Maybe it is a different Curacao than I go to.
I have about 20 week-long trips to Curacao under my belt and have had entirely different experiences than Grub.
I have never spent more than $20US for DINNER at Denny's and a Grand Slam breakfast is about 2 dollars more than in the US. (almost all food is shipped in).
Once each trip I splurge on a pretty good meal and have yet to spend more than $75 with a glass or two of wine. My typical dinner is under $20, often less than $10. Dinner at Campo is very reasonable.
Driving is not a big deal. Maybe I am just lucky to have a good sense of direction but I have not got lost in Curacao. I have stayed in Piscadera (Hilton, Marriott area) and usually stay in Otrabanda (downtown) The only time it took more than 20 minutes was during rush hour and I took the route from Ring Road which goes through a more urban area. It took 30 minutes.
I did get a flat tire coming home from Campo on a very dark and lonely stretch of road. Within a minute a car load of young guys stopped. They looked like a fairly rough lot and I prepared for the worst. Within 10 minutes they had my tire changed and refused my offer of beer money. One of them gave me the phone number at the garage where he worked and the next day he fixed my tire for free. That is typical of the friendliness and hospitality I find in Curacao. Could the outcome have been different? Sure! But that can happen anywhere. I would rather break down in Curacao at night than in most parts of the US.
I budget $2500-3000 for a week on Curacao including airfare, hotel, car, food, a couple t-shirts and all the pussy I can handle. I work during the day so I don't have dive trips or tours to pay for and lunch at a snak-shack downtown is only 2-3 dollars. And I don't stay in the bargain hotels. A nice room with a hot shower, a gym and other facilities are important to me.
Curacao may not be the cheapest destination, but it is very reasonable compared to most of the Caribbean. Cheap quick flights make it accessible to US mongers. I can go to Bangkok and stay in a 4-5 star hotel and have over night company every night, eat like a king, get a daily massage, and stop into a BJ bar for a quicky a couple times a day all for about $1000 a week; but the 24-40 hours of travel is very expensive. I also spend miles + cash to get my ass in a business class seat or I'll waste the first few days recovering from the flight. Curacao is a quick jaunt, but Bangkok is a serious commitment.
Grub, I respect that you don't care for Curacao. That's cool. We all have different tastes. I don't particularly care for the DR but that is just my tastes. Yet I know many mongers that consider it paradise found. I would never tell anyone not to go and I will probably go there again. For me, I always enjoy Curacao and consider it as my favorite stop on my circuit.
YMMV is the mantra of life in general.
Pogo
I agree with you to a point
[QUOTE=Grub1;1324674]This is not like any other mongering place most anyone has been. Sure they are fun to be had and I did every day and night at campo but.
It is a long way from anyone that could help you out in any way. You are at there mercy. It may seem like they are alot of people in campo but if you look around at most times it is people from the 30 mile long island of Curacao.
For anyone who has already made reservations to this island to visit campo just relize it is a good distance in a
Unfamilar area to the hilton and most any hotel near the beach.
So watch out for anyone trailing behind. A few miles up the road from campo. And if anyone does try to get you to stop for any reason flat tire etc do not stop. Go to where you are going at any cost.
As for food try 38 dollars for 2 at denny's for breakfast I had a sandwich and choclate milk and my friend had french toast and coffee. We did eat well at night but like I say it cost 75 to a 100 each night easy with no drinks.[/QUOTE]I have been to Curocao several times and I still like to go back. I agree with you about the restaurants being on the expensive side. I got around that by getting a place that had a kitchen and then shopping at the grocery store for supplies for the time I was there.
My total food expense for the week including a couple of nights out came to about $180.00. As to the distance to campo, my hotel was about a 15 minute drive each day. I did see the big hotels way the hell out of the way.
The trick is to Google the distance before signing up for the hotel. As far as it being dangerous, I did hear from the hotel owner one day about auto chop shops operating on the island. In fact the rental car had all of the hubs and like removed when I picked it up.
On top of that it had the most annoying paranoid alarm I had ever encountered. It went on every time I opened the door. Very annoying. I am guessing all this has to do with auto thefts that were being reported on the island.
All in all considering its competitors, Campo is a pretty good bargain.
Want to get back to Curacao.
Just reading this recent thread makes me want to get back to Curacao. I like to eat at the joints where the locals eat. My favorite lunch spot is Plasa Bieu, in Punda. It's an open air food market that has about six vendors cooking local staples, such as: fresh fish, goat stew, rice, beans and plantains in large pots over open coals. You sit at long picnic tables where you can chat up the locals; most of whom speak english, as well as dutch, spanish and papiamentu. I don't remember the exact cost of a meal, but it's "dirt cheap". I also enjoy taking a drive out to Westpunt and having dinner at Jaanchie's. Jaanchie's is a funky open fronted restaurant, Brightly colored birds fly in and out of the dining room freely. It's another great place for local fare, you can even sample some braised iguana. Westpunt is beautiful at sunset; worth the trip and it won't beak the bank. Swinging by Campo on the way back to the Hotel, makes for a relaxing evening.