Curacao is a unique, southern Caribbean, Dutch influenced island that has quickly become a popular dive destination. We've witnessed this islands popularity increase among scuba divers; especially, within the last 5 years, as a variety of dive sites have been discovered.
Counting down the 10 Must Do Dives is no easy matter! How can you choose just TEN amazing Curacao dive sites? We needed a little help, so we asked two of Curacao's leading dive operators, Jnolo Ambrosi of Ocean Encounters and Bryan Horne of Go West Diving, which of the 60+ dive sites made the cut.
Of course, we all have our favorite spots but after careful consideration of all factors (and some wine), we picked 10 sites every diver can enjoy. They're the best combination of diving experiences from fringing reefs to shore diving, plateaus, wrecks, and more - all along Curacao's coast and an off shore island.
To be extremely fair (and we also couldn't choose which goes where) we decided to list these destinations in ABC oder for your reading (and diving) pleasure.
We hope you enjoy our list! Let us know your favorites via Facebook, Twitter, or just shoot us a comment.
Alice in Wonderland at Playa Kalki
Alice in Wonderland is the beautiful house reef of Go West Diving and is located just 100 feet straight out from the pier. This is a great choice for an afternoon dive after a busy morning on the boat. Either direction offers a varied dive experience. Look for a concrete hand at 10-ft, about 50 yards right of the pier, and don't forget to say hello to Donatello, the house turtle. A reference rope runs from the end of the pier down to the coral reef and beyond 100-ft, but the best diving lies between 35-ft to 80-ft. Green morays, lobsters, lettuce sea slugs and sharp tail eels also make their home here.
Black Rock
Farthest East dive site with a mooring 5 miles before east point. Mooring is at 27-ft and the slope drops to 180+ ft. Very large star and boulder coral. Staghorn and elkhorn coral are abundant in the shallows, and there is a better chance of seeing large green morays, rays, sharks, turtles (bigger stuff). 20% of the East coast of Curacao is owned by one family. The family has yet to develop the area; therefore, there are no hotels, roads, beaches, houses, or people for that matter. This means that the coral formations are extremely healthy, and are exactly as nature intended it.
Drift from Blue Bay Wall West to Snake Bay
A wall dive to 132 feet. This wall dive is accessible only by boat. The wall is lush with coral, and there is a better chance of seeing larger fish and big schools along the wall. One of Curacao's only true walls, coupled with nutrient rich currents, provides a spectacular show as you cruise along the pristine reef.
Kathys Paradise
The point past Newport along the South East Coast. A plateau from 12-ft to 28-ft and then drops off to 120 feet. This site is a drift dive beginning near smokeys and heading west. There is a small wall from 27-ft to 50-ft with lots of cracks and crevices for critters to hide in. At the beginning of the dive there is a brain coral the size of a mini cooper. Anytime you have a point along the coast, this creates nutrient rich currents making the reef and marine life both healthy and abundant. Plus, it makes for a nice relaxing drift dive.
Klein Curacao
Located 18 miles southeast of Curacao. This is a shallow plateau dropping to 120+ feet. Everything is bigger at Klein Curacao. Ocean triggerfish are abundant and seeing 5 turtles on 1 dive is not rare. Fish life is uninhibited with the absence of local fisherman. This and other uninhabited islands away from the mainland will invariably make for phenomenal diving. Especially when the conditions are right and you can drift the windward side of the island.
Recent Posts
- Eastern Malaysia, Sabah, Sipadan & More
- Ghost Pipefish, Pipefish, Seahorses, and Sea Dragons
- Australia Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef
- Tioman Islands, Malaysia
- The Riviera Maya
- The Peter Diving System
- The Bay Islands, Roatan, Utila, Guanaja, and more.
- The Cuttlefish; The Undisputed Master of Camouflage.
- The Maldives: A Garland of Islands in the Indian Ocean
- Frogfish, The Overlooked Camouflage Artist
Categories
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Bay Islands
- Belize
- Blue Hole
- Bonaire Diving
- Borneo
- Cayman Brac
- Cayman Islands
- Cozumel
- Curacao
- Cuttlefish
- Dive Destinations
- Dive Equipment
- Dive Liveaboards
- Dive Resorts / Properties
- Dive Travel
- Dive Travel Deals
- Diver Wellness
- Dolphins
- Dominica
- Eagle Rays
- eagle rays
- Family Travel
- Fiji
- Galapagos Islands
- Great White Shark cage diving
- Guanaja
- Honduras
- Indonesia
- Infographics
- Isla Mujeres
- Learning to Dive
- Little Cayman
- Maduro Dive Newsletter
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Manta Rays
- Marine Life
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Muck Diving
- Myamar
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Pelagics
- Philippines
- Pinnacles
- Polynesia
- Reefs
- Riviera Maya
- Roatan
- Saba
- Sabah
- Scuba Diving
- Scuba Gear Reviews
- Scuba News/Events
- Scuba Training & Education
- Sea Legends
- sea lions
- Sea of Cortez
- Sharks
- Single Travel
- Sipadan
- Socorro Islands
- South Africa
- Specialties
- ST. Kitts
- Stingrays
- Tahiti
- Thailand
- The Bucket List
- Tobago
- Truk Lagoon (Chuuk)
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Turtles
- Uncategorized
- Underwater Photography
- Underwater Video
- Utila
- Walls
- Whale Sharks
- Whales
- Wreck Diving
- Wrecks
- Yap
Archives
- January 2024
- April 2023
- March 2020
- March 2019
- January 2019
- November 2018
- September 2018
- July 2018
- May 2018
- March 2018
- January 2018
- October 2017
- September 2017
- June 2017
- April 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- October 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- May 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- August 2015
- June 2015
- April 2015
- January 2015
- November 2014
- July 2014
- April 2014
- February 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012