Hello

Torn between planning winter trips to these two locales..Never been before..

Looking for just relaxing at the beach, eating great food, and doing some shopping.. Have kids aged 3 and 5..Will probably rent a villa with pool..

Anyone been to both??

Thanks

The choice has to be Curacao. The shopping and restaurant selections are much better and for sheer relaxation its a better selection too IMHO.

Have you thought of Brazil, Mexico, Guadeloupe or St Barts?

Curacao hands down, in my opinion. The locals are very friendly even though they drive with a "bump and run" approach. The selection of restaurants is far better and the snorkeling on the WEST END is far superior. Also, the locals on Martinique we interacted with acted like they were doing us a favor in 90% of the cases.

Thanks, I'm leaning toward staying on the west side of Curacao...

Any suggestions for great restaurants?? My kids have to have pizza, any recs for good European-style pizza??? NOT PIZZA HUT??

And ice cream ofcourse?

Thanks

Melodyt13; Unfortunately the WEST END has a very low population density therefore not much in the way for kid's fast food. There is one decent-not fancy- whose name has Sunset in it, that we drove to just to see for future reference,since we stayed on all 3 visits at the EAST END where the snorkeling is just o'k. But, I do not know about villa's there may be some nice ones.
The nearest hotels to the WEST END with some activity are the Marriott (lot's for kids), but avoid Portofino Restuarant, there though lunches by the bar area are good. The Hilton looked a bit run down so we did not go in so cannot comment on it. There are 2 more hotels in that area and some food for the kids. It turns out many of the locals live on the EAST END so there is Pizza Hut, McD's, KFC, Baskin Robbins and a few others. The Marriott area is about a 25-30 minute easy drive to the WEST END with many bays to snorkel in. The best places are along the boulders forming each bay since the coral is limited off the beaches.On the WEST END on beach #1 Cruz Bay there is a sign for Captain Good Life. He has a 30 ft. poer boat and with take you to several spots not reachable fronm the bays that are only 1-3 miles further. He drops you off and comes back when you tell him to. We found 40-45 minutes at a spot was suitable. He generally takes you to 3 spots in 2 1/2 hours and charges $10-$12/person. He is a combination of beatnick and curacao local, very interesting. We always take inflatable life preservers though he has some as well as fins and goggles but a limited selection of sizes-no charge. Enjoy.

Honestly i would not rent a villa in Curacao. There are not that many good ones, compared to other islands. I think you will find Curacao a better choice however than Martinique. Take them to the ostridge farm.
Have you tried the Avila or Floris Suites or the Marriott? Kura Hulanda also has a new location on the beach, but that would be far from the fast food you mentioned.
Martinique is great, but it can be rather busy in town with kids. Although there is mcdonalds in the middle of the city.

MIM04; Actually we stay at the Sea Acqurium Resort on the EAST END. It is lovely hotel/timeshare that only has 36 rooms and suites and owners use up most of the space so very hard to get in. We do not own a timeshare but have a friend at Royal Resorts which has 3 timeshares including the one in Curacao. For the kids 2 attached rooms would be fine if you have 4-5 peple. It is expensive except May-Nov. Avila we dod not stay at but visited. In my opinion, it was a bit run-down. Kura Hulandra is an elegant 19th century facility. It looked very well organized and upscale but because of price we did not see many children but it has several shops, is within 15 minutes of 5-6 good restaurants, one in the hotel Astrolab is elegant dining at $75/person. Flores Suites we did not visit. Hope this helps.

MIM04; I forgot to mention the Marriott as the best place for the family. An Ocean View (don't need Ocean Front) would be the best place for the kids I think based on spending 3-4 hours there this past Fe. and in May the year before. If you live in the New York Area, Continental had the only non-stop from Newark, I believe. The flight was about 43/4 going and 4 1/4 return. Also, we used Hertz each trip though a little more expensive, their cars looked in better shape. When I reserve if your going next year I would request a 2006 or 2007 standard size 4 door considering your family. Because the drivers are a bit of "bumb and run" you might want to take out out the full $20/day but you can call the rental firm and avoid hassle.Hope this info helps.

THanks a million.. Great tips. I'm very excited.. The villa I'm considering is actually near Portmari and CAs Abou Beach, so I think the drive to the East End shouldn't be more than 20 mins, or 15 to town, not so bad for dining...It was hard to find an upscale villa, but I think I've found one. We love the privacy a home offers vs. a hotel...

Any opinions on the following places?

Zanzibar?
La Pergola?
Avalon??
Il Forno?


We are foodies and are actually avoiding fast food, even with two young ones...

Thanks again

Curious about melodyt13 - is she writing a book - take a look at her posting history - is it really possible to be planning as many trips to as many diverse places as she is in the same short time frames? Something odd indeed.....

Curt, believe it or not, I actually am planning all these trips. We take three very nice vacations a year, Caribbean-somewhere warm in the winter, Europe in the summer and somewhere else in the fall..And I do my research before spending money.

And by the way, isn't this a traveler's forum??

What's truly odd is your paranoia....

Nothing odd to me. Whats weird Curt is how you openly question her as if she is some sort of fraud. I don't think he is paranoid but probably reads too many spy novels.

Melodyt; Ignore the the uninformed as to what "Talk Forum" is all about!! After 3 trips I can recommend La Peragola,and Avalon and good with kids.There is a place right as you enter the Arches and before La Peragola . It is as good or better than Avalon, but I do not remember the name.
I would highly recommend a small Swiss-French restaurant called LaRousse, though while it is NOT dressy, it is not appropriate to wear shots. The Chef-Owner is part of the ambience. The tab can run $40/person if the children are near teens. The food is not too rich as French food can be.
We also liked Blues at the Avila . Also, it is bit resetu but not as much as the other 4.There is a Chinese restaurant near Breezes on the EAST END but I would avoid it as well as Ft. Nassau. It is over-priced and over-rated in our opinion.
In each stay of our 3 visits we would focus on those places and 2 others the other

I guess the villa booked for St Barts this winter got cancelled.

The best part of Curacao is Westpunt but it is isolated and a long way from East End, especially for night driving with 2 kids. Cas Abou is not quite as far up as Westpunt though. I thought anything southeast of Willemstad quite ugly. There are a couple of recommended restaurants in the Westpunt area(although I didn't try them myself), Landhuis Daniel and Janchees. I prefer restaurants where locals go, I can get French and Chinese food where I live.