foodiechan

After an brief break due to the recession, we are gearing up for yet another trip to the Islands. We are deciding between Curacao and St. Lucia. Please help us decide! Here are a few criteria that are most important to us:

- nice beaches: we are beach bums, and like to snorkel from the beach. We still dream about replicating our "private cove" experience while vacationing in Vieques.

- great local food: since we live in a food city (NYC), we don't necessarily fancy high end restaurants, but rather we are drawn to good fresh local food. We like trying local street food, roti, and of course goat water. The more local more bueno! We also like buying local fish and produce and prepare our own meals at the villa.

- scenery and culture: we like to tote our digital cameras and shoot away

- good watering holes/entertainment: something that rivals Cane Garden Bay? Not necessarily nightclubs, but some late night options would be good.

- smaller crowds: we find cruise ship folk extremely distracting

To a lesser extent, safety of the island, and ease of transportation/navigation via a rental car.

Many thanks!
Ed and Peg

eileen

Hi, I have been to both. Although I think St. Lucia is a gorgeous island, I think Curacao is your best choice based on your priorities, particularly in the area of ease of driving around in a rental car, nice cove-like beaches with good snorkeling, good food and interesting culture. I don't think either island is a huge cruise ship destination, not like St. Thomas or Grand Cayman, for example. We rented a car in Curacao (stayed at the Marriott) and found it very easy to drive around to the beaches on the West End or downtown Willemstad for dinner, shopping, tours. Curacao has a great Caribbean/European culture and many historic sites (oldest synagogue in North America, for example and Kura Hulanda for another). St. Lucia, in my opinion is much more difficult to get around, more spread out, feels less safe and overall tourists keep more to the resorts because of those challenges. It does not have a lively city such as Willemsted, places like Castries are more like villages. You might look at Kura Hulanda hotel and lodge, one is in the city and one on the beach (that's where I'd stay) and the complex in the city is a very interesting historic site and we really enjoyed eating at a number of restaurants in Kura Hulanda. One issue with KH Lodge is it is far away from downtown, if you want to be closer we liked the Marriott, it's a smaller Marriott resort, low-rise and we found it to be a very good value and only 15 minutes from downtown.

Knowing

Curacao has a variety of dining options. The local food is a good value. We loved every spot we ate except Fort Nassau. However, I would absolutely go back again for a drink and to enjoy the view. BTW, there is a Floating Market, where Venezuelan merchants dock and and they sell fresh fish and produce. There are some lively places to go at night and have a few drinks.
Curacao has some good beaches on it's west end. Very safe island. The roads are not well marked, but we sat down and looked at the map before leaving the Marriott and we were fine. It really is a wonderful vacation spot.

KVR

We've been to both. St.Lucia in 2005 and Curacao this pst May. I agree with Eileen. We actually preferred St. Lucia over Curacao, but for the criteria you stated, Curacao fits.

We stayed at the Lions Dive in a 2 bedroom apartment (free upgreade), their 3 resturants were good and decently priced for the Island. It's within walking distance to Mambo Beach. Plenty of beach bars, resturants and nightlife and the Sea Aquarium. We did a fabulous dive. No certification needed. There is abus/van stop down the road that will take you into downtown.

The beaches are made of crushed coral, so you will need water shoes. We did not find it easy to get around. No way would I get a rental car and try to navigate. All the good beaches are on the West End and down dirt roads. We did a beach hopping tour and a East/West full day Island tour. Again, no way would I want to rent a car and navigate that, but you may be more adventerous than us. With that said, Curacao was easier to get around than St. Lucia.

St. Lucia is a gorgeus Island with waterfalls, mountains, flora and fauna. Curacao looks like the desert of Arizona with beaches. However, their architecture is very nice to look at.

foodiechan

Eileen may I ask which Marriott resort did you stay at?

eileen

Hi, I forgot there were two, I guess you are referring to the Renaissance downtown? We stayed at the Marriott Emerald Beach. It's actually our favorite Marriott in the Caribbean because the others are all much-larger and mostly high-rise. The Curacao Marriott has a nice open-air feel to it, low-rise, with rooms/wings spread out along the beach. It's been several years since we were there though. We had an exec. suite on the first floor that was literally feet away from the water which was lovely. The exec suites are not fancy, just a bit larger with a couch and a coffee table. It was very conveniently located for exploring. As I mentioned, we did not find it difficult to get around by car, the main roads are in good shape and pretty well marked, especially compared with say, Antigua which we have explored quite a bit via car and constantly get lost due to the lack of signs! Never got lost in Curacao. One caution, though, be very careful when putting gas in the car. They call their diesel there something that makes it seem like our unleaded regular and my husband accidentally put the wrong gas in! Could have ruined the rental car. Some nice guy helped him siphon it all out. Just one of those adventures we laugh about now.

foodiechan

Thank you Eileen for the response. I must concur with your observations for driving in Antigua because we found the signs lacking as well (and had gotten lost).

One last question, should cruise ships call on Curacao do you notice that significant influx of cruise ship folk everywhere on the island like that of Antigua?

Many thanks.