Daydreaming of Curacao
- Thread starter Saturated and satisfied
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I would have preferred eight days, but the wife isn't a diver and can only take so much of the beach. I'm hoping we will find enough to do there that she will want to go back - flying direct on Delta instead of AA.
There’s always Shete Boca national park or visiting Willemstad. Thursdays, they do a fireworks display. Grab a seat at De Buren . Good view. Perhaps some ideas to extend the stay.
Chris_T
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I'm new to ScubaBoard but just came back a little over a week ago from a great Dive Vacation in Curacao. I worked with Bryan of DiveCuracao and I have to say it was an overwhelmingly positive experience. I was very happy with the Dive package he put together along with great accommodations. We stayed at LionsDive Resort in one of the apartments having a kitchen, living room and two bedrooms along with a great balcony. Very nice facility on a great beach with a nice selection of restaurants on site and right next door at Mambo beach. Bryan also ensured our stay was great both meeting us at the airport and seeing us as we were leaving the hotel to return home. He was responsive during our stay.
My wife doesn't dive, but my daughter and I were Open Water certified up in Lake Ontario this September.
Switching to tropical diving is like going to heaven. There is just so much life on those reefs that it feels like you are in a nature documentary. We dove a total of 4 days with the Dive Bus and 2 days with Ocean Encounters -both great dive organizations. We really enjoyed the smaller sized groups that the Dive Bus provided. I wanted to dive with them based on what I had read on this forum and like so many others, I was thoroughly impressed. Our 12 Curacao dives were an incredible introduction to what scuba has to offer.
We dove:
Pierbaia & Car pile
Cas Abao
Tugboat & Cornelius Bay
Booby Trap & Beacon Point
Atlantis (Baoase Resort)
Playa Porto Mari
My wife doesn't dive, but my daughter and I were Open Water certified up in Lake Ontario this September.
Switching to tropical diving is like going to heaven. There is just so much life on those reefs that it feels like you are in a nature documentary. We dove a total of 4 days with the Dive Bus and 2 days with Ocean Encounters -both great dive organizations. We really enjoyed the smaller sized groups that the Dive Bus provided. I wanted to dive with them based on what I had read on this forum and like so many others, I was thoroughly impressed. Our 12 Curacao dives were an incredible introduction to what scuba has to offer.
We dove:
Pierbaia & Car pile
Cas Abao
Tugboat & Cornelius Bay
Booby Trap & Beacon Point
Atlantis (Baoase Resort)
Playa Porto Mari
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I need to make a choice for lodging. A place on Spanish Water (north end) or Coral Estates?
Input is appreciated.
Input is appreciated.
I stayed in a house at Coral Estates and would not hesitate to do it again. The dive shop was great too work with, the house reef was not tremendous, but a nice convenient night dive. the location was also nice easy trips out towards West Punt or into the city. Cross town traffic at lunch time is to be avoided if you are hitting the sites on the other side of town. Definitely get a goat burger at Willy's no matter where you stay.
Lodging on Spanish Water is complete. Now, to set up at least a couple of dives with Ocean Encounters.
Less than a month now...
lisalimpet
Registered
I am new to ScubaBoard and very excited to be heading to Curacao in early January 2024. My spouse and kiddo are finishing their OW certifications there and I'm just going to be diving as much as I can otherwise. What recommendations do you have for "not miss" dives for an experienced diver, and topside what do you recommend seeing on the island? We're staying right near Ocean Encounters.
OP
Saturated and satisfied
Contributor
You may have been hearing about coral bleaching lately, so I wanted to share a quick update on how it's looking here in Curacao.
Great news: the water temperature is dropping back to normal for the area, and we're already seeing the corals getting their color back and generally looking less stressed (insert celebration dance, here)!
The water temp topped out at 31C this year, a degree warmer than last. Corals start to bleach around 29C; if the temps don't stay too warm for too long, they can recover. The warm water might be cozy diving for us, but not so great for our favorite uncerwater ecosystem!
Great news: the water temperature is dropping back to normal for the area, and we're already seeing the corals getting their color back and generally looking less stressed (insert celebration dance, here)!
The water temp topped out at 31C this year, a degree warmer than last. Corals start to bleach around 29C; if the temps don't stay too warm for too long, they can recover. The warm water might be cozy diving for us, but not so great for our favorite uncerwater ecosystem!
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