Where to dive: Curacao or Cozumel?

[dbkuhlman]

Hello,

My wife and I are trying to decide between going to Curacoa or Cozumel to dive. She is a new diver and will be getting her certification while we are on the trip.

We are hoping to get recommendations from people who have dived in both places. Which do you think is the better choice?

I have heard that Cozumel is drift diving, but may offer a larger variety of animal life than Curacoa. Have others found this to be the case?

We would really appreciate your help! Thanks so much in advance.

- Daniel

 

[mcpowell]

I have not been to Curacao, but I have been to Cozumel. My advice would be to pay some attention to what you will be doing when you're not diving, i.e. dining, food, drinking, food, facilities, eating some more, etc.

 

[Outbound]

I've been to both, and enjoyed both. Cozumel, as you state, is mostly about drift diving. Currents in Curacao are generally mild. When I was in Cozumel (Nov. 2023) the reefs were bleached pretty badly after an extended period of abnormally warm ocean temperatures. But while the coral was in pretty bad shape, there was still lots to see. Saw sharks on many dives, lots of southern and yellow stingrays, splendid toad fish, lots of lobsters, etc. The food in Cozumel is excellent, and the people are very friendly. Plus, it is a pretty inexpensive dive location, with reasonable lodging, diving, and food. The street hawking can get a little annoying for some people, but you just have to accept the culture.

In Curacao I found there to be more abundant reef fish as compared to Cozumel, but lacking in the larger sea life. We found many good restaurants and had some excellent meals, but it wasn't as inexpensive as compared to Cozumel. I also enjoyed the very lax lion fish hunting regulations in Curacao, and was able to spear several coolers full of them while I was there.

I think you'd have a great trip to either destination. But getting to Cozumel will likely be faster and cheaper, as will the overall cost of the trip. On the other hand, Cozumel gets blown out with some regularity and on occasion for extended periods, whereas you will pretty much always be able to dive while in Curacao.

Cozumel is a popular dive destination for a reason, and I'm sure most people here will recommend it over Curacao. Like I wrote above, I really enjoyed both and would happily go back to either of them. For cost though, Cozumel is really hard to beat.

 

[Altamira]

You will find wonderful diving in both Curacao and Cozumel. However, I would recommend Curacao over Cozumel for a new diver. For reference, I did take my newly minted Junior OW grandson to Cozumel on his second day of ocean diving. Thankfully we did not have any sporty currents, but I still had my hands full thinking of all the "what ifs" if the current had turned snarky. My grandson had a ball, but I would much preferred to take him to Curacao. Unfortunately, the cruise ship did not go there. Curacao has fantastic shore dives with easy entry/exits in sheltered bays, the same reef system as in Bonaire, gentle currents, and really nice restaurants and nightlife. For me, Curacao would be my choice without question, and I think your wife would like it better than Cozumel for a more relaxed dive experience. I can strongly recommend The Dive Bus for shore diving and Ocean Encounters for boat dives for a new diver in Curacao.

 

[RIHappyDiver]

Having been to both places once, my first thought was the same as @Altamira . Ultimately, though, I agree with @Outbound for the following reasons.

I’ve been to Cozumel once, and struggled with the currents to the point that any dive in major current was half the length of others due to air consumption. Otherwise, Cozumel was great. The calmer drifts were very nice with sharks, rays, turtles.

All of that being said, a woman from our group who did about 14 dives a year, literally, did not struggle at all. I asked her about it. Turns out she had gotten certified in Cozumel and was trained to deal with currents.

So, if your wife is a bit more adventurous, have her get certified in Cozumel. HOWEVER, if, like my wife, she is not a “Yeah, bring it on!” type, Curaçao 100%!

Either way, have a blast!

Erik

 

[arew+4]

I would recommend Curacao for the newly minted diver. Less to worry about, many operators have the group descend and surface together, new divers may stress about equalizing and air consumption interfering with the groups enjoyment. Curacao diving will be more relaxed, if diving in a group or off a boat, the others can mill around at the bottom while a guide helps the newbie descend, or takes them back to the boat should they run their tank down quickly. The lack of current in Curacao allows you to move slow and soak it all in. In coz the current can be really brisk by the time your able to point something out it could be 50 feet away.

 

[MarkH]

Cozumel is almost all boat diving so you have to pay for that and go by their boat schedule. Curacao is mostly shore diving so you have the freedom to dive when you want and potentially save some money if you go unguided. I found that there are more nice beaches in Curacao than Cozumel and much more shore snorkeling. Someone mentioned that Cozumel can get blown out in the Fall-Winter, sometimes for multiple days so expecting to dive every day there can be a gamble. I found Cozumel had better visibility (but Curacao was still pretty good). The fish were bigger is Cozumel than Curacao (they were the same species, but in Curacao they were all smaller). I saw more variety of fish in Cozumel (angelfish, rays, etc.). Cozumel had more big sponges, but Curacao had more soft corals and sea fans. If I had to choose, I think the diving is slightly better in Cozumel, but I prefer the independence of diving in Curacao. The photos/reports from my trips there:
Cozumel: cozumel2023
Curacao: curacao

 

[dbkuhlman]

I've been to both, and enjoyed both. Cozumel, as you state, is mostly about drift diving. Currents in Curacao are generally mild. When I was in Cozumel (Nov. 2023) the reefs were bleached pretty badly after an extended period of abnormally warm ocean temperatures. But while the coral was in pretty bad shape, there was still lots to see. Saw sharks on many dives, lots of southern and yellow stingrays, splendid toad fish, lots of lobsters, etc. The food in Cozumel is excellent, and the people are very friendly. Plus, it is a pretty inexpensive dive location, with reasonable lodging, diving, and food. The street hawking can get a little annoying for some people, but you just have to accept the culture.

In Curacao I found there to be more abundant reef fish as compared to Cozumel, but lacking in the larger sea life. We found many good restaurants and had some excellent meals, but it wasn't as inexpensive as compared to Cozumel. I also enjoyed the very lax lion fish hunting regulations in Curacao, and was able to spear several coolers full of them while I was there.

I think you'd have a great trip to either destination. But getting to Cozumel will likely be faster and cheaper, as will the overall cost of the trip. On the other hand, Cozumel gets blown out with some regularity and on occasion for extended periods, whereas you will pretty much always be able to dive while in Curacao.

Cozumel is a popular dive destination for a reason, and I'm sure most people here will recommend it over Curacao. Like I wrote above, I really enjoyed both and would happily go back to either of them. For cost though, Cozumel is really hard to beat.

Hi Outbound. Thank you so much for your great advice! Question for you about travel. If we do go to Cozumel, do you recommend flying directly into Cozumel? Or flying into Cancun and then taking the ferry? We will be coming from Los Angeles, so there only seem to be overnight flights.

 

[dbkuhlman]

Having been to both places once, my first thought was the same as @Altamira . Ultimately, though, I agree with @Outbound for the following reasons.

I’ve been to Cozumel once, and struggled with the currents to the point that any dive in major current was half the length of others due to air consumption. Otherwise, Cozumel was great. The calmer drifts were very nice with sharks, rays, turtles.

All of that being said, a woman from our group who did about 14 dives a year, literally, did not struggle at all. I asked her about it. Turns out she had gotten certified in Cozumel and was trained to deal with currents.

So, if your wife is a bit more adventurous, have her get certified in Cozumel. HOWEVER, if, like my wife, she is not a “Yeah, bring it on!” type, Curaçao 100%!

Either way, have a blast!

Erik

Hi RIHappyDiver. Thank you so much! I have the same question for you about travel. If we go to Cozumel, do you recommend flying directly there, or flying into Cancun and then taking the ferry? We will be coming from Los Angeles, so there only seem to be overnight flights.

 

[aquabluegreg]

I recommend Curacao for many of the reasons listed in previous replies. I typically book LionsDive for those who don't want all-inclusive, and Sunscape for those who do want AI. Ocean Encounters is a solid dive operation on the island. We do have several other hotel options available.