Tim Ingersoll
Contributor
Headed to Curacao for the first time in April. What are the must dives? What are the shore diving vs. boat diving opportunities? Thanks in advance.
Curacao - What are the must dives?
- Thread starter Tim Ingersoll
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morecowbells
Contributor
My first visit to Curacao was a few weeks ago-definitely not my last! For boat dives I would definitely look into Watamula, Rediho and Mushroom Forest(I did not dive the last two but other divers and dive publications praised about these sites). For shore dives you have many options. I agree that Porto Marie is a definite must as well as Playa Kalki and Cas Abou. We went diving many areas between Porto Mari and Kalki. We did not have one disappointing dive. Each one had something interesting to offer. Check out this link for more information and descriptions of these shore dive sites. Have a great trip!
Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Curacao, ABC Islands
Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Curacao, ABC Islands
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Mushroom Forest and Watamula are what I think of as the "signature" dives of Curacao. Do them by boat. Many of the other great dives can also be done as shore dives. If you plan to do mostly boat diving, I'd recommend that you stay at one of the places on the Northwest part of the island. Most have a good house reef for anytime diving but the boats are much closer to the better sites.
Hey there Tim!!
Headed to Curacao... well here is a list of my favorite dive sites!
By Boat: Mushroom Forest, Watamula, Sponge Forest, Cornelius Bay, Lost Anchor, Nieuwport, Smokey's, Klein Curacao, Eastpunt, etc...
By Shore: Shipwreck Point, Tugboat, Director's Bay, Alice in Wonderland (Playa Klahki), Playa Forti, Playa Lagun, Porto Marie, Oswaldo's Dropoff, Carpile, etc...
If you would like more information, feel free to contact via my email address listed below and I will be more than happy to assist you!!
All the best and safe diving!!
Bryan
Headed to Curacao... well here is a list of my favorite dive sites!
By Boat: Mushroom Forest, Watamula, Sponge Forest, Cornelius Bay, Lost Anchor, Nieuwport, Smokey's, Klein Curacao, Eastpunt, etc...
By Shore: Shipwreck Point, Tugboat, Director's Bay, Alice in Wonderland (Playa Klahki), Playa Forti, Playa Lagun, Porto Marie, Oswaldo's Dropoff, Carpile, etc...
If you would like more information, feel free to contact via my email address listed below and I will be more than happy to assist you!!
All the best and safe diving!!
Bryan
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Our only boat dive was Lost Anchor, that was a good dive. The better part of Tugboat is the wall around the point to the left, do that first then burn up your air at the boat - it's only 20'.
Playa Kalki was one of the best dives we did. Great OE West facilities there. We also like Habitat's house reef enough to go there twice. And Porto Marie is 5mins. up the road from there. There's an on-site diveop at Porto Marie also. Varsenbaai was another site we liked, in the same dive we saw a pontoon boat wreck, seahorses, squid and turtles feeding in the shallows. The operator said that's pretty standard there.
An instructor friend who lives there also recommends Snake Bay. I could've skipped Playa Jeremi, it wasn't all that interesting and a long swim out. It was the only west site we did with no onsite facilities. Sunset Waters house reef was also a disappointment, it was fairly good to the east but the west was pretty sparse. Add in the boat channel and it's a one-way dive. The plane wreck is a small Cessna that's scattered on the bottom.
You might also contact the Dive Bus, they do escorted shore dives.
Playa Kalki was one of the best dives we did. Great OE West facilities there. We also like Habitat's house reef enough to go there twice. And Porto Marie is 5mins. up the road from there. There's an on-site diveop at Porto Marie also. Varsenbaai was another site we liked, in the same dive we saw a pontoon boat wreck, seahorses, squid and turtles feeding in the shallows. The operator said that's pretty standard there.
An instructor friend who lives there also recommends Snake Bay. I could've skipped Playa Jeremi, it wasn't all that interesting and a long swim out. It was the only west site we did with no onsite facilities. Sunset Waters house reef was also a disappointment, it was fairly good to the east but the west was pretty sparse. Add in the boat channel and it's a one-way dive. The plane wreck is a small Cessna that's scattered on the bottom.
You might also contact the Dive Bus, they do escorted shore dives.
mikerault
Contributor
I enjoyed the Superior Producer, but I like wrecks. Carpile is just an underwater junkyard, but lots of life if you look.
Mike
Mike
Diver OnLu
Contributor
I'd say you would feel sorry to miss the following dives on the west end of Curacao:
By boat: Rediho City, Scooter, Watamula, Paradise
By shore: Playa Largu, Playa Shon Mosa (both in the San Juan area), Playa Piscadó (in front of All West Apartments in Westpoint), Porto Marie, Playa Lagún
Whereever you go - have a lot of fun and don't let anybody catch your bubbles
By boat: Rediho City, Scooter, Watamula, Paradise
By shore: Playa Largu, Playa Shon Mosa (both in the San Juan area), Playa Piscadó (in front of All West Apartments in Westpoint), Porto Marie, Playa Lagún
Whereever you go - have a lot of fun and don't let anybody catch your bubbles
Hey Tim,
as a shore dive, I enjoyed Playa Porto Mari the most - because of the nice infrastructure and the double/triple reef with canyons. I have a short report on my blog at Playa Porto Mari, Curacao | Adventure Blog
I also enjoyed the Superior Producer shipwreck because it's so large and conveniently located. And there's so many more nice places so the best is to try most of them - try Watamula, Rediho, Playa Lagun as well as the Tugboat!
as a shore dive, I enjoyed Playa Porto Mari the most - because of the nice infrastructure and the double/triple reef with canyons. I have a short report on my blog at Playa Porto Mari, Curacao | Adventure Blog
I also enjoyed the Superior Producer shipwreck because it's so large and conveniently located. And there's so many more nice places so the best is to try most of them - try Watamula, Rediho, Playa Lagun as well as the Tugboat!
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