Flutter
Contributor
My husband & I returned from 2 Wonderful weeks shore diving in Curacao, in Feb. (Sorry! Time flies!) We wanted a location - away from the busiest part of the island, minutes from shore diving sites, clean & reasonably priced, with a dive shop on-site or close by, and relatively quiet (for our down-time).
Marazul Dive Resort (MDR) is located in Westpundt, on the NW side of the island, approx 45 min from the airport, and 30 min from Willemstad (the capitol). We grocery shopped just twice in Willemstad, eating, diving, and relaxing the rest of the time in Much smaller Westpundt.
We dove Nitrox with Discover Diving (DD) in Playa Lagun (10 min or so down the road), notifying them in advance (email) what we anticipated our approx Nitrox needs would be each day. The shop opened at 9 am and they always had our day's tanks ready for us (every so many days, we'd advise them of our needs for the next couple days, always keeping them informed). We would grab what we needed, when we needed it, during the day, depending on where we would be diving. No slip ups! (They had it shipped in for us). At the end of our stay, we settled our bill. No hassles - rather slick. DD was located about mid point of the dives we selected (near and around Westpundt & towards Willemstadt).
The shore diving was Fantastic!! We dived in Bonaire last year & anticipated about the same. The marine life was similar (vast & colorful), but the water entry (for the most part) was easier. Most sites either had stairs leading down to them or were sandy beaches, with a 10-15 min snorkel swim-out to the reef (rather than the slippery & tricky coral entry of Bonaire). DD had a locally printed Shore Diving Guide, that in addition to the shore diving website we printed prior to our arrival, was Very Helpful. We dove 10-12 different sites, all within 5-30 mins from our location at Marazul - Playa Lagun, Klein Knip, Playa Kalki, Playa Grandi (fishermen's dock & site of Neptune), Playa Jeremy, Porto Mari, Playa Hundo, to name a few. Each time we dived a reef, we saw something different. In addition, MDR has its own house reef, with a stairs leading down to the water (25-30 ft below). Since we selected our unit (G1) because it was just 12 steps to the stairs, we dove their reef nearly every day - it couldn't be much easier! (If you can handle the stairs - I'm 5'1" and had no problems). DD also offered boat diving and night diving trips (and had seahorses and octopi in their bay), but we didn't join them this time. During our stay, the current was minimal - and the diving, Excellent!! (Frog fish were seen ocassionally).
The manager, Dorothy, at MDR was Excellent to work with in advance (via their website, and email), and also once we arrived. She made sure we were satisfied with everything, and checked in with us occasionally, as needed. (Her and her husband are divers and as we chatted, mentioned their favorite dive sites, and the easiest way to get there - some are remote). They were Fabulous! Our unit at MDR was a rental, so we prepared our own meals, went into town (Westpundt) a few times (Sol Foods was great, as was DD's buffet), but otherwise relaxed poolside, had a glass of wine, and watched the sunset from our deck each evening, with the waves crashing below.
One last note, while diving in Bonaire, we rented a pickup truck and were told to leave our windows open, our doors unlocked, and absolutely leave No Valuables in the vehicle (cameras, extra dive gear, clothes, etc.), except a bagged (no cooler) lunch, bottled water, sunscreen, and a ratty old towel, perhaps. In Curacao, we rented a car (no pickups available) and were told to keep the windows Locked, the doors Locked and leave Absolutely Nothing in the car. (Our Curacao rental had Super Security; it went crazy if we looked at it wrong). We left our extra tanks in the back of the pickup (and were told that would be ok) and in the trunk of the car in Curacao, while diving - with no problems. We met people at both places who chose not to listen to the advice and had windows broken and items taken - so a word to the wise.
We enjoyed 2 Wonderful, Restful weeks in Curacao, Packed with Fabulous shore diving, and would recommend either Bonaire or Curacao to anyone considering these locations. MDR worked very well for us; check out their website. Dorothy was great to work with, as was DD. Super Fun!
Marazul Dive Resort (MDR) is located in Westpundt, on the NW side of the island, approx 45 min from the airport, and 30 min from Willemstad (the capitol). We grocery shopped just twice in Willemstad, eating, diving, and relaxing the rest of the time in Much smaller Westpundt.
We dove Nitrox with Discover Diving (DD) in Playa Lagun (10 min or so down the road), notifying them in advance (email) what we anticipated our approx Nitrox needs would be each day. The shop opened at 9 am and they always had our day's tanks ready for us (every so many days, we'd advise them of our needs for the next couple days, always keeping them informed). We would grab what we needed, when we needed it, during the day, depending on where we would be diving. No slip ups! (They had it shipped in for us). At the end of our stay, we settled our bill. No hassles - rather slick. DD was located about mid point of the dives we selected (near and around Westpundt & towards Willemstadt).
The shore diving was Fantastic!! We dived in Bonaire last year & anticipated about the same. The marine life was similar (vast & colorful), but the water entry (for the most part) was easier. Most sites either had stairs leading down to them or were sandy beaches, with a 10-15 min snorkel swim-out to the reef (rather than the slippery & tricky coral entry of Bonaire). DD had a locally printed Shore Diving Guide, that in addition to the shore diving website we printed prior to our arrival, was Very Helpful. We dove 10-12 different sites, all within 5-30 mins from our location at Marazul - Playa Lagun, Klein Knip, Playa Kalki, Playa Grandi (fishermen's dock & site of Neptune), Playa Jeremy, Porto Mari, Playa Hundo, to name a few. Each time we dived a reef, we saw something different. In addition, MDR has its own house reef, with a stairs leading down to the water (25-30 ft below). Since we selected our unit (G1) because it was just 12 steps to the stairs, we dove their reef nearly every day - it couldn't be much easier! (If you can handle the stairs - I'm 5'1" and had no problems). DD also offered boat diving and night diving trips (and had seahorses and octopi in their bay), but we didn't join them this time. During our stay, the current was minimal - and the diving, Excellent!! (Frog fish were seen ocassionally).
The manager, Dorothy, at MDR was Excellent to work with in advance (via their website, and email), and also once we arrived. She made sure we were satisfied with everything, and checked in with us occasionally, as needed. (Her and her husband are divers and as we chatted, mentioned their favorite dive sites, and the easiest way to get there - some are remote). They were Fabulous! Our unit at MDR was a rental, so we prepared our own meals, went into town (Westpundt) a few times (Sol Foods was great, as was DD's buffet), but otherwise relaxed poolside, had a glass of wine, and watched the sunset from our deck each evening, with the waves crashing below.
One last note, while diving in Bonaire, we rented a pickup truck and were told to leave our windows open, our doors unlocked, and absolutely leave No Valuables in the vehicle (cameras, extra dive gear, clothes, etc.), except a bagged (no cooler) lunch, bottled water, sunscreen, and a ratty old towel, perhaps. In Curacao, we rented a car (no pickups available) and were told to keep the windows Locked, the doors Locked and leave Absolutely Nothing in the car. (Our Curacao rental had Super Security; it went crazy if we looked at it wrong). We left our extra tanks in the back of the pickup (and were told that would be ok) and in the trunk of the car in Curacao, while diving - with no problems. We met people at both places who chose not to listen to the advice and had windows broken and items taken - so a word to the wise.
We enjoyed 2 Wonderful, Restful weeks in Curacao, Packed with Fabulous shore diving, and would recommend either Bonaire or Curacao to anyone considering these locations. MDR worked very well for us; check out their website. Dorothy was great to work with, as was DD.
Super Fun!
