Go For Adventure - Travel 2008

Classes : Travel : Dive Gear : Adventure Dive Club : Swim : About Us : Contact Us : Home : Promotions : Download Forms

Curacao is one of the most vibrant and exciting islands in the world with world-class diving and snorkeling in waters so vividly blue you think you must be dreaming. On this one island, you can experience relaxation, romance and adventure, everything you need for the
vacation you deserve...

Curaçao vibrates with the colors of the 17th century Dutch buildings of the capital, Willemstad. Around the countryside you can also visit Curacao’s trademark yellow Plantation homes or "landhuizen" which are often now art galleries or restaurants. Willemstad is built on either side of a spectacular natural harbor and is a wonderful place to stroll, enjoy outdoor cafes and elegant shopping. In fact, Willemstad is on the UNESCO world heritage list for its beauty and charm. You can visit Willimastad on your own with our rental vehicles or take advantage of our free resort shuttle three times a day.
Our home for the week will be the Habitat Curacao, www.habitatcuracaoresort.com , a beautiful resort nestled on the less-settled western shore of the island. Most of Curacao’s best bays and beaches are on the west end, and you’ll find the rugged arid landscape to be one of the most peaceful you’ve experienced!

Roundtrip Air from Chicago to Willemstad, via Montego Bay
7 Nights Accom. At Habitat Curacao in Quad Occy Lanais.
Rental Van or Truck Per Quad
6 Days of Unlimited Shore Diving
Tanks and Weights
Oceanside Wine and Cheese Arrival Party
Beach Picnic Lunch at Playa Jeremi
Midweek Group Dinner at a Local Landhuizen
Farewell Group Dinner
Guided Dives and Island Adventures Every Day
Certifications Available: Open Water, Advanced,
UW Naturalist, Digital Photo, Nitrox, Night Specialty,
UW Sign Language.
Tour Leaders: Jeff & Amber Fafoglia

Quad Occupancy; Diver: $ 1,699
Quad Occupancy; Non-Diver:1,549
Triple Occupancy; Diver:1,799
Triple Occupancy; Non Diver: 1,649
Double Occupancy; Diver: 1,995
Double Occupancy; Non Diver:1,845

The tour leaders will meet you at the airport as you arrive to help with luggage and the rental vehicles. We’ll have a rental truck or van for every 4 persons, this will give us plenty of room for gear and great mobility as we explore the island. After leaving the airport we’ll head for the local grocery store for a few “supplies” for the week. Then it’s off for a short drive across the dramatic countryside as we make our way to Habitat Curacao. Upon arriving we’ll check into our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom Lanais. A Lanai is a wonderful type of accommodation where each bedroom opens onto a large common patio, complete with outdoor kitchen.

Tonight the tour leaders will host a pre-dinner “get-acquainted” wine and cheese party at their lanai. This is a great opportunity to sample several varieties of delicious Dutch cheese and since we’re just a few miles from South America, Chilean wines will also be present! At this time they’ll fill you in on the plans for the week, organize any dive classes and answer any questions. For dinner tonight you can enjoy the beautiful ocean view from Habitat’s house restaurant, which might be the perfect thing after a long day of travel!

Fall asleep tonight with the sound of the ocean waves…

After breakfast this morning we’ll meet the Habitat staff for our dive orientation. Then it’s time to get wet! Open Water students will do their first couple of dives this morning right behind the resort on Habitat’s excellent house reef. Everyone else can do a long, leisurely first dive and enjoy the warm clear water. The Habitat House reef is considered one of the top 10 dives on the island, with good reason! A shallow sandy shelf drops off onto a coral covered wall at about 25 feet. Sponges, gorgonians, corals of every type and dozens of fish species are present. It’s a natural aquarium and it’s right at our feet…only a few steps from your room!

After our morning dives it’s time to retire to the Lanai for a light lunch, (and maybe a short nap). Then we’ll grab our gear and caravan the short distance to a nearby bay for an afternoon dive (or snorkel). Daaibooi Beach is a gorgeous sandy beach tucked between two craggy limestone cliffs. Perfect for sunbathing, swimming, and of course diving, this bay is right off a postcard. Offshore a small wall is known for its profusion of fish life among large Elephant ear sponges and stony coral ledges.

Tonight a night dive on the Habitat house reef will showcase many of Curacao’s famous nighttime inhabitants. After dark the coral polyps begin feeding along with spotted eels, crabs, lobster, and the occasional octopus. Best of all, after the dive the resort bar can serve up your favorite après-dive beverage.

Today we meander northwest along the coast to one of Curacao’s most picturesque bays…and best dives! Charming Porto Mari makes for a great beach day because not only does it have a world-class double reef system just offshore, but the facilities on the beach make for a very relaxing day! You’ll find a bar, open-air restaurant, beach lounges, and shade umbrellas all situated around a stunning crescent of silky sand beach.

Offshore the sand gives way to a double reef system bisected by a large sand channel. A thick blanket of healthy coral and gorgonians carpet the reef from sand bottom to reef top. Schools of grunts, rainbow parrotfish, grouper, wrasse, damselfish, and even seahorses can be found here. It seems as if every nook and cranny is home to a crab, urchin, or anemone. This reef is so extensive that you can easily do two dives here and not see all of it!

Best of all, in between dives we can enjoy all of the hospitality and amenities that Porto Mari can offer. By the end of the day we can head back to Habitat knowing we’ve experienced one of the best beach days possible.

Tonight you’re free for dinner…perhaps a quiet meal at a corner table of the resort restaurant…or maybe you’d rather go into Willemstad and sample one of the 70 different eateries the island is famous for? Native cuisine, French, Italian, Indonesian, Chinese, and practically anything else you name can be found here!

Once again we venture off in search of the perfect dive…today we’ll wind our way on tiny bumpy roads through the quaint villages and soaring cactus to the bay of Cas Abao. This bay has lots of perks…beach chairs, umbrellas, etc…AND another of those darn reefs offshore! Once again we’ll spend ANOTHER day of fun in the sun…exploring and relaxing.

Tonight we’ll rinse off the sand and salt, put on our best pair of flip-flops and go our for a group dinner! The tour leaders will take you to one of their favorite local spots for an excellent meal featuring local specialties. Many of the old Dutch “landhuizen” or plantation houses have been converted into restaurants, and offer some of Curacao’s best country dining experiences. You’ll have worked up a giant appetite with all the days activities, so we’ll make sure we stuff ourselves on fresh seafood and island delicacies tonight!

This morning is free to sleep in, do a shore dive at the resort, take a boat dive on one of Curacaos famed offshore sites, or just relax by Habitat’s endless pool. In addition to the diving and snorkeling, Curacao also has some great hiking trails, mountain bike areas, horseback rides and windsurfing spots.
Later this morning we’ll round up the dive caravan and head north to the secluded beach the locals call Playa Jeremi. One of Curacaos least known spots, but one of its best dives, Jeremi is typical in that it has a beautiful white sand beach protected by cliffs on either side. Underwater the sand slope provides a habitat for peacock flounder, lizardfish, schools of goatfish and the occasional Queen conch. Swimming westward the sand gives way to mountainous star coral heads with glassy sweepers in the shaded overhangs and trumpetfish lying in ambush amidst the sea plumes. Once again, a very healthy reef with lots of coral and fish species.

After you’ve worked up a good appetite on Jeremi’s reef, you’ll surface to find your tour leaders have prepared a great after-dive beach lunch! Relaxing in the shade and stuffing your face with local delicacies while talking about your last dive is one of the best things about diving.

Our next stop this afternoon is nearby Sunset Waters resort, famed for its house reef and…the sunset of course! Here we’ll have the option to do another shore dive or maybe just relax on the beach. After the dive we’re perfectly positioned to have an after-dive cocktail at Sunset Waters excellent Oceanside bar, and maybe even stay for dinner!

We’ve saved the best for last! Today we’ll take a great scenic drive all the way to the northwestern tip of the island and spend the day at one of our favorite spots, Playa Kalki. A long strip of sandy coral backed by a dramatic cliff and fronted by an impossibly blue sea, Playa Kalki is as beautiful above water as it is underwater. To make the day even more enjoyable there’s a great little shaded beach bar/restaurant and plenty of beach loungers scattered along the shore. On the cliffs above sits an upscale resort that also features a world-class restaurant for those so inclined. All of this combine to make a great day for divers, snorkelers and sunbathers alike!

Off shore the reef begins in very shallow water. Large coral heads are scattered about, and it’s not unusual to spot eagle rays, turtles, and LOTS of moray eels on this reef. Large schools of jacks regularly sweep in from the deep water and mesmerize the divers. The coral is so thick and healthy it’s sometimes difficult to find any open crevices among the coral heads, but when you do they’re almost always home to a resident spiny lobster!

After a couple dives on Playa Kalki’s incredible reef, we have options for the rest of the day. An afternoon dive at Playa Jeremi could be just the thing to round out a dive day, or we could continue northwards around Nordpunt and take a tour of the dramatic windward coast. Craggy cliffs continually pounded by the sea, blowholes, and deserted landscapes with small herds of wild donkeys typify Curacao’s eastern shore.

Today you have the entire day free….with LOTS of choices! You could do another shore dive in the morning or visit one of the boat dive sites. There’s many more bays and beaches that we didn’t make it to this week just begging to be explored, too. Perhaps you’d like to visit the Curacao Seaquarium just south of Willemstad. A day wandering the quaint streets of Willemstad, checking out the floating market and the many shops might be the thing to finish out your week. There are also several historic tours of the island that will pick you up at the resort and return you at the end of the day.

Tonight we’ll have a fun “farewell dinner” planned at a local eatery. We can relive our adventures for the week and maybe even compare photos and dive stories!

Alas, our adventure comes to an end as we board our today for our return home. Like all good diver-adventurers, though, by now you’ll already be planning your next trip!