Diving in ABC islands.

[Grm]

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[nldunn]

Thanks for those infos, but in general, how were the divings, lots of action UW or was just corals with some small fish and this and that ? I am a sucker for seeing big stuff UW and lots of action like Komodo, Raja-ampat, sipadan island etc .. etc ... ok ok I am perhaps asking for too much now I know LOL.
And I do guess that UW will be like in Egypt and some places in Thailand the only thing you will see are hordes of divers, right 'cause this is really what I want to avoid.

QUOTE="boulderjohn, post: 10394430, member: 32540"]
I did all three islands on one vacation with my non-diving wife. What follows is a summary that may or may not be helpful.

Aruba has some very nice beaches and mediocre but passable diving. The resorts are the best of the three islands, too. Our stay there was tainted by the fact that it was a couple weeks after the killing of Natalie Holloway, so the island was in a bit of a stir, but it should be your choice if you are willing to do the mediocre diving while she enjoys the beach.

Bonaire was the opposite--very nice diving with nearly no nice beaches. They were mostly composed of coral rubble. The city is not the greatest place to hang out.

Curacao was in-between. It has a nice, colorful capital city, reminiscent of cities in Holland. The reefs are very much like Bonaire's, so you can have great diving. It also has some very nice beaches, ranging from deserted sand beaches to beaches with all the amenities. In Bonaire, you drive along the long rubble beach, looking at little signs telling you the names of dive sites along the way. In Curacao, most of the shore is cliff, with some openings to beaches. The road is inland, with signs telling you how to get to those beaches. You can dive off of any of them.

[/QUOTE]
I know this is old but I wanted to respond anyway.
I was going to scuba in Curacao this past November (2024) but had a stomach issue so I just snorkeled with divers who went below us. No place was crowded with divers underwater that I saw. We went off Director's Bay and there were the three divers with us who went down the wall to about 50 feet and two divers exploring at about 30 feet. Another day, another beach, the divers with us went down a wall to about 60 feet and we snorkeled in about 30 feet of water.
The water is beautiful! We saw tons of fish at Director's Bay and a seahorse and a number of eagle rays. Tons of parrot fish and it's not like I've seen in Asia where you are often swimming in the middle of thousands of fish but that did happen a few times and we were just snorkeling!
I really loved Curacao and am going back with my husband this time and my Pepto Bismol!!

 

[terramar]

Bonaire and Curacao are worth the cost for diving. Aruba not so much from my experience. Your GF would probably like the beaches more in Curacao and Aruba compared to Bonaire. Curacao shore dive entries/exits, with shallow sloping sandy beaches, many in sheltered coves, are lot easier and nicer than in Bonaire. We spent 30 days in Curacao a couple years ago, and my wife accompanied me to shore diving sites with The Dive Bus. She snorkeled off the beach, or just enjoyed the sandy beach and calm water while I did my two tank dives. I don't think you can go wrong with Curacao for both of you.

So, my gfriend is proposing me to go to ABC islands after visiting some south latin american country and she's not a diver but I am, big dilemna. She will most certainly go for the beach, but me laying on a beach doing nothing not my thing .... at all. And I noticed that scuba diving's price is more or less the same almost evwhere in carribeans, pretty expensive though after having done south-east LOL for many years. So, my question is, is the diving worth it on ABC islands (Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba and some other islands nearby) or is really nothing special beside warm, clear water ? I read that the chance of seeing sharks is really low, so I am really wondering what should I really expect to make me WOW ... Ok, I know, after Indonesia, Galapagos etc .... I doubt it will be as majectic, is that correct ?
Because paying 60 - 80$ for one tank I better see something really amazing.
Any other islands in the carrribean islands where diving would be much cheaper with really good diving ? I am not talking bout the Bahamas though.
Thanks for the help.

if you enjoy shore diving, you can get a 12 tank card (air or nitrox) from Buddy Dive retail shop downtown and shore dive to your hearts content. Not as much big pelagic life (though I saw a whale shark last week), but smaller macro stuff, and the most incredible varieties of sponges, corals, and reef fish. There’s a reason we stay here 4 months a year and are looking to purchase.