@tkaelin , I am sorry that your shore diving at Curacao didn't measure up to your expectations. We have been to Curacao 3 times & soon are heading to Bonaire for the 3rd time. My husband prefers Curacao slightly better; I like them both for their differences.
When diving in Curacao, we always stay in Westpunt (at Marazul, just south of Go West). I knew we wanted to be located in Westpunt so we could take advantage of all the nearby dive sites our 1st year, and that location worked out very well for us, so we keep going back there. There are other fine lodgings nearby. As you know, Curacao is a considerably larger island than Bonaire. Choosing to lodge in Westpunt (Marazul) means we are not convenient to the city or shopping, which suits us fine (until we run out of tp or coffee & it takes 1/2 day to go to town). ;(. When we travel to the water, it is mostly all about the diving. ;D. (And Yes! we had thin soled, low top booties on our 1st trip to Bonaire & immediately ordered "shore diving" high top booties for our upcoming trip to Curaco. Low tops & thin soles don't work well for shore diving).
We LOVE shore diving in Bonaire & Curacao, & Cayman Brac!!
*** A note here, about Curacao - you DO have to swim out a very good distance (well beyond the bay) before you get to the reefs. Much farther, in some cases (like GroteKnip/Klein Knip) than any sites in Bonaire. We bought the "Curacao (shore) Diving Guide" which is very similar to Bonaire's "Shore Diving Made Easy". (Having already dived Bonaire before we went to Curacao, I asked around while we were contacting about lodgings to see if Curacao had such a guide - they do. It helps a lot, in planning, since everything is further distance in Curacao than Bonaire). And in Curacao, the same as in Bonaire, leave NOTHING of value (we leave drinking/rinsing water & our bag lunches, no towels, clothes, etc) in your car, EVER.
So going south from Playa Kalki in Westpunt, we've dived the following:
Playa Kalki (Go West dive shop is here) - Get there early or avoid wkends to avoid crowds & to get parking (diving tourists are bussed in here). A hotel & Go West dive shop is on site. We walk down & into the water to the far right of the restaurant. Less people there. We have dived the reef to the north & south. We enjoyed 2 frogfish in less than 10' water during our 2nd visit to Curacao at this site. They were on the same rock/reef clump the last 5 days (we visited them snorkeling). This is a lovely, gradual wall reef with lots of critters! But, yes, with lots of sand.
. You'll need tall booties & jugs of water in the back of your vehicle for ALL Curacao sites. The hike down/up from parking is the hardest part. This is one of our favorite reefs.
Playa Grandi/Bosca Picado/Fishermen's Dock - Watch out for the glass in parking, & all the way to the water. This is a quiet area when the fishermen are out. A Great night-dive. There is an iron Neptune statue straight out (& to right) at 25' that makes for a good return spot on a night dive. Lovely reef w lots of fish & turtles due to the fishermen throwing fish scraps after their cleaning. (5 local turtles know the schedule & hang around the reef). We've dived the reef going both to the north & south, day & hight. Lovely reef with easy access. One of our favorite reefs.
Playa Forti - a small local, public beach located just south of the AllWest lodgings. (In between Playa Grandi & Marazul house reef). Avoid wkends if small, local crowds bother you (crowds are smaller than either at Playa Lagun or Play Jeremy) but if there is nothing in your car - no worries. You can see Playa Grandi to the north. Great access to the Marazul house reef to the south here. We have dived Forti both north & south. Close parking above the beach with easy access. Quiet area usually.
Marazul house reef - we stay at Marazul, so we dive this reef often, both north & south. Besides the usuals, a nurseshark seen here. Private access, one of our favorite, a lovel reefs.
Grote Knip/Klein Knip - 2 similar sites. Diving early mornings is best here. Avoid on wkends entirely, to avoid huge crowds of beach loving tourists bussed from the city 45 min away. Parking is gone quickly on wkends & afternoons. These reefs both have loooong swim outs before you get to anything. In my opinion, other locations are just as nice with less hassle & crowds.
. We have dived both sites in both directions. There is however, a Lovely spot/overlook for a great photo of the Grote beach/bay area, if you get here before the crowds.
Playa Jeremy - another local beach to visit early mornings or wkdays with parking above the beach. Sat & Sun will have small local crowds (less than Playa Lagun). This is another lovely reef - a favorite of ours.
Playa Lagun - Discover Divers is on site with a restaurant. We get our tanks/package through them & load up for the other sites. Again, dive here early morning or wkdays because on Sat/Sun THIS is the LOCAL beach to be, and becomes VERY crowded & parking is difficult.
Again, sorry,
@tkaelin . We have seen seahorses, squid, octopus and all the other critters here. This is one of our favorites due to the critters seen in the lagun, more than the actual reef itself, but we have dived both north/south on this reef.
Play Hundo - this is a very remote dive site & if it has been rainy, you might need a truck. You leave your vehicle where the road ends (quite a way in) & walk to the water (a small ratty shack is off to the right as you face the water). At about 18' and a little to the north, there is a lush bed of staghorn here. The reef drops quickly beyond that to over 130' , so not a far swim out, at all. This is a drive from our lodgings, so we do 2 tanks here if we come. Very remote.
Porto St. Marie - we also do a 2 tank dive when we come here & bring a bag lunch, as it is a drive for us. There is a large hotel, beach restaurant, restrooms, & dive shop on site, but we bring our tanks & introduce ourselves to the shop staff. We have been told they are ok with that & let us leave our dry bag with them. We drive down to the shop, unload, & then my husband parks the vehicle in parking - a hike. You might have to pay for parking here - not sure. We gear up in the shop's gear up area & head into the water. There are a lot of people on the beach here - everywhere! We try not to step on them. Oooops! Do NOT use the private dive shop dock. This is a fabulous double reef that has a mooring ball just before the 1st reef. It drops fairly deep quickly - 90'.+. Lots of critters, absolutely lovely reef. We could easily do 3 tanks here. This is one of our favorites. There are always going to be crowds here, due to the hotel. Other general tourists & divers are also bussed/shuttled here from the city. Mornings are probably less busy.
Curacao has tons of other dive sites, going south as well as north of Westpunt. We have only touched a few.
@tkaelin , we have yet to do a boat dive here. I'm sure rhey are great, but we are kept busy revisiting our favorites shore sites & discovering a few more, each trip. Maybe give it another shot. If so, look into buying the Curacao Diving Guide for shore divers. It is excellent. We do rent a vehicle by the week so we have flexibility & can haul our tanks. If you travel with non- divers, it might be a totally different situation (most Curacao dive sites DO have lovely beaches, however. You just have to time it to avoid the crowds).
Lol. We recently started diving Cayman Brac - shore diving. Very similar to Bonaire entrance/exits but with "cut-out" steps/stairs/ladder entrance/exits on 5 or so, & "finger/groove" reefs rather than the wall type (of either Bonaire or Curacao). Very fun! We leave for Bonaire in a few days - can't wait!!! 
