Punta Cana and Curaco Dive Operators HELP!!

[NightRaven77]

Hey there fellow divers.....

I am fortunate enough to hit Punta Cana (7/31-8/7) and Curaco (8/13-8/20) with a couple weeks of each other.....

I am looking for some dive operators from both locations that have a good reputation.......

I am looking for just shore diving in curaco....we will be staying at the Mariott Hotel and Casino...

and in Punta Cana I will be staying at the RIU Palace......I want to do some boat diving......

Any help would be appreciated....

Nightraven77

 

[sharon]

If it is shorediving you want on Curacao you will want to have a car and go west for the best dives. You can use pretty much any operator for securing tanks and info. Allwest is in Westpunt and they are who we use. They have a great boat and even if you don't use them everyday, you can contact them and hop on board to do the best dive on the island, IMHO, Watamula followed by Mushroom Forest. They usually offer this every weekend. I'm sure they would have room for you. Both of those sites are great but they are both boat dives. Very few operators will travel to Watamula. Watamula is just around the corner from where Allwest has their new dive operation at Playa Kalki beach. You must dive Playa Kalki, it is just great also. We always stay at Allwest Apts in Westpunt and travel to town for dinner and groceries as needed. We usually stay for 3 weeks at a time and we love being out on the westend. From the Mariott, it's a 45 minute drive to get out to Westpunt. You may want to have the option of using more than one operator for tanks. Use someone closer to town somedays, but do plan a few days diving on the westend. Good luck on planning your trip.

Hey there fellow divers.....

I am fortunate enough to hit Punta Cana (7/31-8/7) and Curaco (8/13-8/20) with a couple weeks of each other.....

I am looking for some dive operators from both locations that have a good reputation.......

I am looking for just shore diving in curaco....we will be staying at the Mariott Hotel and Casino...

and in Punta Cana I will be staying at the RIU Palace......I want to do some boat diving......

Any help would be appreciated....

Nightraven77

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

We used Scuba Do in Curacao (stayed at Papagayo Beach resort) and they would work well if shore diving only is your goal. They have hyperfiltered air and will organize group outings to specific shore dive locations also depending on level of interest for a given week. We spent a nice group all-day guided trip at Porto Marie, the diving off Jan Thiel beach where their shop is located was good with nice variety and Jan Thiel beach has the easiest entry / exit of any shore diving location we've visited so far. The Director's Bay site recently opened to the public just a bit further east of Jan Thiel was one of the best sites we dove during our stay (these were all shore dives). Numerous beaches on Curacao charge an admission fee, but it's just a few guilders per person, and the ones we visited that charged admission have rinse / shower areas, lockers, etc. available as well as a restaraunt/ bar / snack area. Part of our package with Papagayo / Scuba Do was free admission passes to Jan Thiel while we were there. It was just far enough away from Willemstaad to be quiet, but close enough for access to shopping and dining (we also rented a vehicle). Anyway, if you haven't visited www.shorediving.com, there's a lot of good info there, but some sites like Director's Bay aren't listed there yet.

Consider a day trip to Klein Curacao on the Mermaid for one day of your Curacao trip too - we sure enjoyed it.

Have a great trip!

 

[getwet2]

I went with Scuba Caribe both times I was in Punta Cana, no complaints. I would recommend doing the Catalina Island day trip, that's probably the best diving there, it takes about 2 hrs to get there but it was fun. The diving in Punta Cana is good, not the best in the world but not the worst either, if you like waves and surges you'll have fun and there is lots of marine life to look at too.

 

[smokey braden]

dear nightraven,
my family and i just returned from curacao on a diving vacation
we stayed at sunset waters and dove with sunset diver.
http://www.sunsetdiver.com/
divers who were not staying at the resort used this op for both boat and shore diving.
we were very near to some great sites some of which are mentioned in this thread.
mike and michele quickly responded to my e-mails when i had questions.
my 16 yr old son certified ow with them during our stay.
regards,
smokey

 

[scubaranger]

Nightraven I dove punta cana last year do you want the truth. I don't want to burst your bubble. But I didn't have a good time due to time.. I dove 10 min off the shore of the resort. MY worst dive in the Fl. keys was better ( I guess I'm a little spoiled ) then the reef dive. I was so dissapointed That I booked another dive (which I didn't have planned) It was called drive and dive you drive a four wheeler for about 1 hr tru the jungle till you reach a small cave you dive with a DM this was awsome. IN punta cana the resort was bad ( a four star german run), service was nasty and my party of four got Diarhea for a week ( food wasn't cleaned). all in all I'll try something different next time. Another friend went a different time he had the same experiance.Except for the dive and the sickness.

 

[west_mesa]

if you get a chance go to the aquarium and swim with the dolphins, that is the one experience that will live with me from curacao for a long time.