Curacao Advice

[scuba kbell]

Hello,


I am planning a trip to Curacao. I have been there once before about 8 years ago, but did not do any shore diving (I didn't know better back then!). I have been to Bonaire a few times, and I am wondering about a few things:


- Should the same parking precautions be used, such as windows open and doors unlocked while diving? Does this change by site? It seems some sites are in busier areas/near a beach.


- Is it a good idea to get the Curacao Diving Guide book? I remember the first time I went to Bonaire I had a similar book, and it was useful. However, towards the end of the trip I didn't really need it anymore. How about the Curacao Drive n Dive Map?


- Is it better to rent tank and weights from one place for the week or should I rent tanks from an on site operator when one exists? Do the majority of the more popular sites have an on site operator?


- I am staying on the eastern side of the island. The more popular shore dive sites seem to be west, which I do plan to spend a few days doing. Does anyone have any particular favorite sites further east that are accessible from shore? Are there any areas that I should avoid overall?


Thanks!

 

[diversteve]

We just had a dive map - I think I bought it on Amazon. Not sure if it's the one you reference since we left it there. Once you leave town, Curcacao doesn't have a lot of street signs. What I would possibly suggest is a GPS - or read the resort located on "xxx beach" signs and follow them. Most dive sites on Curacao are also nice beaches.

Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Curacao, ABC Islands lists GPS coordinates on the photo section of each site listing.

Some things that have changed since it was published. Sunset Waters - sites #4-5 has closed and been razed. No facilities there now. The plane wreck (dismantled Cessna) is just thru the breakwater - it's likely still there. Saint Marie is the old Habitat site. Also closed but being re-done as condos. [-]Diveversity[/-] Divers Republic is on site there now. I liked that dive. To get to it follow the signs for Coral Estates.

More Curacao dive sites have on-site operators than don't. Here's some pairings following the shorediving list.

Playa Kalki/Go West Diving Good operator - arguably the best shore dive.
Playa Jeremi/no facilities.
Playa Lagun/Discover Diving
Cas Abao/[-]Cas Abao[/-] B Dive & Watersports
Porto Mari/Porto Mari Watersports - nice double reef dive.
Varsenbaai/Trunk Divers - I think they publish the book you mention.
Superior Producer is near Holiday Beach hotel/Goby Divers. Only diveable if no cruise ships in town since the Megapier is nearby. Many shops dive it.
Pierbaai/Car Pile Wrecks/Dive Bus - Mark/Suzy are good people. Stop in and ask them for dive site suggestions even if you don't dive with them.
Jan Thiel/Scuba Do. I believe they intentionally omit street signs in that area. Only place we had to back-track - twice.
Tugboat/shop boarded up - see below.
Directors Bay/no shop afaik.
Ocean Encounters at Santa Barbara Resort won't let you shore dive there as you have to cross a boat channel to the dive.

As far as security, we were told by our apt. mgr. to lock/hide everything at the Gnip sites farther West since they're pretty isolated. Someone else recently posted they were told to follow "Bonaire" rules. There is some apparent theft, most resorts have gates/security shacks.

At Playa Kalki you're parking on the resort grounds. Jeremi is set back a little from the water and even the shorediving listing describes theft there. Many sites shops are situated to have visibility to the parking lot. At one the operator said they'd watch our vehicles. Porto Marie has a patrolled lot. Popular locals beach so it fills up quick on weekends.

Another western option for tanks is Relaxed Guided Dives. It's on the main road west just past the airport. If you dive West you'll pass it every day.

We stayed more to the west so for the first few days rented a lot of tanks at Discover Dive (6 of us). We also rented anywhere we used the facilities, Go West for example has the shop, shade, showers etc. 20' from their dive dock in a small complex. Other places we used our own tanks. Most beaches also have a watersports operator so if you use their chairs, tables, bathrooms etc. it's customary to pay the small fee in guilders. Often waived if you rent tanks there. I think it was about $3-4 at some.

Definitely dive the Tugboat. It's your safety stop since it's 17' deep. The best dive is the wall south around the point, starts out flat then drops steeply for a while. You can also dive the pier since someone recently informed me that the ship tied up there has legal trouble so has been there a couple years - before that if they were working, you couldn't. We did mostly western sites so I don't have other east recommendations - except the Dolphin Dive at Ocean Encounters/Sea Aquarium if you want to spend $200 to do it. I did.

 

[Bas Harts]

ng.
Diveversity is on site there now.

They are gone already It's Divers Republic now

 

[morecowbells]

I believe that Cas Abao Dive and Watersports is now under new owners/management. They changed over to B Diving and Watersports. Great facilities and helpful staff.
home

 

[scuba kbell]

Thanks for the help! Since I just got back, I'll update some of this information.

We just had a dive map - I think I bought it on Amazon. Not sure if it's the one you reference since we left it there. Once you leave town, Curcacao doesn't have a lot of street signs. What I would possibly suggest is a GPS - or read the resort located on "xxx beach" signs and follow them. Most dive sites on Curacao are also nice beaches.

Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Curacao, ABC Islands lists GPS coordinates on the photo section of each site listing.

We bought a map called Kris Kras Road Map 2014 which was very helpful. We got a hang of driving around the island after a few days. We didn't want to bring a gps with us shore diving, so we relied on the map and signs. We found that if we missed a turn, it wasn't too hard to get back to the right direction. Most roads seemed to lead into each other.

Playa Kalki/Go West Diving Good operator - arguably the best shore dive.

I agree!

Tugboat/dive school - IDK the shop name.
Ocean Encounters at Santa Barbara Resort won't let you shore dive there as you have to cross a boat channel to the dive.

The dive shop at Tugboat was boarded up and abandoned. There is a shore diving site at Ocean Encounters at Lions Dive Resort

As far as security, we were told by our apt. mgr. to lock/hide everything at the Gnip sites farther West since they're pretty isolated. Someone else recently posted they were told to follow "Bonaire" rules. There is some apparent theft, most resorts have gates/security shacks.

We followed "Bonaire" rules since this is what we were advised by most shops we rented tanks from. A few of the beaches we were at had security guards watching the parking lot until about 5pm. It looked like they are being provided by the tourism industry since they all had the same uniform with Curacao's tourism logo on it. We rented tanks from Go West to dive Playa Piskado, and they warned us about frequent theft there. There was not a secuirty guard at this location.

Definitely dive the Tugboat. It's your safety stop since it's 17' deep. The best dive is the wall south around the point, starts out flat then drops steeply for a while. You can also dive the pier since someone recently informed me that the ship tied up there has legal trouble so has been there a couple years - before that if they were working, you couldn't. We did mostly western sites so I don't have other east recommendations - except the Dolphin Dive at Ocean Encounters/Sea Aquarium if you want to spend $200 to do it. I did.

The pier at Tugboat is now an active pier. The ship that had legal trouble left a few weeks ago, and there have been new ships coming and going since then.