Trip Report 10 days of (mostly) shore diving on Curacao the last week of December 2023 and first week of January 2024

[SayNo2Snow]

Thanks for your wonderful report. I've been to the island 6x and heading back in a few weeks. Up to date info is so valuable and you've added a couple spots we've not hit before.. Thanks again
AyL

 

[DiveProKoko]

Tugboat Beach: ......The reef wasn’t spectacular but it was decent, and we enjoyed seeing the sunken tugboat. (The wreck was better than expected—some of the locals told us it wasn’t worth it, but we felt it was definitely worth it.) The small beach is very peaceful and had a super laid-back vibe, which clashed a bit with the giant oil rig docked right there that towered over the beach. It was kind of fascinating to watch, however—I’ve never seen a working oil rig up that close.....

For anyone diving this site....I'd recommend diving the Tugboat at the end of the dive. It's shallow enough for a safety stop. Surface swim to the tug and descend. Swim following the reef south (the locals call it "east") and go around the point where the Quarantine House sits up on the hill. Then, swim back and do your safety stop on the tug and on your return to the beach. The reef around that corner is pretty darn good! Also, do the pier as a second dive. It's not quite Salt Pier on Bonaire, but also pretty good. Lost of critters there.

 

[SeekingClarity]

For anyone diving this site....I'd recommend diving the Tugboat at the end of the dive. It's shallow enough for a safety stop. Surface swim to the tug and descend. Swim following the reef south (the locals call it "east") and go around the point where the Quarantine House sits up on the hill. Then, swim back and do your safety stop on the tug and on your return to the beach. The reef around that corner is pretty darn good! Also, do the pier as a second dive. It's not quite Salt Pier on Bonaire, but also pretty good. Lost of critters there.

Great advice! We did our safety stop there on the way back. Locals also likened the pier there to Salt Pier on Bonaire.

 

[SeekingClarity]

Thanks for your wonderful report. I've been to the island 6x and heading back in a few weeks. Up to date info is so valuable and you've added a couple spots we've not hit before.. Thanks again
AyL

Enjoy your trip! I hope the reefs there will recover fully.

 

[DirtFish]

For anyone diving this site....I'd recommend diving the Tugboat at the end of the dive. It's shallow enough for a safety stop. Surface swim to the tug and descend. Swim following the reef south (the locals call it "east") and go around the point where the Quarantine House sits up on the hill. Then, swim back and do your safety stop on the tug and on your return to the beach. The reef around that corner is pretty darn good! Also, do the pier as a second dive. It's not quite Salt Pier on Bonaire, but also pretty good. Lost of critters there.

Better yet, drop dive partners and equipment off at Directors Bay dive site, drive car back to Tugboat dive site, park it and walk back to Directors Bay (about 3/4 mile). Do a slow drift dive from Directors Bay to Tugboat and finish on the wreck. 2 for 1
If diving sidemount with 2 cars you can do a 4 for 1, Barracuda, small wall, directors and tugboat.

 

[rhwestfall]

I am hoping that Curacao has a good recovery from coral bleaching.

I was there the week before Christmas - The operator I dove with said that the recovery (because he sees each site frequently) is really impressive as to the current condition. Yes, it appeared "shocking" to me, but I was glad to hear what I was seeing was "better than before".

 

[rhwestfall]

The current activity associated with repairing the oil platform at "Tug Boat" regrettably has eliminated a fascinating dive at the site. We have enjoyed "muck diving" under the pier for dives. The location constantly had sea horses, octopus, and some of the most frightening concentrations of arrow crabs I've seen anywhere. It really was a cool dive site. Oddly enough, it is one of my wife's favorite dives on the island....

 

[SeekingClarity]

The current activity associated with repairing the oil platform at "Tug Boat" regrettably has eliminated a fascinating dive at the site. We have enjoyed "muck diving" under the pier for dives. The location constantly had sea horses, octopus, and some of the most frightening concentrations of arrow crabs I've seen anywhere. It really was a cool dive site. Oddly enough, it is one of my wife's favorite dives on the island....

That really is too bad. We ran into some other divers at the site who told us that some people go diving around the base of the oil rig, which didn’t seem like a great idea to me. We also saw the oil rig had a sign up saying “thrusters working, no diving.”

 

[SeekingClarity]

I was there the week before Christmas - The operator I dove with said that the recovery (because he sees each site frequently) is really impressive as to the current condition. Yes, it appeared "shocking" to me, but I was glad to hear what I was seeing was "better than before".

Thanks for sharing that piece of info—my heart rests a little easier now!