Curaçao Scuba Diving & Snorkeling Guide

[Dive Curaçao]

Want to find Shore diving, Boat diving, and/or Snorkeling sites on Curacao... let us be your guide!!

Over 70 Sites have been added & more are coming!

Features include site descriptions, a search bar and an interactive GOOGLE MAP to help you find where you want to Dive! You can even share locations with your dive buddies!!
If you have a favorite that is not listed, please contact Dive Curacao & we will add it to the map!

Click Here... and "sea" you soon!

 

[rhwestfall]

Awesome! Was there for the first time this past April, and returning this November. Will be helpful in planning things out.

 

[drrich2]

Appreciated; looks good! There's a type of listing I hope we see more of someday that would help with planning, because Curacao's shore diving seems to be a mix of 'styles' from other destinations.

The Bonaire stereotype is visit your dive op. (likely on the grounds where you stay), load your pickup truck bed with gear and 2 tanks/apiece, and drive around the west coast-hugging road, put into yellow rock-marked sites and dive. No on-site 'amenities' - no food, bathrooms, booze, staff watching your car, usage fees or a place to rent tanks from. It's you and nature.

The Grand Cayman impression I get from reading trip reports & discussions, is there aren't nearly as many shore dive sites as Bonaire, often there's a dive op. on land for whom a site is sort of a 'house reef,' and divers show up with their own gear (or rent), but rent tanks and weights at the on-site op. I'm aware not every case fits that model, but it's the impression I got for what's common. It's close to what I saw in St. Croix, though again exceptions may happen.

Curacao reports indicate a mixed bag.

-----1.) Some sites, like Bonaire, are 'barren' of civilization. Petty theft from rental trucks more a concern here, so leave doors unlocked and windows down, nothing of value except spare tanks in your truck.

-----2.) Some sites have an on-site dive op. and/or amenities; there may be a fee to use, there may be food/booze/bathrooms, maybe staff can keep an eye on your vehicle, etc...

Some people will want to load up some tanks from their dive op. and hit the road, incurring no additional fees. Some like 'amenities' and snacking, drinking, showering off or whatever after a dive.

Be nice to know which sites are which. Just a thought.

Richard.

 

[dorsal]

Thank you for sharing! Great guide

 

[Dive Curaçao]

Curacao Dive Task Force Introduces Interactive Dive Site Guide WITH Videos
By Curacao Dive Task Force
Dive News Wire Release - September 11, 2018


If you are looking for Paradise… we found it and it is right here on Curacao! The September CURACAO DIVE SITE OF THE MONTH is located between Klein Knip and Playa Jeremi. The Curacao Hospitality and Tourism Association Dive Task Force has recently created an interactive guide with all of the island’s Dive Sites AND Dive Centers.


The “Paradise” dive site is amazing because of an enormous variety of big hard coral colonies and colorful sponges plus home to many barracuda, green morays and lobsters. Along the shoreline there is also a small cave that can be accessed on calm days where you will find large schools of glassy sweepers, numerous lobsters and crabs.


Dive Right In AND… Don’t forget, Click Now for http://bit.ly/diveintofall2018-curacaodivespecials brought to you by the Curacao – CHATA – Curaçao Hospitality & Tourism Association Dive Task Force!

CLICK HERE: http://bit.ly/CuracaoDiveandSnorkelMap

 

[Saturated and satisfied]

If you are looking for Paradise… we found it and it is right here on Curacao! The September CURACAO DIVE SITE OF THE MONTH is located between Klein Knip and Playa Jeremi. The Curacao Hospitality and Tourism Association Dive Task Force has recently created an interactive guide with all of the island’s Dive Sites AND Dive Centers.

This is so cool! We can't wait to use it more

 

[Dive Curaçao]

Klein Curacao – The October Curacao Dive Site of the Month
Dive News Wire

If you could imagine a picturesque deserted Caribbean island surrounded by warm aquamarine waters, then welcome to Klein Curaçao. Located approximately 6.5 miles off the eastern tip of Curaçao, this is a very special trip for divers and for snorkelers alike. The locals say that the underwater habitats of Klein Curaçao is where everything is bigger and there is more of it with almost the guarantee of turtle sightings, ocean triggerfish and large groupers.

This tiny, rugged, desolate island of volcanic rock is located off the southeast coast of Curaçao – about one-and-a-half hours by boat.

This is a true Caribbean dive location which is pristine and unspoiled.


Discover over 70 more amazing Curacao dive sites.. click here for the Curacao Scuba Diving and Snorkeling Guide

 

[Dive Curaçao]

TUGBOAT: Curacao Dive Task Force’s November Featured Site
Dive News Wire

Named for the – you guessed it – tugboat that sank in 5 meters (15ft) of water after the ship it was towing dropped anchor through its deck. It is located in a small sand and pebble bay, just a few yards offshore in the within the larger protected bay of Caracasbaai (Caracas Bay), this site is perfect for divers as well as snorkelers because it covers almost all of the best parts of recreational diving in one dive site.

The shallow water entry with broad expanses of sand makes it a perfect training environment. A short swim to the sloping drop-off gives divers a chance to find frogfish and sea-horses, before heading out to the walls that eventually lead to Directors’ Bay. Scorpionfish are everywhere in the nooks and crannies before you turn around, shallow up through a lush coral garden and inspect the wreck of the tugboat. the tug itself is small, but full of fish and makes for great photographs. The fallen anchor is not far away, and a great end to the dive is under the pier where large ships moor for repairs. There’s always something interesting hanging out in the shadows (and more photo opportunities), and divers often find themselves getting closely inspected by squid in the shallow water.

Visit Dive News Wire for the full article!

 

[Dive Curaçao]

Curaçao’s Iconic Christmas Shipwreck is December’s Featured Curacao Dive Site - Dive News Wire

On September 30th, 1977, the MV Superior Producer arrived early in the morning and docked on the inside of the Curaçao Harbor (St. Annabaai) just past Queen Emma floating bridge. It was loaded with a Christmas cargo consisting of whiskey, bottles of perfume, clothing and bags for two local Curaçao Merchants looking to profit from the upcoming holiday season.


At 13:30, on this unknowingly fateful Thursday afternoon, the crew of nine men in total of Venezuelan and Colombian nationality cast off the lines. Immediately the ship started to heel dangerously. The Captain ordered a portion of the cargo not properly stowed away to be put overboard. This did not help. It was further complicated because the crew neglected to close the port holes, therefore the ship started taking on water. Even the efforts of the Curaçao Port Authority tugboat to pull the boat right again had no effect.

After several unsuccessful attempts, the Harbormaster, fearing for safety of the Crew and ultimately for the Harbor itself, decided to cease all rescue efforts. The tugboat dragged the MV Superior Producer about 500 meters (1,640ft) west outside the harbor entrance. At 16:30, three hours after cast-off, the MV Superior Producer disappeared below the waves and into the turquoise depths about 150 meters (500ft) from shore. During this same period, the Captain and Crew safely abandoned the ship and they were picked up by a boat from the Harbor Police.

Today, she sits quietly upright on her keel with her bow facing west in roughly 30m (100ft) of water and about 150m (500ft) from the shoreline just west of the Curaçao Mega-pier. As an advanced shore or boat dive, the easiest approach is from the stern due to the possibility of the prevailing currents.

As you descend the fringing reef, an eerie dark shadow starts to appear. At first, you only see the stern, but then the entirety of this magnificent 50m (165ft) mass with it superstructure rising to within 21m (72ft) of the surface reveals itself, covered in a vast kaleidoscope of color. Now with roughly 30 years of growth, the MV Superior Producer is an amazing artificial reef site home to numerous colonies and different species of corals, sponges, gorgonians and sea whips. Because of this, it is a natural attraction for schools of predatory fish such as Tarpons, Barracudas, Snappers and Jacks.

With its wide-open cargo holds and accessible wheel house, the MV Superior Producer has become renowned as one of the Top Shipwrecks in the World rivaled only by the likes of the SS Thistlegorm in the Red Sea and the WWII wrecks in Palau.

Dive into history and “Feel it for yourself”! Discover the magnificence of this iconic shipwreck right now on Curacao! For more information, contact a Curaçao Dive Task Force operator for Dive Travel Specials and to start your next Caribbean scuba diving adventure today!

 

[Dive Curaçao]

Curacao’s January Site of the Month, DUANE’S RELEASE, has an interesting story - Dive News Wire

Dive right into Curaçao’s featured dive site for January, called Duane’s Release located on the West End of Curaçao. Following the rugged and ancient shoreline southeast past the popular scuba diving and snorkeling sites of Mushroom Forest and The Blue Room you will find Duane’s Release sandwiched between the diving favorites of Rediho and Playa Hulu.

Duane’s Release has characteristics of both: lush growth covers a gentle slope thick with sea rods, star and brain corals, oversized orange elephant-ear sponges and gorgonians. The folds of the reef are filled with macro critters. Octopus, eagle rays, arrow crabs, Peterson shrimp in their corkscrew anemones, and eels may be encountered. Duane would have been thrilled to dive there repeatedly. Fittingly, the site is prolific with angelfish. With a slight current, divers drift along as if carried by an unseen hand.

The story behind the name is about a diver named Duane Hendrix who loved diving, touched many lives, but died an untimely death in 2004 at the age of 21. An avid diver and traveler, Duane loved the Caribbean and wanted his ashes spread in the ocean where he would travel the entire world. Friends at a West End dive shop listened and did one better: they found a unique unnamed site and put in a mooring ball, registering it as an official dive site in 2005.

​

Family and friends made it sacred by “releasing” his ashes there. A memorial plaque sits by the mooring pin, although slowly being covered by sand and coral. Family and friends clean it periodically, knowing one day it will be reclaimed by the sea.​

When you’re in Curacao, be sure to explore this boat diving site as a tribute to a man whose short life impacted many.

Curaçao’s healthy coral reefs are attracting all kinds of marine life visitors, and hopefully more human visitors now, too. So, when deciding to come to Curaçao, please do not limit your experience to either the East or the West. Discover all of Curaçao and the incredible magic that lies just below the waterline, to uncover a Must-Dive vacation destination of 2019 where conservation truly meets your next Caribbean adventure!

Don’t wait, Dive into Spring and “feel it for yourself”! Visit Dive Travel Curaçao and take a giant stride into 2019, plunging yourself into our warm turquoise waters, but be prepared for your senses to be overwhelmed by a 360-degree kaleidoscope of intense color and abundant life!