Curacao's best shore dives ?

[Tjack]

Hey all, me and my novice buddy will be at Westpunt Nov. 10-17.

We plan on primarily doing shore dives, which ones are the best?

Looking for great topography, marine life (Tarpon or Mantas would be a bonus) and ease of access.

The Superior Producer wreck looks good to me, how would it be for a novice (AOW with 15 dives) Seems like it might be better from a boat, do the Westpunt boats get down there regularly? If not any ideas?

Also any recommendations for topside activities are welcome. Thanks T

 

[RJP]

Connect with Go West Diving in Westpunt, they will set you up all the way around. www.GoWestDiving.com

PS - Playa Kalki is the beach right at Go West's dock and offers great shore dives right there.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

We there in September and had 4 days of diving.

Best shore dives in the Westpunt area: Alice in Wonderland, with Ocean Encounters West, an excellent full service dive shop, right on site that offers boat dives as well. Also, Porto Marie, which was our personal favorite shore dive as the reef structure is fabulous! There is a shop on site for fills and tank rentals, don't know about other gear (we brought our own). You could easily do several dives there. Another decent beach dive is Lagun, not quite up to the other two but still very nice and as a bonus turtles are almost always seen there. Both Porto Marie and Lagun have nice developed sandy beaches with bars and restaurants if you just want to relax.

There is a boat dive that you absolutely should not miss, and that is Watamula. It is one of the most gorgeous reefs we have ever seen. There is another great boat dive, and that is called Mushroom Forest, with wonderful and bizarre topography.

Curacao is not a "big animal" destination. Lots of fishing and we saw no large predators such as grouper or sharks. The tropical fish population, however, is very vibrant. There are reputed to be some areas where you can see tarpon, but these are not on the reefs. We stayed on the reefs to enjoy that 100' vis, really beautiful.

Closer to town, the Superior Producer. We could not make that one because the shore entry conditions were very rough. We did not have time to attempt it by boat. By all accounts of our friends down there, one of the top dives. However, it can be deep and have currents. At your experience level, use caution. Any dive shop will probably want to give you a checkout dive before taking you on that one.

We did not do any diving down towards town as we concentrated on the Westpunt area, but there is supposed to be several great reef areas there as well. Our friends told us about"black rock" which is a boat dive but boasts 6' gorgonians. We are definitely planning to do that one when we return.

In general the shore/boat reef diving is very benign and excellent for newer divers. Very light currents, great vis, warm water, beautiful colorful coral and fish, everything you could want. There is lots of good information in this forum if you look in other threads. There are also a few Curacao natives that post.

In terms of topside things to do, the main town is the place to be for shopping, partying and fine dining. Westpunt is very quiet. No shops, no fancy restaurants (although the Lodge and Sol Food are very good eating). Lots of lazing on the beaches, some of which have bars and restaurants, and some of which are more quiet and deserted. There is also a national park and some scenic driving.

However, it is only a 40-45 minute drive from town to Westpunt so you can easily go to town for day or two and return to your home base afterwards. Driving is no problem on the island.

 

[diversteve]

The Westpunt "boats" pretty much consist of the 3 owned by Go West Diving. Don't think there's any others nearby now - both mid-island dive resorts have closed in the last 5 years. Discover Diving in Lagun probably has a boat but I think they only dive locally. To dive Superior Producer drive down to Caribbean Sea Sports in Piscadera Bay (the Marriott house op) or Ocean Frontiers in Willemstad. It's a 100' dive also with some current.

Playa Kalki/Alice in Wonderland is a good dive in both directions - north was more vertical. IMO the best dive we did all week.

We also liked Porto Mari and Playa Lagun. Playa Jeremi is just north of Lagun - one of few sites with no onsite facilities. Both are easy beach entries. Jeremi is named one of the top snorkel sites in the Caribbean also - there's fire cup corals along the cliffs on both sides of the beach.

Vaersenbaai is a good dive. Seahorses, Turtles, a pontoon boat wreck at 80' - same dive.

South of there is Snake Bay. My friend's wife used to guide on Curacao. She said it was one of the best sites for fishlife - we didn't get to it.

IF you drive to town to dive, the Tugboat a few mi. south of town is a signature Curacao dive. The boat itself is only 15-20' and just off the beach so good for your SI. The better part of the dive is the wall south around the point - it starts out relatively flat then rolls off deeper. If there's no ship moored you can also dive under the pier.

No Tarpon but saw a few large Grouper - turtles fairly often. Occasional large Green Morays also. I heard dolphins once but never saw them. They cruised by our apt. in Lagun twice. You can dive with them at the Seaquarium thru the main Ocean Encounters shop - it's $200pp. Special Dive Trips | Ocean Encounters Diving Curacao

Things to do topside - most of it is in/near Willemstad. Curacao Travel Tourism Guide - Activities

If you're planning to cook meals, stop at Centrum Market on the way out from the airport. Go straight thru the rotary (don't follow the Westpunt sign right) and it's two stoplights down on the right. They sell $1.00 disposable coolers for the ride out. There's not much for grocery shopping out near Westpunt.

 

[gustele]

Most of the time there are Tarpons at Marie Pampun over the Car Pile there. But that requires a deep dive. The Tarpons are most of the time around 30 meters (100 feet).

Vaersenbaai is indeed a nice reef with also a car pile (requires a surface swim of about 20 minutes to the East of the bay), a large pontoon and a nice reef (to the right is slightly better than to the left). The boat wreck that is mentioned in diversteve's mail is probably the pontoon. It starts at 19 meters (just over 60 feets) and bottoms out at 37 meters (just over 120 feet). There is also a boat wreck but that is at 52 meters (170 feet) so that is not advisable. The Car pile at Vaersenbaai has nicer cars than the one at Marie Pampun but also this is a deep dive (from 65 to over 130 feet). There is a nice wreck of a small pickup truck at 36 meters (120 feet).

A shore dive that is very worthwhile near where you stay is Playa Piskado also known as Playa Grandi. Dive to the right from shore; there are nice and large coral formation. On your way back dive at about 30 feet till you see the statue of King Neptune. From there you can return to the beach.

Sometimes Trunkdivers does a shore dive to Watamula; very special with a jump from the cliff (about 10 feet), a visit to the Hole of Watamula, a visit to a tunnel close to shore followed by a shallow or shore dive towards Playa Gepi where you exit the water. Don't do this on your own. Check them out at Vaersenbaai. They also sometimes have a guided dive to Tarpon City (harbour entrance).

 

[jdcpa]

One that has not been mentioned is Cas Abao.

Great shore dive, nice sloping reef. You can do two dives there, one to the left and one to the right.

In August, we found three Seahorses there.

I recommend Cas Abao.

Also agree with Playa Grandi above.

 

[Tjack]

Thanks for all the great info...looks like with only a week we will have to narrow it down to a few of the best.

Is the All West house reef the same Playa Grande?

Here is what I have compiled so far:

Curacao’s Best Shore Dives

**-Alice in Wonderland aka Playa Kalki , a Curacao classic shore dive.

**-Porto Mari, must do double reef with abundant life, good beach facilities, Indonisian restaurant.

*-Playa Lagun, protected lagoon leads to healthy reef.

*-Klein Knip, undeveloped beach, awesome coral, nice surface swim , may be security issues but the dive is worth it.

-All West house reef, good for turtles, night dives

*-Playa Grande aka Playa piskado, large coral formations King Neptune statue.

*-Directors Bay, dramatic wall dive

*-Tugboat, nice shallow wreck with adjacent reef and pier.

-Vaersebaai aka Kokomo beach, car pile and pontoon boat wreck at 80’

-Watamula shore dive, caves with 10’ giant stride

-Nos Kas former Habitat resort’s house reef, open for diving?

-Snake Bay?

-San Juan area?

-Playa Forti, diversity of critters, tarpon?

-Playa Hundu, steep profile, sand chutes, lot's of grogornians and staghorn coral, easy entry.

-Cas Abao, similar to Porto Mari?

-Car Pille aka Marie Pampun, older model cars down to 100’ , Tarpon too?

Any additions, clarifications???

 

[Swim_mom]

A couple of details:
Playa Grandi - this is the same reef as All West - there are stairs to the beach from the apartments (not accessible if you aren't staying there). The fisherman's dock is about 10 yards from the apartments on the beach, but by road it's further. There is parking, and very easy entry. Turtles are common, and look for seahorses on the mooring lines.

Klein Knip - In August this year, we dove Klein Knip and there was a security guard in the parking lot, it was midweek. In 4 trips to Curacao, we have always done Klein Knip, and not once did we have issues with theft.

Don't forget to eat at Sunshine's SOL FOOD, and have a great time!

 

[BoltSnap]

**-Porto Mari, must do double reef with abundant life, good beach facilities, Indonisian restaurant.

It is a triple reef site. While looking at the water with your back to shore, there is a reef to right, middle (deepest) and to the left (shallowest). The middle reef can go to 90 feet and resembles an island/mountain. I usually go there for the day and do all 3 reefs. I start with the middle one since it is the deepest (I don't go deeper than 60' usually since nothing interesting deeper), then I dive the one on the right and my 3rd dive of the day would be the reef on the left. My favorite is the one on the right.

The restaurant had a map showing all of this information.

---------- Post Merged at 11:54 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:49 PM ----------

Playa Jeremy is great also. The right side just outside the "cove" is the best. The left side isn't as interesting. You have to swim out on the surface to the end of the right wall and go down and swim out a little and you will be on one of the better reefs there. I spend my time diving the wall at the end of the dive doing the precautionary stop and taking pictures of the juvenile fish there. The middle of the cove is just sand so you have to swim straight out and dive the reef/wall just outside the cove on the right side and the stay by the wall on your way back in at the end of the dive. There might be a slight current going right or left so you have to plan accordingly. When I reach the reef/wall I always go right not left because of better and more interesting marine life and coral system.

Playa Jeremy has a nice sandy beach and parking.

 

[morecowbells]

Thanks for all the great info...looks like with only a week we will have to narrow it down to a few of the best.

Is the All West house reef the same Playa Grande?

Here is what I have compiled so far:

Curacao’s Best Shore Dives

**-Alice in Wonderland aka Playa Kalki , a Curacao classic shore dive.

I agree that Playa Kalki is a wonderful dive. I have had better luck finding green moray eels if I turn right from the
dock. Either right or left will be a great dive, I am biased towards the right
.
From doc at Playa Kalki

**-Porto Mari, must do double reef with abundant life, good beach facilities, Indonisian restaurant.

The double reef at Porto Marie is truly a unique experience. I would strongly recommend doing a guided dive or bringing a compass along. One moment the shallower reef is next to your right shoulder, the next minute it next to your left shoulder. I like to stop along the way and take pics. Sometimes it was a little disorienting figuring out exactly which direction I was heading. I think it is a dive everyone should try, but it is not in my top list of favorite Curacao diving. I would advise arriving earlier in the day and avoiding going during the weekend. Otherwise, it is like crashing a Speedo convention.

Beach at Porto Marie


*-Playa Lagun, protected lagoon leads to healthy reef.

This is one of my favorite sites. I have had many amazing critter encounters while swimming out to the reef. Don't be stingy with your air by snorkeling out the the reef Go ahead and descend while swimming out. I have seen an octopus, chain moray, numerous sharp tail eels, flying grunard and a purple mouth moray in 20 feet or less. Unfortunately, it seemed this site had the most abundant number of lionfish last time I dived it in Jan. Tip: keep an eye on landmarks while swimming out. This beach has a narrow mouth and it is easy to overshoot it when returning to shore.


Pic taken at Lagun

-All West house reef, good for turtles, night dives

In my four visits to Curacao, this has materialized to being my favorite dive site. I find this to be the 'fishiest' dive with numerous eels, scorpionfish, angle fish and turtles galore. The turtles like to hang out near the pier. Great dive whether you go left or right of All West. I prefer going to the right because of the turtles.

Pic from balcony at All West

-Watamula shore dive, caves with 10’ giant stride

I have only done this dive on a boat. It is my favorite dive in the world. Stunning, colorful corals on a rugged terrain. More current and surge than other Curacao dives, but still an easy dive.


-San Juan area?

I think this area has the best balance of marine life and coral formations along with pristine visibility. Numerous goldentail eels, numerous red lipped blenny's, occasional turtle sightings, occasional snapper and barracudas. It is quite isolated which requires driving on heavily fissured, uneven dirt roads. Since it is on private property, there is a guy who collects a couple bucks(I cannot remember the exact amount but it was nominal)at the entrance to the dirt roads. Personally, I am more comfortable diving this area with other divers along. I am by nature a worrier and tend to visualize the worst case scenario. In case of an accident in the water or topside, there is enhanced comfort in numbers.



-Cas Abao, similar to Porto Mari?

I prefer Cas Abao over Port Marie. It is a smaller scaled, less touristy and more intimate version of Porto Marie. I will preface my opinion by admitting that it is not the most scenic dive or coral haven on the island. Pristine white sandy beaches make entrance and exit a breeze. It is probably the easiest and most relaxing dive. No navigating iron shore or rough coral entries. There are actually signs underwater with arrows and depth. While the sandy bottom creates reduced visibility, it also lends the greatest opportunities of spotting southern stingrays and eagle rays. The dive shop has been consistently friendly and helpful. There is an onsite cafe with lockers and bathroom facilities. This is a place I like to spend all day at. I would bring a book, beach towel and have an extended surface interval.


Pic at Cas Abao


Any additions, clarifications???

I also agree that you will have not only a great meal but a great time at Sunshine's! On last trip I also ordered some food to go. This helped me cope during the week when dining options are limited.

Whether it is a martini shaker or an insulated beer sleeve, pack it. It comes in handy when sitting outside after a hard day's diving

Burn some CD's. Perhaps it was my ignorance of radio options, but either I could not find a station or reception was spotty. If they get stolen(which mine weren't, perhaps I have lousy taste in music)it costs next to nothing.

Pack a zip lock baggie with laundry detergent. Helps with light washing of swimsuits etc.