CosbySweater
Contributor
I recently spent a week in Curacao with my girlfriend and my sister-in-law (both certified divers). Below is a trip report from our stay.
Lodging: We rented an AirBnB in the Royal Palm Resort near Piscadera Bay. In my opinion, this is a great location because it's pretty centrally located without being in the heart of Willemstad, and close to some decent bars/restaurants/beaches. We paid ~$85 a night which I thought was very reasonable for our accommodations. The apartment was a 1/1.5 with a nice pull out sofa, full kitchen, and a large outdoor space. Our hosts we're great and very easy to work with. They own a few properties in Royal Palm so if you're interested in a rental there I can pass their information along.
Paying for stuff: Most places on the island accept credit cards. All the dive shops, bars, and restaurants we went to accepted credit. Most places will also accept US$ but may not know the exchange rate and not give you the right change. The exchange rate is 1.83 Guilders for 1 US$.
Driving around: Getting our rental car was quite a pain in the butt. The rental agencies reservation systems are very outdated and renting a car requires a lot of physical paper work, even if you already made a reservation online. Needless to say it took a long time to finally get our car. Plan for 45-60 min. Driving on the island is pretty easy. Drivers are about as friendly as they are back in the States. Road conditions are decent in most places but watch out for pot holes and stray dogs in or near the roads. I found gas station attendants to be a little sketchy. They accept US$ but will ring up your pump to pump Guilders so you need to go back and get change (you have to pay before you pump). Make sure you know how much change you're supposed to get because they will rip you off. I didn't find a gas station that accepted credit.
Food: We mostly ate at home and packed food for the day of diving. There are a few good grocery stores on the island. We used the Centrum supermarket off Helmin Mango Wiels Boulevard. It had all the essentials although groceries were a little expensive compared to the States. We only ate out once at the Surf and Turf restaurant across from The Dive Bus Shop. I had the whole Lionfish and it was delicious. We went out to Pirate Bay near Carmabi for drinks a few nights too. Staff was friendly and beer was cold. It's right on the beach too which is nice.
Diving: I'll start off by saying that we shore dove in Bonaire last July so we expected the diving to be similar in Curacao as it was in Bonaire. We did all shore dives in Curacao. We dove 6 days and got 18 dives in. I found the reefs in Curacao to be not quite as pristine and colorful as in Bonaire, which makes sense, because the whole reef in Bonarie is protected. You'll find more foreign debris on the reefs in Curacao (trash, fishing line etc.). That being said the reefs are very beautiful, diverse, healthy, and full of wildlife. The entries/exits in Curacao are easier than Bonaire. Most of them are sandy beach entries. I found there to be a little more diversity in the reef profiles in Curacao than Bonaire as well. One example of this was Porto Mari which is an interesting "double reef" with some really deep gaps in the outer reef. Another example is Directors Bay in which the the reef is maybe 10 yards from the entry and drops dramatically to over 100'. Below is a list of the sites we dove:
I hope this helps others considering a trip to Curacao. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions and I'll do my best to answer them.
Lodging: We rented an AirBnB in the Royal Palm Resort near Piscadera Bay. In my opinion, this is a great location because it's pretty centrally located without being in the heart of Willemstad, and close to some decent bars/restaurants/beaches. We paid ~$85 a night which I thought was very reasonable for our accommodations. The apartment was a 1/1.5 with a nice pull out sofa, full kitchen, and a large outdoor space. Our hosts we're great and very easy to work with. They own a few properties in Royal Palm so if you're interested in a rental there I can pass their information along.
Paying for stuff: Most places on the island accept credit cards. All the dive shops, bars, and restaurants we went to accepted credit. Most places will also accept US$ but may not know the exchange rate and not give you the right change. The exchange rate is 1.83 Guilders for 1 US$.
Driving around: Getting our rental car was quite a pain in the butt. The rental agencies reservation systems are very outdated and renting a car requires a lot of physical paper work, even if you already made a reservation online. Needless to say it took a long time to finally get our car. Plan for 45-60 min. Driving on the island is pretty easy. Drivers are about as friendly as they are back in the States. Road conditions are decent in most places but watch out for pot holes and stray dogs in or near the roads. I found gas station attendants to be a little sketchy. They accept US$ but will ring up your pump to pump Guilders so you need to go back and get change (you have to pay before you pump). Make sure you know how much change you're supposed to get because they will rip you off. I didn't find a gas station that accepted credit.
Food: We mostly ate at home and packed food for the day of diving. There are a few good grocery stores on the island. We used the Centrum supermarket off Helmin Mango Wiels Boulevard. It had all the essentials although groceries were a little expensive compared to the States. We only ate out once at the Surf and Turf restaurant across from The Dive Bus Shop. I had the whole Lionfish and it was delicious. We went out to Pirate Bay near Carmabi for drinks a few nights too. Staff was friendly and beer was cold. It's right on the beach too which is nice.
Diving: I'll start off by saying that we shore dove in Bonaire last July so we expected the diving to be similar in Curacao as it was in Bonaire. We did all shore dives in Curacao. We dove 6 days and got 18 dives in. I found the reefs in Curacao to be not quite as pristine and colorful as in Bonaire, which makes sense, because the whole reef in Bonarie is protected. You'll find more foreign debris on the reefs in Curacao (trash, fishing line etc.). That being said the reefs are very beautiful, diverse, healthy, and full of wildlife. The entries/exits in Curacao are easier than Bonaire. Most of them are sandy beach entries. I found there to be a little more diversity in the reef profiles in Curacao than Bonaire as well. One example of this was Porto Mari which is an interesting "double reef" with some really deep gaps in the outer reef. Another example is Directors Bay in which the the reef is maybe 10 yards from the entry and drops dramatically to over 100'. Below is a list of the sites we dove:
- Carmabi/Hilton house reef - Nothing spectacular. Dove this as part of a DM training dive with my instructor from back home who was working at Carmabi while we were there. Given all the great diving around the Island, I'd pass on this site. The dive shop on site is great though and it's a good training reef.
- Pierbaai (Dive Bus House Reef) - Located across the street from The Dive bis shop. Typical Curacao/Bonaire dive profile. Easy beach entry/exit. Beach is protected by a breakwater so the entry/exit is calm. Easy to navigate (lots of artificial navigation aids). Nice reef. Secure parking at The Dive Bus shop.
- Directors Bay - Rocky entry/exit but not difficult. Reef drop off is very close to entry point. Reef drops dramatically (over 100') so watch your depth. Was told current can sometimes be present at this site but we didn't experience any. Site requires some light off-roading on dirt/gravel road but our little Hyundai sedan did just fine. Parking area is not secure so don't leave valuables in your car. Lots of artificial navigation aids.
- Tugboat - Site is right around the point to the right of Directors Bay. Apparently you can drift from Directors Bay to the tug boat but we didn't try this. We just drove over to it. Easy beach entry/exit. The tug boat is in 20' of water. Easy to navigate to. There is a dive shop on site. Parking area is semi-secure (businesses on site but not security)
- "Under the Pier" - This is at the same spot as the Tug Boat. The site is under the pier where the big drill ship is moored. Signage says you're not supposed to dive under the pier but since the ship is not in operation the dive shop on site told us no one is enforcing that rule. That being said, dive this at your own risk and consult the dive shop on site before diving it. It's a shallow dive at ~20'. Lots of juvenile life around the pier pilings. The tug boat and the pier can actually be combined in to a single dive as they're very close to each other. Entry/exit is the same as for the tug boat.
- Playa Grandi/Piscado - This site is in the Westpunt area and is where all the tourists go to see the Green Sea Turtles. Easy beach entry/exit. This is a fun site if you don't mind the herd of snorkelers in the sandy, shallow area. The turtles all hang out in the shallow, sandy area and wait for the fishing boats to throw them their scraps. A fun dive is to navigate from the beach out the reef, find the Neptune statue at ~35 feet, go North or South along the reef, turn around and find Neptune again and then navigate back to the shallows to watch the turtles. We did three 65 min dives here. Again, if you don't mind the snorkelers this is a great site. Carry a surface marker and a reel as it is an active fishing port. Parking area is semi-secure (businesses on site but not security).
- Playa Lagun - This site is also in the Westpunt area. It's a pretty unique site because the beach is tucked inside a lagoon with the reef ~30-40 yards outside the lagoon. You can spend an entire dive just poking around inside the lagoon as there is a lot to see. The reef outside the lagoon is also very nice. Navigation is pretty easy. There is an artificial navigation aid on the reef to point you back to the lagoon. Just make sure you have a functioning compass because it is possible to miss the lagoon on your way back in from the reef. Easy beach entry/exit. Two dive shops on site. Secure parking. Beautiful scenery - you get the hills to the east and the beach/cliffs to the west. One of my favorite sites on the island.
- Kokomo Beach - Nice beach with a dive shop on site. Reef is a typical Curacao/Bonarie dive profile - short swim to the reef, reef begins to at ~30' and drops to 70-80'. Easy beach entry/exit. Parking area is semi-secure (businesses on site but not security)
- Porto Mari - This was my personal favorite site. The site has a psuedo "double reef" (it's actually a reef that doubles back on itself) with a large sandy area in between. The reef structure is massive. It builds from over 120' to ~25' from the surface. There are some really neat "gaps" in the outer reef that you can swim over. The depth of these gaps is about 120' so it's really neat to fly over them at 60'. I found the site to be easy to navigate. Once you find the sandy area you can keep the reef to your right and the sand to your left and just swim the perimeter of the reef. Watch your depth at this site. It's very easy to reach 100'+ here. Easy beach entry/exit. Dive shop on site. Parking area is semi-secure (businesses on site but not security)
- Snake Bay - Located on a tiny little beach near the Blue Bay Resort. Easy entry/exit on a sandy beach. Parking is not secured. Reef is a typical Curacao/Bonarie dive profile - short swim to the reef, reef begins to at ~30' and drops to 70-80'+. This site is a little more exposed to wind, waves, and current so keep that in mind in your dive planning. Navigation is a little more difficult than other sites as there are no artificial aids pointing you back to the beach. There are plenty of distinct coral formation that can used for natural navigation though. That being said it's easy to miss the beach if you're not careful.
- Playa Kalki - This site is in the Westpunt area. It's Reef is a typical Curacao/Bonarie dive profile - short swim to the reef, reef begins to at ~30' and drops to 70-80'+. Easy beach entry/exit. Dive shop on site. Parking area is semi-secure (businesses on site but not security - also parking area is not visable from the beach)
I hope this helps others considering a trip to Curacao. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions and I'll do my best to answer them.
