Curacao or St. Thomas, USVI
 

Which would you choose? We're currently in the midst of planning a trip. We've been to the Bahamas, Keys, Cancun, Cozumel & Aruba... looking to head somewhere new where we can have some great R&R as well as fabulous snorkeling and great restaurants. Your input is greatly appreciated.

My choice would be Curacao. More of a culinary smorgasbord. The shopping is more unique, offering jewelry but other things as well. It was surprising to us how quickly we switched to island time once we arrived. Curacao is magical and my husband and I loved it.

hmbyrd00 what made you consider St Thomas and not St. John? St. John fits the bill perfectly with fantastic snorkling and many good restaurant choices.

I've not been to Curacao so cannot comment on that destination.

We'll be staying at Marriott resorts at either location... the only dilemmia is that travel to Curacao take 1.5 days on Delta via Newark. Yikes... whereas we can get to St. Thomas in a little over 6 hrs via ATL.

I agree with tpatricco..why not consider St John?

The Marriott at Curacao is nice with a good pool and a nice spread out beach area. The island itself is not pretty but lots of other beaches to explore and decent snorkelling. Also lots of good restaurants. I have not been to st thomas

Not certain why it's so difficult to get to Curacao from Newark or it just because you are limited to Delta? Curacao is an easy 2 1/2 flight from Miami on American. I vote for Curacao over St. Thomas.

I would pick Curacao over St Thomas, however with the flights if you really cannot do better than 1.5 days, I would do St Thomas. There is plenty to do and see there plus you can take side trips to St John or the BVI if you want. There are some really good restaurants in St thomas too. The marriott there is nice. If you get a room overlooking the water you can see the cruise ships come in at night. It is amazing. (this is Frenchmans Reef, not morning star) the higher rooms if you open your balcony door it looks like the ships are just gliding by almost like a movie screen (at night) WOW.

Anyway, I am sure you would have a great trip wherever you end up. Curacao Marriott is really nice. Used to be a Sonesta resort, so it looks more like another hotel co. than a marrriott. However, I am not sure I would want to travel that long.

Now that I have a child, the easier the trip, the better.

:)

I believe Continental now has a non-stop Newark to Cuarcao that takes less than 5 hours.
We took the American flight from Newark via Miami and did it in 1 day though the connection time is legal it is tight at the big Miami Airport. On one visit we went down on a 6-7PM flight to Miami and without a rush took the 11 AM from Miami to Curacao the next day and it turned out a little less expensive. Yes, it cost an extra $150 but gives you no-rush act.
The snorkeling on 5-6 West End beaches along the boulders that form the bays of each beach have good to very good snorkeling and better than St. Thomas but neither compares to St. John which is among the best in the Caribbean.

The dinner options on Curacao are better than St. Thomas or St. John; Larousse, Astrolab, La Peragola, Goodfellas, are quite good but expensive while Avalon is well above average but more reasonably priced.
Just stay away from the Portofino at the Marriott. It is well below average and fairly expensive.For the places I recommended you need a car for both the snorkeling amd dining out. From Hertz with AAA or AARP discount it is $450 for a week plus gas without the extra insurance.
Lunches around the pool at the Marriott are pretty good but expect to pay $12-$15/person. Enjoy. I would avoid July-Sept both for heat and potential hurricanes. Also Sept to mid-Nov. can have rain for several hours on any given day but that is no different than the US V.I.'s

I would suggest Bonaire. The snorkeling and diving is terrific!!! The restaurants are great!! I certainly wouldnt want to return to St. Thomas. Toocrowded. It is easy to take a ferry over to St. Johns and snorkeling is good, and much quieter.

Based on 2 trips in the past 18 months to both Bonaire and Curacao the snorkeling on the West End of Curacao is far bette. Hurricane Mitch some years back really destroyed a lot of the shallow coral which snorkelers want in 5-15 Ft of water.
The diving in Bonaire below 40 ft. is much better than Curacao.
As said earlier neither compares to St. John but it is a little bit of a hassle to stay in St. Thomas and take the ferry to St. John and then a tour boat (if you do you you want a 35+ft. boat that takes a maximum of 8-10 snorkelers). The 4 hour trips are about $40-$50 from Cruz Bay, St. John. But make sure they go to Hawks Nest, Limerick Bay and Turtle Bay areas for snorkeling.You will have to get to Cruz Bay by 8 AM for the morning sails and by 12:20 for the afternoon trips.