Port HELP PLS! Curacao, Dominica, Aruba...

[stitchLi809]

I've been looking on the port section on the boards but i can't find an answer. Does anyone know if it's easy to grab a taxi to go to the beaching in Curacao and Aruba, Dominica? Most importantly is it safe? What are the best things to do, the "not to miss" things? Thanks in advance I'm leaving SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and i still haven't planned what to do at the ports..hahah Thanks everyone!

[mrsd2fan]

Aruba is safe and we caught a taxi at the port to one of the beaches..can't recall the name of the beach but it wasn't far (I know we went left out of the port)

Curacao we took an excursion to a beach, but the beaches are rocky and not very fun..had more fun walking over to the town and exploring the shops

[stitchLi809]

thanks, i'm so excited for aruba.. i hear they have the most beautiful beaches.. that's pretty disappointing with curacao.. do you remember what beach you went to?

[robmab]

Yes, in Aruba and Curacao. In Aruba, Baby Beach is amazing and about a 20-minute drive from the port. Or there are some beaches in the hotel zone that are even closer (probably within 10 minutes).

 

In Curacao, Mambo Beach is very near the port (probably a 10 minute cab ride). We went to Playa PortoMari last year and it was an expensive cab ride (about $50 each way), but we split it with another family and really loved that beach. It's more picturesque than Mambo Beach and has great snorkeling.

 

Dominica has very few beaches (it's a volcanic island, so I think the beaches they do have are black sand). The island is lush and gorgeous, with hundreds of rivers and mountainous terrain. I'd recommend booking an excursion to the hot springs or, if you're up for it, a hike to a waterfall, rather than trying to get to a beach.

 

Have you checked the Ports of Call boards? They are full of great info.

[MikeNJ1109]

When we stop in Aruba, we go to the beach at the Radisson Hotel (all the Taxi Drivers know it) ... the beach is wide, very clean, there's a Tiki Shack nearby that sells food / drink, and the water is crystal clear and quite warm.

 

On Curacao, we went to the Beach at the Marriott Hotel. As mentioned by an earlier poster, it's a bit rocky, but the property is gorgeous and the water is to die for in terms of swimming.

 

Overal, they are two of our favourite islands.

 

Now, Dominica ... that's one island we'd like to see at some point ...

 

Michael & Silke

[negc]

We haven't been to Dominica yet (will correct that oversight this Fall on the Jewel repo cruise). In Aruba it is very simple to take a cab to Eagle or Palm Beach. There are even public buses that will get you there and back. The Radisson sometimes offers a day pass for $16 which gives you access to their pool as well as chairs, beach towels and a palapa on the beach. Water was rough the last time we were in the Caribbean and after a few falls in the ocean, many retreated to the beautiful pool.:) In Curacao, you can catch a cab to a local beach next to the Aquarium but we were much happier when we took an excursion to Blue Bay which is a bit of a distance from Willemstadt, but is an excellent sandy beach with food and drink available and changing facilities. The price of the excursion included admission to the resort at Blue Bay and I believe a drink and snorkeling gear (don't hold me to that);). If you haven't been to Curacao before you may find it interesting to cross the pontoon bridge to town and explore the many shops and visit what I believe is the oldest synagogue in the Americas. In the old days, most cruise ships sailed down the canal past all of the picturesque pastel colored buildings and it was a great experience to watch the bridge swing open to permit the ship to pass through. While the bridge is open you can hop a free ferry that will take you from one side of the canal to the other.:)

[LMZinSC]

We were in all these places last month. Very easy to get a taxi at any of the ports.

 

Aruba does have awesome beaches not very far from the port. Baby Beach is on the other end of the island and we were told by a taxi driver it would take almost an hour to get there. Way too far for a taxi. We rented a car and drove all around. That was a lot of fun.

 

Curacao beaches are rocky. I was very glad to have water shoes. There is a lot of stuff you can walk to in both Curacao and Aruba.

 

You will need to take an excursion of some sort if you want to do anything in Dominica. We walked off the ship and hired a taxi for the day to take us to the waterfalls. That worked out very well if you don't have anything booked ahead. There really isn't much to see or do at the port in Dominica.

[golfer1966]

I've been looking on the port section on the boards but i can't find an answer. Does anyone know if it's easy to grab a taxi to go to the beaching in Curacao and Aruba, Dominica? Most importantly is it safe? What are the best things to do, the "not to miss" things? Thanks in advance I'm leaving SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and i still haven't planned what to do at the ports..hahah Thanks everyone!

 

 

In April, and the DW and I went and did the All Inclusive Depalm Island. It was better than I expected. The snorkeling was amazing. The beach was nice. The food was pretty good too...not gormet, but pretty good. If /when we go back, we may go there again.

[stitchLi809]

thanks everyone.. i have a lot of thinking to do with all this info.. THANKS!

[BroncosFan2010]

Haven't been to Dominica yet... but Aruba and Curacao are two of my favorite stops! You should easily be able to get a taxi in both ports. The rates are regulated in Aruba, so that makes it easier as well. If you like snorkeling, check out the DIVE Bus in Curacao, and try to get to the Antilla Shipwreck in Aruba.

[LMZinSC]

Haven't been to Dominica yet... but Aruba and Curacao are two of my favorite stops! You should easily be able to get a taxi in both ports. The rates are regulated in Aruba, so that makes it easier as well. If you like snorkeling, check out the DIVE Bus in Curacao, and try to get to the Antilla Shipwreck in Aruba.

I went diving with the Dive Bus last month. Mark was awesome. DH snorkeled while I dove. Great time!

[printingchick]

I HIGHLY recommend Hato Caves in Curacao. You can go there by taxi on your own and still have time to go see the downtown area and floating bridge. We loved the caves and it's a really DIFFERENT sort of cruise vacation activity.

 

In Dominica, I cannot recommend Bumpiing Tours highly enough. Check out their website and all their MANY, MANY glowing reviews on the Dominica port of call board here. You can't do better!

 

Have fun!!!

[Jan_In_Maine]

We were in all three locations last summer. Aruba we were dropped of from an excursion around the Raddison. We spoke with some folks that had a hut in the middle of the beach and they directed us to chairs (loungers) that did not cost anything. It was right near an area where we got beers. We took a bus back. Bus system was very easy and inexpensive

 

In Curacao we never did get past the town. Had a wonderful time watching the bridge open and close all while sitting with a beer or two.

 

Dominica - We went on a tour and saw some wonderful waterfalls (trafalger) and pools (emerald) - they were lovely. Don't have an answer about beaches there - I don't know how comfortable I would be getting a taxi although there were plenty of them. Jan

[LDR]

I second Mambo Beach in Curacao and recommend Palm Beach in Aruba. We always go to the beach in front of the Holiday Inn Sunspree. There is a little place called Moomba's that has food/drinks. The Jolly Pirates is a good sail/snorkel excursion that meets there that is quite fun as well.

 

We just walked around the town in Dominica the one time we have been there. Our kids were too young at the time to do any of the adventure type excursions offered. We hope to someday get back there now that they're older:)

[DCwom]

Both the Aruba & Curacao forums have lots of good info, try the search function!

 

In Aruba we took the #4 bus which is directly across from the terminal it was something like $3.50 round trip. The bus will take you to Palm and Eagle beaches. We stopped at the Raddison on Palm and used that beach for free. The buses are regular city buses, not old broken down school buses. This was the cheapest beach run we had the whole cruise, and felt very safe.

 

In Curacao we took a cab (all vans) to Kontiki/Cabana beach $20 each way, but ask fellow passengers to share a ride to save money. The beach was $3 per person and lounges are available for rent. The Kontiki/Cababa beach was all white sand with a breakwater, no rocks, it was fantastic.

 

In Dominica we did a tubing adventure, the island is less developed and river adventures are a great way to see this volcanic island. Dominica was the only "real" natural island experience of the 4 islands we visited, the rest were developed.

 

Again try the search function in the port section there is a wealth of details on transportation.

[krillsister]

Dominica was my favorite port. Take the Bumping tour as mentioned in the earlier post. Levi was wonderful.Very reasonable too. I think we paid $40 person & we were gone most of the day. Be careful taking a taxi. The island is a rainforest. if a taxi gets stuck or breaks down, you can be late waiting for backup. Best place to shop too. the vendors will negotiate with you.

In Curaco we went to the Kon Tiki Beach. It was very reasonable. You can rent chairs for a reasonable rate too. All the taxi drivers know where Kon Tiki beach is.