Blue Bay Beach Review with pics

[bobmacliberty]

We spent a day at Blue Bay Beach recently and want to share our experience and some pictures for others who are considering this beach.  Rather than use the ship's excursion, we took a taxi there and back and paid for our own admission.  This didn't really save us any money, but let us beat the crowd for a better selection of lounge chairs and let us return to the ship on our own time.  We got there around 9:15 and took the last available palapa in the "front row".  They had about 8 palapas with some near the water's edge and some set back from the water.  Each palapa was large enough to provide shade for 4 lounge chairs.  There were no umbrellas but plenty of natural shade from a large number of palm trees.  Around 9:40, the ship's excursion arrived and people scurried around for chairs.  There were many chairs available and the beach never got full when we were there.

 

The facilities were great.  There was a restaurant and a nice bar (where you could sit and order food from the restaurant).  Good food and good drinks.  There's a dive/gift shop where you can rent snorkel gear for the day.  I think it was $25 for the day for mask/snorkel/fins, but don't hold me to that.  There is OK snorkeling, especially along the left side of the bay when facing the water.  The bathrooms were the nicest bathrooms that I've seen at any beach, anywhere.  They had very luxurious feel and were spotlessly clean.  How can there be no sand in a bathroom by a beach?  Overall, a very nice day with a relaxed feel.  We would definitely do it again.  Questions?

 

 

[chipeneezer]

Thanks for the review and pics.  It looks beautiful.  We will be on Curacao in two weeks.

 

How much was the taxi each way?  Do you know if they charge for the trip or per person?

[bobmacliberty]

I'm almost certain (but not absolutely positive) that it was $8 per person each way.  Our group of 4 got a taxi from the taxi stand in the morning.  The return trip was a little confusing but we ended up with several other people going back to the ship in a van/mini-bus.  Our morning driver said that he would meet us at 3:00 for the return trip, but he wasn't there.  The driver of the van was looking for 4 people who were supposed to be ready at 3:00.  I think the drivers coordinated such that we were supposed to be taking the van back to the pier, but I'm still not sure that was the case.

[RNGALNG]

Was there a cost for the palpates and chairs? 

[bobmacliberty]

12 hours ago, RNGALNG said:

Was there a cost for the palpates and chairs? 

 

No. $8 per person entree fee and chairs are included. Chairs are first come, first serve, and chairs under palapas fill up quickly. Food and drink are pay as you go. 

[cruiseapril]

Thanks for the review and good photos.

We were at Blue Bay and had a similar experience.

However, we went on a ship's excursion.

[charlie786]

This is our plan next week.   Friend are taking the excursion but we want to go on our own.   We have two kids (10 and 12) and the cost is a bit less for us on our own and we don't want to leave at 1:00 pm.   What time did you leave ship to get there by 9:15?   We are only ship in port so I'm guessing that there will be taxi drivers hanging around in the afternoon to make some money to get guests back to ship.   My plan is to ask taxi driver in AM to come back for us around 4:00.   Will the restaurant/bar help "call" a cab if no one shows up.   I doubt this will happen but just wondering how helpful they might be.   Also I heard that there are buses - did you see any?   It doesn't look isolated and I can't imagine not getting a cab back to port.   

[bobmacliberty]

We left the ship a little after 8:30.  If you really want to sit under a palapa, I suggest getting off the ship as soon as you're able.  If that doesn't matter to you, take your time in the morning...lots of lounge chairs available. 

 

I would definitely ask your taxi driver if he can pick you up at a specific time for the return trip.  Be sure to get the driver's name and ask if it will be him or someone else who will pick you up.  We did not get our driver's name, trusting that we would recognize his face.  Other drivers waiting for return trips asked who our morning driver was and the best we could do was describe him.  That was not helpful and there was confusion as to who was driving us back to the ship.

 

The beach is inside a gated community and there's nothing else there besides condos/houses, so there may not be a lot of driver's just waiting for a fare.  There were a couple of drivers waiting when we left but they were both picking up people who had "booked" a specific time.  We originally did not want to commit to leaving at a certain time and asked our morning driver if we could just call him when ready.  He said we could, but that it would be 15 minutes before the taxi arrived.  We didn't ask about calling in the restaurant or bar but I would guess that they would if asked.  I didn't see any buses but given the number of people who showed up together for the ship's excursion, there must have been a full sized bus dropping them off and picking them up later.  I don't think public buses stop there (since it's private) if that is what you were asking.

[ridgerunner51]

Thanks for the review and the pictures.  It looks lovely.  Could you please describe how rocky it was getting into the water?