We just got back from a cruise. In Curacao, we walked around to the shops first and then went to the beach. There is a taxi stand to the right after you cross the Queen Emma bridge. From there to Mambo Beach, we paid $5 per person. The fee to get in Mambo Beach is $3.50 per person. There are different areas with different chair charges and the lady at the entrance said to just claim a chair and someone would come up to collect the fee. The first section was completely full and a lot of the middle section was blocked off for a tour. We ended up walking down to the end to the black chairs (Lions Dive beach resort). The fee was $17 per person and you can use any chair available (some are under shade structures.) They provided the wifi login information. The beach was a lot less crowded at that end, which was nice. I would recommend water shoes because there was coral entering the water that hurt to walk on. We ate at Pizza Mare before leaving and it was good. It was super easy to get a taxi back - we just walked up and got on. The charge was $8 per person back to the cruise port. The taxis were large vans. You'll need cash to pay the fees/taxi. Mambo Beach was nice and it was easy to go without an excursion. The total (without food) was $33.50 per person for transportation, beach entry, and a beach chair which was a lot cheaper than any excursion we saw.
