Curaçao

Great place to visit! I was there twice in one year tdy with Air National Guard unit. 1999-2000.
Best tdy I have everbeen on! :)

While the scenery is beautiful and water even more so, it’s still a place that you’ll want to bring a friend. The natives do speak a fair amount of English, but it can get rather lonesome if you derive pleasure out of more than just lying on the beach all day.

The seafood is amazing and I think there might be some sort of breast-enhancement supplement in the water. As the beaches are semi-nude, you see a lot of that and well…let’s just say these ladies weren’t paying for their assets. To my flat-chested sisters, perhaps moving to Curacao is a safe alternative to surgery.

Unfortunately… But…I did visit the Dolphin Academy and I swam with the dolphins. I must say that this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The water was beautiful, the sun was shining and the dolphins were high on life. I truly wish that I could have seen more but what little I DID see was gorgeous. Can’t wait to go back!!

Go up north. The mid and southern areas aren’t nearly as nice as the northern section.

I’ve been to Curacao 4 times in the past 2 years, all for work. I was lucky enough to be ensconced in a relatively nice all-inclusive resort. I booked extra time on the front and back end of each trip, and spent quite a bit of time exploring the island.

The Good:
The people are quite nice – it’s mix of EuroCarib, as you might expect. Everyone is quite pleasant, and most people speak some amount of English. The food can be a little strange at times, but I suppose that’s some of the ol’ Dutch influence :) My favorite part of Curacao? The beaches, diving and snorkeling. If you can, dive the Mushroom Forest or Watamula. Very nice. For good snorkeling, there’s Tugboat and Porto Marie. The Tugboat is a decent-size tug in about 15 feet of water – it’s fantastic!

The Not-So-Bad: From what I could tell, people there are either wealthy or poor – there’s not much of a middle class. It seems like most people in and around Willemstad are pretty well-off. Move further up the island to the northwest, off the beaten paths, and it can be pretty deserted. But I never feared for my safety – although on the last night of my first trip some one stole the two left tires off of my rental car. As I mentioned in the title, Curacao is NOT a lush tropical island. It is desert, so it’s pretty arid, and you will find the usual complement of desert-style foliage (cacti and scrub brush). Up on the northeast side of the island, it is almost moonscape.

The Ugly: Curacao is well-known for it’s oil refinery operations, so some of the areas around Willemstad are pretty nasty what with the smokestacks and refining operations. But, you can always look off of the other side of the bridge when crossing over :)