05 Feb Off Road Buggy Adventures in Curacao with Scoobys Tours

The sun was shining, and it was a gorgeous 85° day in Curacao. To us, that means it’s time to get out, explore and have an adventure! We made our way to our shuttle for our 9 a.m. departure time from our hotel, and after a short drive, we arrived at Scoobys Tours.

The day’s adventure was one we missed out on during our first visit to Curacao, and one I had at the top of my list for this visit. We were going to explore the eastern side of the island on Off Road Buggies!

A large portion of the island’s east coast is privately owned and can only be accessed via a tour. The east side of the island is more of a desert, and the west side is more lush and tropical. I love how great the contrast can be from one side of the island to the other. The different landscape piqued my interest, and I was excited that we would finally be able to explore this mysterious, desolate portion of the island.

As we waited for our tour guide in the open air lobby of Scoobys Tours, I couldn’t help but smile. The heat was a welcome break from our Minnesotan winter back home, and the laid back vibes of the Caribbean were pulling me into a deep relaxed state.

We were soon greeted with a smile and directed to grab a pair of goggles. It was time to snap out of that relaxed state, grab a pair of goggles, and get ready for an adventure. Since the trails are fairly dusty, a bandana or face mask of some sort was suggested–we didn’t have anything of our own, so we each purchased a bandana from the shop.

Our drive started out with us testing our hand signaling skills as we navigated the city streets in our buggy. Thankfully, we were following our guide, so directions weren’t necessary. It took around 15 minutes or so to reach the private land, and that’s when the real fun was about to happen.

We revved our engine and flew along the dirt path. We took corner after corner and turn after turn, all the while dirt and dust caked our entire bodies. There may have been a few hoots and hollers in between the belly laughs as we bumped around the trails uncontrollably.

Eventually, we came to a stop along the coast. It was time to do some exploring on foot. We made our way over the volcanic, coral ground toward the water. In front of us was a rocky shoreline where waves would crash and explode into the air. I was mesmerized–it was a stark contrast to the calm beaches on the southwest side of the island.

We then drove a short distance to our next stop: a cave! As we climbed the hill and ducked inside, our guide briefly mentioned “Batman” lived inside. I didn’t fully grasp what he said until hundreds of bats flew around frantically at the sound of our voices. I tried to remain calm (I am not into bats…) and we continued on our walk through the cave until we emerged on the other side.

Climbing a bit further, we made our way to the upper side of the cave for some spectacular views overlooking the island. I hadn’t realized how high we climbed until I looked out at the vast expanse in front of us. There was nothing but desert and ocean. After soaking up the views, we headed back through the bat cave and then back to our buggies.

The next portion of the trail was even more wild than the first–we kicked up dust and drove like maniacs. Some of the curves were so sharp we felt like we were going to flip, but thankfully, we stayed upright!

Our next stop was at the Ostrich Farm for a little animal fun. We briefly looked at the gigantic bugs inside the museum portion of the farm and then made our way out back to see the pigs and ostriches. There was also a gift shop and a cafe for visitors that wanted to do some shopping or have a bite to eat. We opted for a refreshing caffeine surge and each sucked up a coke before heading out.

The dusty fun was over and the remainder of our drive was on city streets. As we pulled back into the Scoobys Tours parking lot, we quickly realized how grateful we were for the bandanas–we were caked with dust and glad we didn’t inhale it the entire time. Next item on the to do list was a nice, long shower!

Have you ever been on an off road dune buggy adventure?