Trip Report Westpunt Curacao: 6 June to 14 June 2021!

[Brant Emery]

It’s good to see that Tuki is still active. He always has some great stories, but when he looks up you are in for a long one, and it is usually part of the dive briefing.

 

[morecowbells]

Thanks for your report! I am hoping to return to Curacao in Feb. I am happy that some of the restaurants are back open. I hear Landhaus Misje is closed, do you know if the Blue View restaurant is back open?

I agree that Watamula is nothing short of stunning. Nobody rocks a gold speedo like Tuki.....

 

[MAGELLAN]

My wife and I just got back from Westpunt Curacao a couple of days ago! We were so pleased, we are considering going again. We went because it was so difficult to get to Bonaire this year and we wanted a shore-dive only destination. Stayed at the Marazul Dive Resort via VRBO, just down the way from All West Apartments, and used Go West for our tank rentals. I can second that Tuki likes to talk... great fun to visit with. We really enjoyed the area, quiet, uncrowded, easily accessible reefs very similar to Bonaire (but with more steps to climb).

 

[markmud]

Stayed at the Marazul Dive Resort via VRBO

Our lion fish hunter Ken stayed at Marazul. We ate our lion fish dinners there. It was very nice. Cookie and Cathy snorkeled below the cliffs. They did a one-way snorkel dive along the cliffs and then egressed at the eastern most stairway at Marazul. They loved it.

I can second that Tuki likes to talk...

Tuki is a total crack-up. A great skipper and fun to be around.

cheers,
m

 

[SayNo2Snow]

Great to see a trip report for Curacao based out of All West Apartments, which is a property in the West Punt area that generates a lot of interest...that and Nos Krusero Apartments are 2 I'd be comparing closely if I were going on a solo trip there.

Got a question with a caveat. As a general rule it's a dicey proposition to try to cram a dive destination into the mold of another (e.g.: when someone who loves Cozumel wants to try a new destination...with all the advantages of Cozumel!). So with that in mind...if you were planning a dive trip just for shore diving, how do you think Curacao and Bonaire compare, and which would you choose?

There aren't a lot of really good shore diving destinations in the greater Caribbean/Southeastern U.S. region, and while Bonaire heads the list, Curacao is often held out as a worthy rival. For that reason, I think it'd be good to know.

My 2 cents worth on Bonaire vs. Curacao for shore diving... both are excellent! 4 trips to BON and 4 to CUR IMHO Bonaire offers more spots to stop to dive at along the road that follows the coast. The shore on Bonaire is very rubbly (is that a word?) it has more limestone. For me and my bad left knee I've had to forego some spots because I wasn't confident getting in, strictly because of my knee, others wouldn't have any issues. I would also add hard sole booties are imperative for your tootsies on the rubble. Whereas on Curacao they have a smaller number of shore diving spots to get in (they are still very plentiful) all of them I've been to are sandy. I find the entry/exits on Curacao easier. Fish species and U/W terrain is very similar. We still dive both, I was on BON in Nov 2021 and am counting the sleeps (14) until we are on CUR. Trying Nos Krusero this trip, the previous 4 were all at Marazul.
Happy Bubbles everyone!