's. We really enjoyed it, especially if you want a break from resort food.

This past trip we did not rent a car, we took taxi's everywhere. We rented on last trip though.
You can rent a car right from the Marriott property.

Have fun

CuracaoSunshine

I think for your last three days you should check out the Renaissance hotel. This is right down-town, surrounded by shops, bars, restaurants, big casino (on property), a cinema and the larges discothec is within walking distance (Bermuda). The only down-side is that there is not really a beach, however they created this really cool beach like area on the first floor with a seawater infinity pool. I wouldm't stay there for the whole vacation, but for a few days its fine. And I think you can also redeem Marriott reward points there,as they are from the same chain.

annesherrod

With regard to the Renaiisance Hotel - What was a huge turn off for me was the loud casino right off the lobby. We did not stay here but checked out the property. I did not care for the noice and atmosphere that a casno brings.

We did meet a young couple who stayed here and they said the room was nice, service was good and the pool was AMAZING!

airamanacmm

Hey, CURACAO2011, my girlfriends and me are headed to curacao in a couple of months, we found ur questions on the net.
we are young too, so i would like to know, how ur trip went so far.. did u get fun?
in what hotel did u stay?
what hotel can u recommend us for young people..
are there clubs in curacao? what about nightlife?