Family diving in Curacao

[MakingBubbles]

Based largely on the feedback from the great members of this board, I have decided to take my family on vacation to Curacao next week. (For background info about my family, see my previous post titled Family Diving - Bonaire vs Caymans or other???)

Though there are probably better all-inclusive or diving resorts that might be better suited for my family, we are staying for free at the Hilton Curacao (you gotta' love those frequent traveler points... it's pretty hard to beat free!) I seriously considered Bonaire, but the flights to Curacao were cheaper and Bonaire doesn't have a Hilton yet (although I hear that one is being built to open in 2010, so maybe that will be my next trip.)

Now that I know where and when we are going, I need help with a few other details. This is our first time to Curacao and we have reserved a rental car.

1. How is the shore diving at the Hilton Curacao? Is there a decent reef or just sand?

2. To keep costs, low we are bringing our own gear (less weights and tanks) and plan on doing a good bit of shore diving with our kids, who are 10 and 11 and both are Junior Open-Water PADI certified. (Let's not discuss the merits of kids scuba diving as people have varying views on this topic -- they are both very good novice divers who have been well-trained.) I have read many of the reviews on SB, ShoreDiving.com, and I even purchased a dive guide for Curacao to get a feel for the best places to dive. None of these references provided detailed and accurate depth information on the sites. Since we're diving with our children, I would like to find sites that come close to meeting the following criteria:

• Depth of about 40 feet
• Minimal current/surf
• Easy entry
• Relatively short swim to reefs (I realize that this is not Bonaire, so most reefs require some surface swim to reach them. I just don't want them to be worn out by the time we reach the reef.)
• Because of my wife's bad back, I may have to carry the tanks to the entrance. So equipment drop-off close to the dive entrance is a good thing.

Based on my references, I've come up with the following dive sites as good candidates
and I would like to get feedback on them to see if I'm on the right track. Also, feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken or recommend others that I may have missed.

• Playa Kalki / Alice in Wonderland - Probably
• Airplane Wreck / Wetsuit City - Probably
• Port Marie - Probably
• JanthielBaai / Tugboat - Probably
• Oswaldo's Drop-off - Probably
• Curacao Sea Aquarium - Maybe... Is it worth the extra $$$?
• Klein Knip - Maybe... I heard that this might be a long swim to the reef. Can anyone confirm?
• Playa Lagun - Maybe... I heard that this might be a long swim to the reef. Can anyone confirm?
• Cas Abao - Maybe...I'm not sure if there is much to see at 40ft. at this site.
• Saint Marie / Habitat - Maybe...I'm not sure if there is much to see at 40ft. at this site.

3. Finally, we are considering taking a two-tank boat dive at Mushroom Forest / Sponge Forest.

• Is this a good dive for the kids? It's my understanding that the average depth is about 43 ft. and that there can be some current. Mild to medium current is generally not a problem for them (they've been drift diving with me in Cozumel and did just fine), I just have to keep a close watch on them and stay closer to them.
• Can anyone recommend a good Dive Operator that goes to Mushroom Forest? The dive shop at the Hilton Curacao (Seascape) said they only go if they have a group of 16 or more that are interested.
• Would a trip to Klein Curacao be a better choice? I realize that this is a 2-hour boat ride, but would this be better diving or more fun?

Sorry for the novel. Hopefully, this will be helpful to other diving families planning a vacation to Curacao in the future.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

- MakingBubbles

 

[diversteve]

My edits to your novel...

(later edit, distances I posted earlier were too long so I've revised them using Google Earth.

1. How is the shore diving at the Hilton Curacao? Is there a decent reef or just sand?

I'm guessing it's marginal. Based on a couple of things. None of these are personal experience but info I found here and elsewhere. We stayed behind the Hilton in Piscadera Bay so we thought about diving there also.

There was some reef damage in the last hurricane. The Hilton used to have a large dock complex, a lot of it was destroyed and most of it fell on their reef. Kind of odd to see, platforms out in the water, too tall to dive from and not connected to anything else. Someone also posted that they dumped a lot of re-construction debris out there. You can see the remnants of the pier on Google Earth. The Hilton itself is an older building but they have a really pleasant bar area. I never made it down to the water but the beach looked nice also.

We went to Hooks Hut next door and they told us most people from the Hilton walk over and dive their reef. But it's a long swim out at that point since they're both located where Piscadera Bay angles inward. About 80yds from Hooks Beach (Edit, checked this on Google Earth) - much less if you can go off their dock. But I think it's too tall and we didn't see any ladders. I've also read that the reef gets deep fast in that area. And small boat traffic out of Piscadera Bay occasionally. The way it sets up, that would've been the only place I might've towed a flag.

• Playa Kalki / Alice in Wonderland - Probably It's one of the better divesites imho. About a 45min. drive from PB. Nice facilities, Ocean Encounters West is on-site, they have lockers and a good setup area about 100' from the parking lot. There are about 15 steep stone steps down to the water level from the parking lot. Once you're down there, tanks and the setup/locker area are 20' away and about 40-50' on their divedock to the water. As I recall the reef was a very short swim out and really excellent in both directions so do 2 dives there. There's a little snackshop at water level also.
  
• Airplane Wreck / Wetsuit City - Probably
  Don't know this one. Unless you mean the Cessna off Sunset Waters. It's not much, you see the cockpit frame, the wings and the tail scattered nearby. In about 40' of water. At Sunset Waters, it's a far enough walk between their diveshop and their beach setup area that we drove over and dropped our gear. Your wife wouldn't want to make that walk with her tank on her back.
  
  At the beach it's a short wade through a protected cove out through the breakwater. About the only place we encountered enough current to let it dictate which way we dove - to the east. I understand that to the west is marginal, there's a boat channel there and past hurricane damage. We were told in the diveshop that we'd want to cross the boat channel before descending if we went that way. It looked pretty bleak, lots of sandy patches.
  
• JanthielBaai / Tugboat - Probably The Tugboat itself is in 20' of water and is maybe 50+ yds. or less off a simple beach entry. Diveop onsite also. Short walk from their parking lot. According to my friends, the best part of the dive was the wall of the point past the boat, another 100 yds. or so. Eels and all sorts of cool stuff in the cracks in the rock, really shallow.
• Curacao Sea Aquarium - Maybe... Is it worth the extra $$$? Didn't dive it. It's a real beginner dive. You feed turtles and sharks through holes in a perspex (plastic) wall. We did the Dolphin Dive there with Ocean Encounters. Not worth the $200pp IMO.
• Playa Lagun - Maybe... I heard that this might be a long swim to the reef. Can anyone confirm? It is because the entry is off a sandy beach that's in a little cove. The reef doesn't start until you get out past the point. Playa Jeremi is exactly the same. Of the two, Lagun was better.
• Saint Marie / Habitat - Maybe...I'm not sure if there is much to see at 40ft. at this site.

It's an interesting site. About 20mins. drive from PB. Down three flights of cracked tile stairs to the water. The facilities are very good, tanks right there, they have tall benches and 50' to the water. Good diving both ways. There's several huge moray eels to the east and lots of fish. We didn't exceed 60' there and plenty to see shallower. It does kind of get sparse at 30' or so nearer to the resort. Between dives I played around at 40' straight off their dock, there was a lot of coral and fish in the area - including some puffers. Google Earth puts the start of the reef at 60-70 yds. from the divedock.

Coming back in there's a barracuda patrolling around the dock area, he hides under the diveboat dock once they moor the boats off the dock in the afternoon. There's flounder to the west in about 15' of water. There's also a resident octopus - at least he was there last April - in maybe 20' off to the northwest. He's a big boy too...Somebody marked his hole with a bunch of piled up coral rubble. We only saw him at night though.

One not on your list is Varsenbaai (Police Beach).
Gentle current, a nice locals beach and the reef is a very short distance out. At the reef marker ball at 40' there are a pair of seahorses. And coming back in I saw a couple of turtles. Followed them in to 6' of water in the sand flats and watched them eat grass. By the dock there were 100 or so squid. The on-site dive operator told us they're usually there.

Cleanliness is the only issue at that site, based on their lack of it, I was glad we brought tanks.

Slightly longer out to the reef, maybe 60 yds. The ball at 40' with the seahorses is closer to 50 yds. It's a little sparse in that area though, the attraction is finding the seahorses. Ask the diveshop mgr. how to find them, he gives very specific directions.

Can anyone recommend a good Dive Operator that goes to Mushroom Forest?

Sunset Divers was going to take 5 of us out there. On their 20' boat. So a back roll entry. We had it to ourselves one afternoon but chose to do Lost Anchor instead. Lost Anchor is a pure drift dive with a live drop and pickup.

One other thing: At any of the improved sites, it's typical to pay a small fee ($5-10 guilders pp) for use. OE West, Playa Lagun, Porto Marie, Habitat, Varsenbaai and Sunset Waters all charge one. SW even charges to use the beach. With the exception of Varsenbaai, we rented tanks at all of them so the fee was waived/included.

 

[ronbeau]

My edits to your novel...

It's marginal. Based on a couple of things. None of these are personal experience but info I found here and elsewhere. We stayed behind the Hilton in Piscadera Bay so we thought about diving there also. There was some reef damage in the last hurricane. The Hilton used to have a large dock complex, a lot of it was destroyed and most of it fell on their reef. Kind of odd to see, all these platforms out in the water, too tall to dive from and not connected to anything else. Someone also posted that they dumped a lot of re-construction debris out there. You can see the remnants of the pier on Google Earth. The Hilton itself is an older building but they have a really pleasant bar area. I never made it down to the water but the beach looked nice also.

We went to Hooks Hut next door and they told us most people from the Hilton walk over and dive their reef. But it's a long, healthy swim out at that point since they're both located where Piscadera Bay angles inward. I'd put it at around a 1/4 mile. I've also read that the reef gets deep fast in that area. And small boat traffic out of Piscadera Bay occasionally. The way it sets up, that would've been the only place I might've towed a flag.

• Playa Kalki / Alice in Wonderland - Probably It's one of the better divesites imho. About a 45min. drive from PB. Nice facilities, Ocean Encounters West is on-site, they have lockers and a good setup area about 100' from the parking lot. There are about 15 steep stone steps down to the water level from the parking lot. Once you're down there, tanks and the setup/locker area are 20' away and about 40-50' on their divedock to the water. As I recall the reef was just a short swim out and really excellent in both directions so do 2 dives there minimum. There's a little snackshop at water level also.
• Airplane Wreck / Wetsuit City - Probably
  Don't know this one. Unless you mean the Cessna off Sunset Waters. It's not much, you see the cockpit frame, the wings and the tail scattered nearby. In about 40' of water. At Sunset Waters, it's a far enough walk between their diveshop and their beach setup area that we drove over and dropped our gear. Your wife wouldn't want to make that walk with her tank on her back. Short walk through a protected cove out through the breakwater. About the only place we encountered enough current to let it dictate which way we dove - to the east. I understand that to the west is marginal, there's a boat channel there and past hurricane damage. We were told in the diveshop that we'd want to cross the boat channel before descending if we went that way. It looked pretty bleak.
• JanthielBaai / Tugboat - Probably The Tugboat itself is in 20' of water and is maybe 50+ yds. or less off a simple beach entry. Diveop onsite also. Short walk from their parking lot. According to my friends, the best part of the dive was the wall of the point past the boat, another 100 yds. or so. Eels and all sorts of cool stuff in the cracks in the rock, really shallow.
• Curacao Sea Aquarium - Maybe... Is it worth the extra $$$? Didn't dive it. It's a real beginner dive. You feed turtles and sharks through holes in a perspex (plastic) wall. We did the Dolphin Dive there with Ocean Encounters. Not worth the $200pp IMO.
• Playa Lagun - Maybe... I heard that this might be a long swim to the reef. Can anyone confirm? It is because the entry is off a sandy beach that's in a little cove. The reef doesn't start until you get out past the point. Playa Jeremi is exactly the same. Of the two, Lagun was better.
• Saint Marie / Habitat - Maybe...I'm not sure if there is much to see at 40ft. at this site.

It's an interesting site. About 20mins. drive from PB. Down three flights of cracked tile stairs to the water. The facilities are very good, tanks right there, they have tall benches and 50' to the water. Good diving both ways. There's several huge moray eels to the east and lots of fish. We didn't exceed 60' there and plenty to see shallower. It does kind of get sparse at 30' or so nearer to the resort. Between dives I played around at 40' straight off their dock, there was a lot of coral and fish in the area - including some puffers.

Coming back in there's a barracuda patrolling around the dock area, he hides under the dive boat dock once they moor the boats off the dock in the afternoon. There's flounder to the west in about 15' of water. There's also a resident octopus - at least he was there last April - in maybe 20' off to the northwest. He's a big boy too...Somebody marked his hole with a bunch of piled up coral rubble. We only saw him at night though.

One not on your list is Varsenbaai (Police Beach). Gentle current, a nice locals beach and the reef is a very short distance out. At the reef marker ball at 40' there are a pair of seahorses. And coming back in I saw a couple of turtles. Followed them in to 6' of water in the sand flats and watched them eat grass. By the dock there were 100 or so squid. The on-site dive operator told us they're usually there. Cleanliness is the only issue at that site, based on their lack of it, I was glad we brought tanks.
Sunset Divers was going to take 5 of us out there. On their 20' boat. So a back roll entry. We had it to ourselves one afternoon but chose to do Lost Anchor instead. Lost Anchor is a pure drift dive with a live drop and pickup.

One other thing: At any of the improved sites, it's typical to pay a small fee ($5-10 guilders pp) for use. OE West, Playa Lagun, Porto Marie, Habitat, Varsenbaai and Sunset Waters all charge one. SW even charges to use the beach. With the exception of Varsenbaai, we rented tanks at all of them so the fee was waived/included.

I would recommend Sunset water for the Mushroom Forest. We did the Mushroom Forest on their larger boat. The entry was a giant stride from the swim desk. You could also do shore diving at Sunset Waters for no extra cost if you did the dive at the Mushroom Forest.

We were going to do this but my daughter was too tired so we skipped the shore diving that day.

Oswaldo's Leap is the house reef for Breezes Curacao. Since you are not staying at Breezes your best entry might be from next door at The Dive Bus.

You could also look into diving with The Dive Bus. Mark & Suzy run a good operation and they pick you up and leave you off right at the door to your hotel.

The Dive Operator at Caracas Bay (Tugbooat) is reasonably priced. Since you are renting tanks there is no entrance fee. There is a full set of facilities there including shaded picnic tables, rest rooms, outdoor rinse of showers and indoor bathing showers.

You can dive along the tiered reef and then hot the Tugboat on the way back for a very extended safety stop (Tugboat is in 13 - 18 feet of water).

I would also agree with SJSSpeck that Varsenbaai is a nice dive and a short entry to the water.

 

[ronbeau]

My edits to your novel...

It's marginal. Based on a couple of things. None of these are personal experience but info I found here and elsewhere. We stayed behind the Hilton in Piscadera Bay so we thought about diving there also. There was some reef damage in the last hurricane. The Hilton used to have a large dock complex, a lot of it was destroyed and most of it fell on their reef. Kind of odd to see, all these platforms out in the water, too tall to dive from and not connected to anything else. Someone also posted that they dumped a lot of re-construction debris out there. You can see the remnants of the pier on Google Earth. The Hilton itself is an older building but they have a really pleasant bar area. I never made it down to the water but the beach looked nice also.

We went to Hooks Hut next door and they told us most people from the Hilton walk over and dive their reef. But it's a long, healthy swim out at that point since they're both located where Piscadera Bay angles inward. I'd put it at around a 1/4 mile. I've also read that the reef gets deep fast in that area. And small boat traffic out of Piscadera Bay occasionally. The way it sets up, that would've been the only place I might've towed a flag.

• Playa Kalki / Alice in Wonderland - Probably It's one of the better divesites imho. About a 45min. drive from PB. Nice facilities, Ocean Encounters West is on-site, they have lockers and a good setup area about 100' from the parking lot. There are about 15 steep stone steps down to the water level from the parking lot. Once you're down there, tanks and the setup/locker area are 20' away and about 40-50' on their divedock to the water. As I recall the reef was just a short swim out and really excellent in both directions so do 2 dives there minimum. There's a little snackshop at water level also.
• Airplane Wreck / Wetsuit City - Probably
  Don't know this one. Unless you mean the Cessna off Sunset Waters. It's not much, you see the cockpit frame, the wings and the tail scattered nearby. In about 40' of water. At Sunset Waters, it's a far enough walk between their diveshop and their beach setup area that we drove over and dropped our gear. Your wife wouldn't want to make that walk with her tank on her back. Short walk through a protected cove out through the breakwater. About the only place we encountered enough current to let it dictate which way we dove - to the east. I understand that to the west is marginal, there's a boat channel there and past hurricane damage. We were told in the diveshop that we'd want to cross the boat channel before descending if we went that way. It looked pretty bleak.
• JanthielBaai / Tugboat - Probably The Tugboat itself is in 20' of water and is maybe 50+ yds. or less off a simple beach entry. Diveop onsite also. Short walk from their parking lot. According to my friends, the best part of the dive was the wall of the point past the boat, another 100 yds. or so. Eels and all sorts of cool stuff in the cracks in the rock, really shallow.
• Curacao Sea Aquarium - Maybe... Is it worth the extra $$$? Didn't dive it. It's a real beginner dive. You feed turtles and sharks through holes in a perspex (plastic) wall. We did the Dolphin Dive there with Ocean Encounters. Not worth the $200pp IMO.
• Playa Lagun - Maybe... I heard that this might be a long swim to the reef. Can anyone confirm? It is because the entry is off a sandy beach that's in a little cove. The reef doesn't start until you get out past the point. Playa Jeremi is exactly the same. Of the two, Lagun was better.
• Saint Marie / Habitat - Maybe...I'm not sure if there is much to see at 40ft. at this site.

It's an interesting site. About 20mins. drive from PB. Down three flights of cracked tile stairs to the water. The facilities are very good, tanks right there, they have tall benches and 50' to the water. Good diving both ways. There's several huge moray eels to the east and lots of fish. We didn't exceed 60' there and plenty to see shallower. It does kind of get sparse at 30' or so nearer to the resort. Between dives I played around at 40' straight off their dock, there was a lot of coral and fish in the area - including some puffers.

Coming back in there's a barracuda patrolling around the dock area, he hides under the dive boat dock once they moor the boats off the dock in the afternoon. There's flounder to the west in about 15' of water. There's also a resident octopus - at least he was there last April - in maybe 20' off to the northwest. He's a big boy too...Somebody marked his hole with a bunch of piled up coral rubble. We only saw him at night though.

One not on your list is Varsenbaai (Police Beach). Gentle current, a nice locals beach and the reef is a very short distance out. At the reef marker ball at 40' there are a pair of seahorses. And coming back in I saw a couple of turtles. Followed them in to 6' of water in the sand flats and watched them eat grass. By the dock there were 100 or so squid. The on-site dive operator told us they're usually there. Cleanliness is the only issue at that site, based on their lack of it, I was glad we brought tanks.
Sunset Divers was going to take 5 of us out there. On their 20' boat. So a back roll entry. We had it to ourselves one afternoon but chose to do Lost Anchor instead. Lost Anchor is a pure drift dive with a live drop and pickup.

One other thing: At any of the improved sites, it's typical to pay a small fee ($5-10 guilders pp) for use. OE West, Playa Lagun, Porto Marie, Habitat, Varsenbaai and Sunset Waters all charge one. SW even charges to use the beach. With the exception of Varsenbaai, we rented tanks at all of them so the fee was waived/included.

I would recommend Sunset water for the Mushroom Forest. We did the Mushroom Forest on their larger boat. The entry was a giant stride from the swim desk. You could also do shore diving at Sunset Waters for no extra cost if you did the dive at the Mushroom Forest.

We were going to do this but my daughter was too tired so we skipped the shore diving that day.

Oswaldo's Leap is the house reef for Breezes Curacao. Since you are not staying at Breezes your best entry might be from next door at The Dive Bus.

You could also look into diving with The Dive Bus. Mark & Suzy run a good operation and they pick you up and leave you off right at the door to your hotel.

The Dive Operator at Caracas Bay (Tugbooat) is reasonably priced. Since you are renting tanks there is no entrance fee. There is a full set of facilities there including shaded picnic tables, rest rooms, outdoor rinse of showers and indoor bathing showers.

You can dive along the tiered reef and then hot the Tugboat on the way back for a very extended safety stop (Tugboat is in 13 - 18 feet of water).

I would also agree with SJSSpeck that Varsenbaai is a nice dive and a short entry to the water.

 

[Curacao Sunshine]

Bon Dia Chris and family,
You've made a great decision on coming to Curacao. There is a lot to do here.
In Banda Bou, the west side, almost all of the dives can be done by shore. And while some of the surface swims may seem long to some (eg. Lagun approx. 50 yards) most often the sea is flat and it's a casual chat on your back time as you mosey on out to the reef. It isn't a strenuos effort. Since you have from a 30 to 40 minute drive, it's also nice that there are facilities where you can have lunch during your surface time. Kalki, Lagun, Cas Abou, Porto Marie, Sunset Waters, Habitat all have both food, air and a shower. Price of a tank runs $6 to $8. I would think the dive shop could also help you with a wheelbarrow or dolly get your tanks to the shore/pier. I'm not sure if Hans at Discover Diving/Lagun has one. It's a long walk to the shore from his shop but a really nice dive. I'm going to Lagun today and then for a dive at Porto Marie. I'll ask. I checked my dive log. My west end dives averaged from 40 to 56 feet max depth. On the east end, Ramon at Downtown Diving (Tugboat site) will often give you a shuttle to the Caracasbaai Little Wall site if he's not too busy. From there you follow the wall back to the Tugboat for as previously posted a great safety stop. I can't vouch for many of the other east end sites except Oswald's Drop off/ Car Pile which doesn't compare to Alice In Wonderland. Read through some of the postings on the ABC dive forum for other opinions. Above water there is probably too much to do in a week if you plan to dive daily. On the west end you can drive into Boca Tabla or Christoffel Park but the park closes at 4PM so try to maybe (?) go in the morning. The kids would enjoy the Hato Caves and Ostrich Farm and... Bella Italia for Gelato Ice Cream. Easist way for directions there:
On the ring there are 2 rotaries you can see them on a map. One is quite large with a gas station and go cart place beside it. The second is small, just past Santa Rosa Weg and Bloempot Shopping Mall. Take the leg off this rotary and into the first entrance to the (I can't pronounce it let alone spell it) Zuckertein Mall. You'll see tables and most likely people eating ice cream.
The downtown section is a great way to spend an afternoon before you fly with museums and shopping and a great movie theater. Also, depending on their size, the kids might like to go on an Eric's ATV Adventure. He has a tour at both ends of the island. Since your kids are divers, you can skip the Sea Aquarium unless they are into dolphin or sea lion shows.
David and I live in Westpunt on the road to Playa Kalki; large green house with a Sol Food sign. Stop and say hello or feel free to contact us if you need any info while you are here. If you email me I'll send you some info sheets I have for our guests.
Sunshine
curacaosunshine@gmail.com

 

[diversteve]

At Discover Diving (thanks CS, couldn't remember the name) we just backed up to the deck, loaded tanks and then drove the couple of blocks to the water. We rented a small Hyundai SUV that would be almost perfect for 4 with gear/tanks. As long as you don't have too many tanks. You do want something that you can lock valuables inside of. Our apt. mgr. cautioned us to hide stuff also but we really didn't do that.

If you need tanks to shoredive the more remote sites, Hook's rents them. Easy pickup also, their tank storage is fairly close to their parking lot.

 

[Tennessee Slim]

I started diving when I was ten so I absolutely think you’re doing the right thing bringing the kids. No, I take that back; I think you’re about four years late.

The current here tends to be variable. Sometimes there’s none, sometimes it’s mild. And at many sites, it’s not common for it to change direction –- much less intensity -– in just a few hours. But some sites are relatively protected by the island’s geography and rarely have any appreciable current. You never know until you get into the water. In my experience, it’s rare to have current that approaches what they have every day on Cozumel.

As sjspeck noted, the reef at the Hilton isn’t much to look at. However, the wildlife there is making a miraculous recovery. There currently are two frogfish living on that reef, one of which is most commonly seen between the pilings of the collapsed pier. Back in December, Hook’s Diving sponsored a community reef clean-up. There were about 60-70 divers and snorkelers in attendance and they hauled off several hundred pounds of trash and a couple dozen car tires. I last dived there about a month ago and also saw a freeswimming octopus -– and another holed up and napping close by -- while hunting for the frogfish. In broad daylight, mind you. That section of reef tends to roll off steeply at a depth of about 30’, however, leaving little to explore within your 40’ limit.

I stopped in about six weeks ago and chatted with Anne-Marie at habitat. She said if you want to shore dive Saint Marie, you have to register with their dive shop and rent your tanks from them (their beach, their rules).

I would suggest you substitute Car Pile and/or Piersbaai for Oswaldo’s Dropoff. Those are the house reefs for The Dive Bus, which is right next to Breezes/Oswaldos. And I guarantee their staff will welcome you, even if they don’t make a cent off your visit. The entry is almost as easy as walking into a wading pool, and you could do a lot worse than taking a moment to stop in and make the acquaintance of the proprietors, Mark and Suzy.

I’ve been on at least a half dozen dive sites on Curacao that the dive operator bragged had the best safety stop in town (meaning there was lots to see in just 15’ of water) but they were wrong, all of them. Mark doesn’t brag (much); he doesn't have to ...the reef does all the talking for him. Turn left just after exiting his swim area and you’ll find some of the most diverse marine life anywhere on the island – and in just 15’ of water. One of these weekends I’ve promised myself to go back and spend an entire tank – maybe two – in that shallow area, in part to brush up on UW photo skills but just as much because I never run out of things to marvel over, even after what amounts to a 15-minute safety stop (the swim back along the sea wall when returning from Car Pile). One caution: as you might expect of an exposed shallow, there typically is a bit of surge in that area. You might want to consider whether the kids are up to it.

If you’re set on diving Mushroom, I concur with using Sunset Divers. I make a couple of dives with them almost every weekend and think very highly of their staff and their operation. The downside is that they only have one dive a week with a set location (Watamula, every Tuesday afternoon). Apart from that, they decide where to go when they see what the weather is like and who’s on the boat. Their customers mostly are guests at the resort (I’m almost always the only non-guest) so they choose where to go based in part on where the guests haven’t been and where they express an interest in going.

If you want to do Airplane/Wet Suit City, Sunset Divers will loan you a wheelbarrow to cart your gear to the beach. Airplane doesn’t have a lot to look at within the first 40’ but there are two seahorses that routinely show up there. And there’s more than one octopus in there (if you can find them). There almost always are juvenile yellowtail damsel fish in the elkhorn coral just to the right (as you’re exiting) of the mouth to Sunset Water’s protected beach (I have a thing for juvenile yellowtail damsel fish).

I’ve dived Klein Curacao and don’t plan on going back by the “usual” means (booking through a local dive shop and riding over on The Mermaid). They dive the western side of the island and I wasn’t impressed enough, especially considering the expense and the 11-hour round trip. I’d go back in a New York second, though, for the opportunity to dive the eastern side.

As a family trip, however, it probably would be a hoot. Tell the kids you’re going to do a back roll off a rubber dinghy like the UDT guys in the WWII frogmen movies. And they’ll love that the island is awash in hermit crabs and lizards. And the picnic lunch is a real feast.

But there is that 2-hour boat ride.

 

[Curacao Sunshine]

Chris,
I was at Port Marie today and while I do like the beach, dive shop, restaurant and shower set up, we headed out to the left of the cut in the bouys and our depth ranged up over 80 feet when I swam along side a spotted eel as long as I am tall before he found a crevice where he could retreat. The right hand side is a bit shallower but I'm not sure about keeping it under a 40 foot dive.

Tennessee,
Besides the Superior Producer, what are your top 5 suggestions for East side dives? I've only been to the Wall and Tugboat and Oswald's Drop off. David has been to Vaersenbaai but I still consider that West of Willemstad.

Sunshine

 

[dogenia]

Welcome to my part of town!

I'm happy to see a number of references for the Dive Bus. Just wondering why nobody's mentioning Atlantis Diving?

Don

 

[arbin]

We decided to go to Curacao last July (my wife, son and daughter 11 & 13 yrs), mainly because the island offers great beaches/snorkeling, and land excursions for all to enjoy. We decided to go all inclusive, and stayed at Breezes.
Breezes offered free shore diving (1/day) from resort which was Oswald's drop. I dove 3 times and saw different things all three times. The great thing about Curacao, and Breezes is that literally less than 100 feet from shore, you are on a great reef. You don't read a lot about Oswald's ....but it is a pristine reef, with a slow 45 degree drop, that quickly changes to a steep plummet.
I dived with the on site shop...Ocean Encounters, and have nothing but good things to say about them.
During our stay I also chose to dive the Tug Boat (single tank boat dive) We started with a wall dive adjacent to the Tug, and it was fantastic. A lot of morays and various coral formations. We ended the dive at the Tug Boat which was encrusted with vibrant colored corals. The Tug is in a great spot for a decompression stop...so we enjoyed it for about 12-15 minutes before surfacing.
I also had to do the Mushroom Forest dive when at the island. I went with Ocean Encounters...and they drove us to Sunset Waters area, and boated there. The dive itself was the best I have ever been on....although I am a new diver with less than 30 dives....I was awestruck when in the Forest. (highly recommended) Plenty of morays, seahorses, spiny lobsters, sea snake, too many fish to identify. The mushroom formations were truly everywhere...and there was so much to look at and absorb....I could have stayed down there for 3 days.
Our captain decided to treat us to a cool surface interval at the Blue Cave....this is a cliff and where it meets the water the waves have eaten away at the limestone and carved out a large cavern....we snorkeled out from the boat and entered the Blue Cave...where it opened up to a 50 ft x 40 ft opening where you were protected from waves, and could snorkel in the shimmering blue water....nice stop
We had our second Mushroom dive at a place named Radio City where was also loaded with fish, corals and morays....
Besides all the great diving...we also rented a car and explored the island...I had read alot about the locals jumping from cliffs into the water...and decided to find the place and give it a go. We found the place at the west side of Curacao (Playa Forti) there is a little resturant/bar right there....and 3 ft from the bar is where you jump 30 ft to the water.....me and the kids did...my wife said no way.....a lot of fun.
Williamstad at night is a must do walk the old city streets and get a true feel of the island ....drinks at Iguanas adjacent to the floating bridge at night I will always remember as one of my best memories of Curacao, great atmosphere.

Hope my ramblings help