Divin' Curacao next week!

[mmakay]

Woo Hoo! My wife and I will be under the waves this time next week. We're diving with the good folks of the (infamous?) Dive Bus for the second time. They are great folks, and we highly recommend them if you find yourself in Curacao.

[LeeParrish]

I'm heading down to Curacao in 3 weeks and staying at the Marriott. Any other recommendations down that way? I'm a new diver (will finish open water certification next weekend) and like to snorkel as well. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[mmakay]

Which Marriot? The old one is further west; the new one is very close to Willimstad and that's where we will be staying.

Have you selected a dive operation? Self-guiding isn't a great idea for a new diver. Even if you feel comfortable without a dive master, you're likely to miss lots of the best stuff. Some of the sites are a little hard to find if you don't know where you're going. We used the Dive Bus last time, and will be doing the same this week. Mark and Suzi are great. I can recommend them without hesitation.

Check this thread in a day or two for a link to my Flickr page. I'll be posting pictures. (Hopefully really good ones ... I just got a new camera )

[cruzan]

Just got back from Curacao 4/25 Dove with Ocean Encounters. Did mostly beach dives. We did dive the Tug Boat and car pile. Had a great time.

[scubastud]

You must dive Mushroom Forest.

[gee]

Looking forward to the pics. I would also like to hear a little more detail on the "Dive Bus".

Originally Posted by mmakay

Which Marriot? The old one is further west; the new one is very close to Willimstad and that's where we will be staying.

Have you selected a dive operation? Self-guiding isn't a great idea for a new diver. Even if you feel comfortable without a dive master, you're likely to miss lots of the best stuff. Some of the sites are a little hard to find if you don't know where you're going. We used the Dive Bus last time, and will be doing the same this week. Mark and Suzi are great. I can recommend them without hesitation.

Check this thread in a day or two for a link to my Flickr page. I'll be posting pictures. (Hopefully really good ones ... I just got a new camera )

[Cheddarchick]

Port Marie...eaisly the best spot on the island for a beginner

[mmakay]

We dove Porto Marie today. (Mushroom forest tomorrow!)
Vis was not great, but that didn't stop us from having some fantastic dives.

Here's the Best of today's photos:
Curacao '09 - a set on Flickr

Between learning the new camera, and less than steller vis, I think I did ok.

[mmakay]

Originally Posted by gee

Looking forward to the pics. I would also like to hear a little more detail on the "Dive Bus".

Dive Bus is a an operation that picks you up wherever you are staying and takes you to the dive locations. They can also arrange boat outings, etc. Here's the web site: The Dive Bus - HOME

[LeeParrish]

Originally Posted by mmakay

Which Marriot? The old one is further west; the new one is very close to Willimstad and that's where we will be staying.

Have you selected a dive operation? Self-guiding isn't a great idea for a new diver. Even if you feel comfortable without a dive master, you're likely to miss lots of the best stuff. Some of the sites are a little hard to find if you don't know where you're going. We used the Dive Bus last time, and will be doing the same this week. Mark and Suzi are great. I can recommend them without hesitation.

Check this thread in a day or two for a link to my Flickr page. I'll be posting pictures. (Hopefully really good ones ... I just got a new camera )

We will be at the older Marriott, not the new one in town. We booked this so long ago that it was the only one there at the time (we are using points, so we book as far ahead as possible). I emailed the dive shop at the Marriot, Caribbean Sea Sports to see if they have schedule of dives but haven't heard back yet, but I'm open to other places as well. I'll keep contact info with me for the Dive Bus, that may work as well. And I'll definitely be doing guided dives, I need much more experience before venturing out on my own. And I'm the only diver in my family, so I'll need to find a guide or buddy anyway.

Nice photos too, what type of camera are you using? I bought a WP-DC23 case for my Canon SD770 and and took it snorkeling in Hawaii and it did alright, though conditions were really terrible. I really need to buy a strobe setup, but I'm not sure if I can swing the cost right now. My wife is watching the spend as I just bought a new fins and mask this week along with a few other goodies. And we are going on vacation in a few weeks, which always have a way of adding up. But then what's a few hundred more...