We are going to Curacao the end of April through the first part of May. I having been going back and forth over several hotel and dive companies. I think I have it narrrowed down to Staying at the Avila and diving with Ocean Encounters or staying at the Floris Suites and diving with Hooks. We really prefer to go out on a smaller boat with a small number of divers. Ocean Encounters I think takes out bigger groups but I am able to find lots of feed back on that company. Hooks has a small boat and takes 7 divers but I have heard nothing of them other than their web site. If anyone has any feedback on either of these dive companies or the hotels it would be greatly apprectiated. My travel agent friends say I really should be making my hotel reservations soon. Thank you, Jeanette twiggy8@comcast.net
Curacao
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CheddarChick
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Please don't make all of your dives boat dives on Curacao. In the many times I have been there I have only made 1 boat dive. Shore diving excells here. If you need a recommendation I would have to say call the Dive Bus. They pick you up at your hotel, and take you some of the most wonderful dive spots on the island.
Thank you I do know that Curacao is suppose to be good shore diving and I have had several reccomendations of the dive bus. I guess I should try them some. I just have a really hard time with my ears diving. I have a much better time if I can drop verticle at least 40' feet or so before swimming horizontal. I can get my ears to clear better when I am verticle of course. I should try though I havent really done a shore dive since getting certified 4 years ago.
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One thing about diving with OE at the Avila is that I've read they start out at their Lion's Dive location and go up the coast with their big boat picking up at the Avila, Breezes and maybe one other place. So maybe a fuller boat than you might like?
We did the dolphin dive with them at Lions Dive mid-week last April and had scheduled a 10:30 dive but canceled when we noticed the boat signup was full. OE is a larger (largest?) very efficient operation. Lots of rental gear if you need it and just good people.
We rented tanks at Hooks, it's definitely a much smaller operation. At Hooks it's a healthy swim out to the reef from their location due to the way they sit on the edge of the bay. We chose not to do it, it was that far out. Compared to other sites where the reef is a couple hundred feet out. So if you did decide to shoredive, I wouldn't there given your ear issues.
Talking to one of their staff she mentioned they dive Varsenbaai and Porto Marie by boat. Both are good dives but normally done as shore dives. At Varsenbaai, you swim out just a short distance off their divedock to a ball and drop vertically to 40' to look for a pair of seahorses.
One other point, the Floris is across the street from Hooks. So their website seems to be a little misleading. It would be a quarter mile walk from the Floris to Hooks. We stayed above the Floris at Piscadera Bay Resort and drove to Hooks from there.
At most of the sites we dove, we floated out on the surface and then dropped when we were over the reef at 40-60'. As the inshore areas are mostly sand with coral rubble and not worth wasting air. An exception would be coming back in at Varsenbaai, there were turtles eating grass in the sand flats in 6' of water to the east. The dive operator said they're always there. Also saw a big group of squid just off the dock.
Also there's several sites that have divedocks - Habitat, Playa Kalki, Varsenbaai, that get you out a short way towards the reef. At Sunset Waters, there's a cove that you walk out in to the breakwater, it's 6' at the rocks and then drops quickly. The little Cessna wreck is right there in 40'. I went through the breakwater and looked down and saw it. Except for Sunset Waters, most sites were flat calm also.
So if you wanted to shore dive, there are places to get vertical depth quickly. Other sites like Playa Lagun, Playa Jeremi and at least one of the "Gnip's" are a long swim out as they're little coves with the reef starting past the point.
We did the dolphin dive with them at Lions Dive mid-week last April and had scheduled a 10:30 dive but canceled when we noticed the boat signup was full. OE is a larger (largest?) very efficient operation. Lots of rental gear if you need it and just good people.
We rented tanks at Hooks, it's definitely a much smaller operation. At Hooks it's a healthy swim out to the reef from their location due to the way they sit on the edge of the bay. We chose not to do it, it was that far out. Compared to other sites where the reef is a couple hundred feet out. So if you did decide to shoredive, I wouldn't there given your ear issues.
Talking to one of their staff she mentioned they dive Varsenbaai and Porto Marie by boat. Both are good dives but normally done as shore dives. At Varsenbaai, you swim out just a short distance off their divedock to a ball and drop vertically to 40' to look for a pair of seahorses.
One other point, the Floris is across the street from Hooks. So their website seems to be a little misleading. It would be a quarter mile walk from the Floris to Hooks. We stayed above the Floris at Piscadera Bay Resort and drove to Hooks from there.
At most of the sites we dove, we floated out on the surface and then dropped when we were over the reef at 40-60'. As the inshore areas are mostly sand with coral rubble and not worth wasting air. An exception would be coming back in at Varsenbaai, there were turtles eating grass in the sand flats in 6' of water to the east. The dive operator said they're always there. Also saw a big group of squid just off the dock.
Also there's several sites that have divedocks - Habitat, Playa Kalki, Varsenbaai, that get you out a short way towards the reef. At Sunset Waters, there's a cove that you walk out in to the breakwater, it's 6' at the rocks and then drops quickly. The little Cessna wreck is right there in 40'. I went through the breakwater and looked down and saw it. Except for Sunset Waters, most sites were flat calm also.
So if you wanted to shore dive, there are places to get vertical depth quickly. Other sites like Playa Lagun, Playa Jeremi and at least one of the "Gnip's" are a long swim out as they're little coves with the reef starting past the point.
I just came back from diving with OE last week in Curacao at Lion's Dive. I have to admit that they are very professional and all the boats and equipment are well maintained. I was on their new 48' boat that can hold 35 divers. We only had about 20 at the most going out all week. There was plenty of room although I have seen other OE boats that had more divers and was very full. One thing nice about OE is that all their boats are about 40' so it's a comfortable ride and just a giant stride off the back. Getting back in is easy too with the ladders on the back. Everything is clean and well run.
Although you can shore dive most of the sites, it's still easier to jump off the back of a boat. Most sites, I believe, are about a 10 minute surface swim from shore. Nothing taxing, but if you're like me, I'd rather be on a boat. It's just easier.
dd
Although you can shore dive most of the sites, it's still easier to jump off the back of a boat. Most sites, I believe, are about a 10 minute surface swim from shore. Nothing taxing, but if you're like me, I'd rather be on a boat. It's just easier.
dd
wjsdive
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Caribbean Sea sports runs a boat from the Marriott Hotel and was very helpful both for boat diving and for shore diving which you should consider as there are some wonderful sites, Playa Kalki, Tugboat wreck to name 2.
Thank you. I had read in the undercurrent chap book about a group that refused the air fills with the dive operation at Marriott. They said the air smelled of paint. But, then I read a good review of them also. So, obviously you had no problems with the air fills there. Thank you I will continue to consider them and make note of those dive sites.
Curacao Sunshine
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Since you haven't booked your hotel yet, would you consider one of the dive package resorts on the West side? The diving is better and you could try a shore dive right from the dive shop. Check out Habitat, Sunset Waters and All West. if you are looking for upscale lodging you can stay at the Lodge Kura Hulanda but I'm not sure how the dive package works with Ocean Encounters West. There might be a better price structure with one of the other 3 resorts. It's too bad about your ears, a tank of air on the island runs between 6 and 8 dollars; a lot less than an $80 2 tank boat dive.
Sunshine
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Tennessee Slim
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I disagree.
Ill give you Watamula. Ive seen nothing to compare with it anywhere else on the island. Apart from that, however, there are dives in the east that are just as memorable as anything in the west. And right off the top of my head, I can think of 10 dive shops in the east that also have a shore dive right out their back door.
Im not denigrating the diving in the west. In fact, I dive the west end more often than the eastern sites. But claims that diving in the west is flat-out better are subjective at best and dont give due credit to the sites in the east.
Damselfish
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Floris Suites is very nice. I've never gone into the Avila but it sounds like a nice place. But if you are going to Curacao for a dive trip, as opposed to just wanting to do a few dives on vacation, I wouldn't choose either. And if you don't like cattleboats I'd avoid Ocean Frontiers. Hooks Hut should be better but I don't know much about them, and as mentioned it's a small trek to Hooks from Floris Suites. Floris Suites is a place I'd stay if I were in Curacao on business. (Actually, I think everyone I saw out on their patio area had a laptop, and I'm pretty sure they weren't working on UW photos!)
Sunset Waters and Habitat are more dive dedicated resorts and their ops have good reputations. There might be a couple drawbacks to these places for you. One is that they are far from fancy, if you are looking at places like Floris suites you probably wouldn't be happy with the accomodations at either. Also, if you really want to be near town, they're not. Personally, I would suggest getting away from town, visit for dinner and sightseeing but stay elsewhere. But that's me.
Kura Hulanda Lodge is very nice, but far away from town. It has Ocean Encounters West next door. It's not quite as convenient as Habitat or Sunset Waters, but pretty good and certainly more convenient then what you're looking at now for diving. Ocean Encounters West should have much fewer people on the boats except for 1-2 days a week they run a bus from the East End then it's cattle city. Sometimes in fact they won't have enough divers to run their boat, but the hotel told me when I was there that if you booked a dive package with boat dives through them they would guarantee the boat ran, I'd re-verify that with the hotel though. You could consider a package that splits time between Kura Hulanda Lodge on the west end and Hotel Kura Hulanda downtown, also very nice and quite unique.
The Marriott is pretty nice too, not too far from town (right across from Floris Suites) and their dive op has a pretty decent rep.
There may be some good option at further east end of the island but I'm not familiar with any of the places down there.
If your ears really prefer to drop with a 40 drop straight down, on many sites you could safely swim out from shore on the surface and drop down where the water is deeper. That seems a bit unusual though, usually people who's ears are touchy prefer a gradual descent.
Sunset Waters and Habitat are more dive dedicated resorts and their ops have good reputations. There might be a couple drawbacks to these places for you. One is that they are far from fancy, if you are looking at places like Floris suites you probably wouldn't be happy with the accomodations at either. Also, if you really want to be near town, they're not. Personally, I would suggest getting away from town, visit for dinner and sightseeing but stay elsewhere. But that's me.
Kura Hulanda Lodge is very nice, but far away from town. It has Ocean Encounters West next door. It's not quite as convenient as Habitat or Sunset Waters, but pretty good and certainly more convenient then what you're looking at now for diving. Ocean Encounters West should have much fewer people on the boats except for 1-2 days a week they run a bus from the East End then it's cattle city. Sometimes in fact they won't have enough divers to run their boat, but the hotel told me when I was there that if you booked a dive package with boat dives through them they would guarantee the boat ran, I'd re-verify that with the hotel though. You could consider a package that splits time between Kura Hulanda Lodge on the west end and Hotel Kura Hulanda downtown, also very nice and quite unique.
The Marriott is pretty nice too, not too far from town (right across from Floris Suites) and their dive op has a pretty decent rep.
There may be some good option at further east end of the island but I'm not familiar with any of the places down there.
If your ears really prefer to drop with a 40 drop straight down, on many sites you could safely swim out from shore on the surface and drop down where the water is deeper. That seems a bit unusual though, usually people who's ears are touchy prefer a gradual descent.
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