Last week 10/8 to 10/15/11, I visited Curacao, staying at the Kura Hulanda Lodge and diving at Ocean Encounters West. I had planned extensively for the trip and although the dive operation was chosen for morning dives, I had arranged at least one buddy to dive with during the afternoons. I had non-diving trips planned as well. I posted on SB for advice and buddies as I was solo for the week and was surprised by some very helpful advice and one great buddy, Dennis, who made the trip exceptional.
Curacao may not be mainly known for its diving but I believe it is similar to its sister island Bonaire in the quality of dive sites. There seem to be many more sites on Curacao if you can only get to them. More on this later. The island is situated 35 miles from Venezuela and is aligned diagonally. There is a windward side where few dive operations visit due to the strong waves and currents. I would have liked to do at least one of these sites but ran out of time. Most diving is done on the leeward side, or east coast. The island is separated loosely between north and south with the main city Willemstad in the south and some barren road travel and scattered cities up north.
The diving;
I stayed at the islands “North Point” because reportedly the diving was better up north. I can say undeniably that this is not true. Most of my favorite sites were in the south but the north had the best overall site in my opinion during the week. I received recommendations and a detailed dive list from another SB’er and I had many recommendations from my usual dive buddy who had been there several times before me. I chose the sites I would like and arranged them as I would have on Bonaire, with a surface interval between north and south sites.
It didn’t work out that way as I’ll illustrate later. I did Knip, Elvins Plane Wreck, Playa Kilki (and again as a night dive), Rediho, Mushroom Forest, Porto Marie, Playa Hulu, Lagun, Superior Producer (shore dive), Marie Pompoen, Director’s Bay, Watamula, Paradise, Snake Bay, Scooter, Santa Cruz. I did only the one night dive on this trip. I was not impressed with the night life at this site but I heard that I should be doing the night dive earlier (before 6pm) to see the best sights.
My favorites in order; Santa Cruz, Marie Pompoen, and the Superior Producer. Watamula is the north’s reportedly best dive site and it was good. I found the narrow densely populated Santa Cruz to be a better dive though. Marie Pompoen is in the south and is thought of as a children’s dive because of its mostly shallow depth. It is possible to go deep however and at 60 feet, there is incredible life. The Superior Producer is a must-see dive on Curacao and, no matter what you hear; it is an easy shore dive. I did it with no prior experience and few directions. Elvins plane is actually a passenger plane so qyuite large and a pretty good dive experience. I liked the Porto Marie site because the reef is divided by a large sandy slope down to the extreme depths. You can go left, right or both ways. Very neat looking and possibly deep dive. I did go to 120ft occasionally but the life is mostly at 60 feet so I stayed around there. I only did Nitrox on the Producer which made for more bottom time at 100ft. Director’s Bay is pretty much around the southeast coast and it is a series of vertical rock cuts and caves, a wall dive mostly.
Many of the shore dive sites “belong” to hotels. What this means is that you must plan to buy tanks, or air, or pay a fee to the hotel or group when you want to dive there. These sites do not seem to be documented well online but I can tell you I only dove sites that were free since I had my own air fills and tanks. Several times (Blue Bay for example) I went to the site only to turn around because I wasn’t willing to buy a tank at $15 that I already had in my car. I was disappointed but I did end up driving to other nearby sites that were just as good and were also free. I also turned around at Habitat because they are not allowing divers to enter at this point.
The Operators:
I only dove with Ocean Encounters West. They are a top-notch, professional and fun group that is serious about providing safe enjoyment for every passenger. I cannot recommend them highly enough and, if you dive in the north, I recommend using them. We did visit some other sites and spoke with other operators. I had purchased a package but I believe the cost is mostly the same wherever you go. The OEW boat was spacious and well run including snacks and plenty of drinks for passengers. They provide care for cameras and gear after the dives.
Hotel, Transportation:
I stayed at the lodge which is fairly isolated. You can get mostly anything here but it is not close to the city center, about an hour for me. Also unfortunately, the roads are not easy to navigate and, if you get lost, you can spend hours trying to find your way out. The maps are not detailed in any meaningful way. The best map I found is the Dive & Drive map which is available at the rental car counter for $3.
While I wanted to do 4 dives a day, the traveling hardships meant only 3 dives were possible. I would arrive from the morning boat dives at 1:30pm, and then not dive in the afternoon until about 3:30pm. It just took that long to find the dive sites and get in. The main road is not near to the sites as you see in Bonaire. Instead, you must travel miles to the main road and then miles more to each site. I would rent a car, a truck is not needed. I was just fine with my little subcompact and it carried my tanks/gear through very rough terrain in the south. Rental cars are relatively expensive but worth it if you want to see the whole island and dive different sites. No single operator will take you to both north and south sites.
Restaurants:
I ate out some nights and am providing notes here for where I ate best to worst.
Landhaus Misje – The best island food I tried. I had the oxtail stew which was amazing. They have a great wine list and an unbelievable atmosphere. You can eat outside or under cover but the home-style menu is fantastic.
Kura Hulanda Lodge Watamula restaurant – I had some amazing Ostrich fillet there. This restaurant is very nice, a little expensive but worth one splurge night.
Playa Porto Marie – I had the chicken on a stick with peanut sauce, a dutch favorite. The food is OK but the best part is the atmosphere. It is a great fun party all day and night. The manager was incredibly helpful and just an all-around nice guy.
Jaanchies – Good food but a very long wait. 20 minutes to wait for my first beer and an hour for my food after ordering. Skip it if you are hungry. I did eat the Iguana and goat meal that was prepared well and very tasty.
Activities:
I had planned more dives on this trip but ended up doing many other things this time. One attraction the island has is the Cristofel Park wildlife area. I was recommended instead to do the Shete Boka Park farther north. It is on the north side showing off the wild waves and rough lava coast of the area.
You can tour the main Willemstad center with many shops and a unique floating pontoon bridge that opens up to let boats enter the port. The market there is quite a sight as well.
I also planned to ride the four-man submarine down to 1,000 feet. It is an expensive trip available at the Seaquarium in Willemstad. You can bid for the trip on ebay and get a small discount (I’d recommend this option). While not within the reach of everyone, I can say it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see the wreck of the Stella Marie at 440 feet deep.
One wild thing that I also did during surface interval is to visit the Ostrich Farm in the south. There you can (and I did) ride an ostrich for a nominal fee. Again, once-in-a-lifetime, and requires a pretty strong grip and stout haeart. Still I’d recommend it. I'll spare you the photos of this adventure.
My thanks to all the SB'ers who responded to my first post and helped me make arrangements. It was an awesome trip and I'd recommend Curacao to any diver looking for Caribbean style diving as well as topside fun.
Curacao may not be mainly known for its diving but I believe it is similar to its sister island Bonaire in the quality of dive sites. There seem to be many more sites on Curacao if you can only get to them. More on this later. The island is situated 35 miles from Venezuela and is aligned diagonally. There is a windward side where few dive operations visit due to the strong waves and currents. I would have liked to do at least one of these sites but ran out of time. Most diving is done on the leeward side, or east coast. The island is separated loosely between north and south with the main city Willemstad in the south and some barren road travel and scattered cities up north.
The diving;
I stayed at the islands “North Point” because reportedly the diving was better up north. I can say undeniably that this is not true. Most of my favorite sites were in the south but the north had the best overall site in my opinion during the week. I received recommendations and a detailed dive list from another SB’er and I had many recommendations from my usual dive buddy who had been there several times before me. I chose the sites I would like and arranged them as I would have on Bonaire, with a surface interval between north and south sites.
It didn’t work out that way as I’ll illustrate later. I did Knip, Elvins Plane Wreck, Playa Kilki (and again as a night dive), Rediho, Mushroom Forest, Porto Marie, Playa Hulu, Lagun, Superior Producer (shore dive), Marie Pompoen, Director’s Bay, Watamula, Paradise, Snake Bay, Scooter, Santa Cruz. I did only the one night dive on this trip. I was not impressed with the night life at this site but I heard that I should be doing the night dive earlier (before 6pm) to see the best sights.
My favorites in order; Santa Cruz, Marie Pompoen, and the Superior Producer. Watamula is the north’s reportedly best dive site and it was good. I found the narrow densely populated Santa Cruz to be a better dive though. Marie Pompoen is in the south and is thought of as a children’s dive because of its mostly shallow depth. It is possible to go deep however and at 60 feet, there is incredible life. The Superior Producer is a must-see dive on Curacao and, no matter what you hear; it is an easy shore dive. I did it with no prior experience and few directions. Elvins plane is actually a passenger plane so qyuite large and a pretty good dive experience. I liked the Porto Marie site because the reef is divided by a large sandy slope down to the extreme depths. You can go left, right or both ways. Very neat looking and possibly deep dive. I did go to 120ft occasionally but the life is mostly at 60 feet so I stayed around there. I only did Nitrox on the Producer which made for more bottom time at 100ft. Director’s Bay is pretty much around the southeast coast and it is a series of vertical rock cuts and caves, a wall dive mostly.
Many of the shore dive sites “belong” to hotels. What this means is that you must plan to buy tanks, or air, or pay a fee to the hotel or group when you want to dive there. These sites do not seem to be documented well online but I can tell you I only dove sites that were free since I had my own air fills and tanks. Several times (Blue Bay for example) I went to the site only to turn around because I wasn’t willing to buy a tank at $15 that I already had in my car. I was disappointed but I did end up driving to other nearby sites that were just as good and were also free. I also turned around at Habitat because they are not allowing divers to enter at this point.
The Operators:
I only dove with Ocean Encounters West. They are a top-notch, professional and fun group that is serious about providing safe enjoyment for every passenger. I cannot recommend them highly enough and, if you dive in the north, I recommend using them. We did visit some other sites and spoke with other operators. I had purchased a package but I believe the cost is mostly the same wherever you go. The OEW boat was spacious and well run including snacks and plenty of drinks for passengers. They provide care for cameras and gear after the dives.
Hotel, Transportation:
I stayed at the lodge which is fairly isolated. You can get mostly anything here but it is not close to the city center, about an hour for me. Also unfortunately, the roads are not easy to navigate and, if you get lost, you can spend hours trying to find your way out. The maps are not detailed in any meaningful way. The best map I found is the Dive & Drive map which is available at the rental car counter for $3.
While I wanted to do 4 dives a day, the traveling hardships meant only 3 dives were possible. I would arrive from the morning boat dives at 1:30pm, and then not dive in the afternoon until about 3:30pm. It just took that long to find the dive sites and get in. The main road is not near to the sites as you see in Bonaire. Instead, you must travel miles to the main road and then miles more to each site. I would rent a car, a truck is not needed. I was just fine with my little subcompact and it carried my tanks/gear through very rough terrain in the south. Rental cars are relatively expensive but worth it if you want to see the whole island and dive different sites. No single operator will take you to both north and south sites.
Restaurants:
I ate out some nights and am providing notes here for where I ate best to worst.
Landhaus Misje – The best island food I tried. I had the oxtail stew which was amazing. They have a great wine list and an unbelievable atmosphere. You can eat outside or under cover but the home-style menu is fantastic.
Kura Hulanda Lodge Watamula restaurant – I had some amazing Ostrich fillet there. This restaurant is very nice, a little expensive but worth one splurge night.
Playa Porto Marie – I had the chicken on a stick with peanut sauce, a dutch favorite. The food is OK but the best part is the atmosphere. It is a great fun party all day and night. The manager was incredibly helpful and just an all-around nice guy.
Jaanchies – Good food but a very long wait. 20 minutes to wait for my first beer and an hour for my food after ordering. Skip it if you are hungry. I did eat the Iguana and goat meal that was prepared well and very tasty.
Activities:
I had planned more dives on this trip but ended up doing many other things this time. One attraction the island has is the Cristofel Park wildlife area. I was recommended instead to do the Shete Boka Park farther north. It is on the north side showing off the wild waves and rough lava coast of the area.
You can tour the main Willemstad center with many shops and a unique floating pontoon bridge that opens up to let boats enter the port. The market there is quite a sight as well.
I also planned to ride the four-man submarine down to 1,000 feet. It is an expensive trip available at the Seaquarium in Willemstad. You can bid for the trip on ebay and get a small discount (I’d recommend this option). While not within the reach of everyone, I can say it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see the wreck of the Stella Marie at 440 feet deep.
One wild thing that I also did during surface interval is to visit the Ostrich Farm in the south. There you can (and I did) ride an ostrich for a nominal fee. Again, once-in-a-lifetime, and requires a pretty strong grip and stout haeart. Still I’d recommend it. I'll spare you the photos of this adventure.
My thanks to all the SB'ers who responded to my first post and helped me make arrangements. It was an awesome trip and I'd recommend Curacao to any diver looking for Caribbean style diving as well as topside fun.
