My wife and I spent a week in Curacao recently and had some great experiences so I thought I would share them. A little back ground, We have been certified for 2 years and have dove in Cozumel, Florida, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, St Maarten, Dominica, Bonaire, Key Largo, Barbados, St. Lucia, and St Thomas. We are totally addicted. 
We are AOW PADI certified and are just starting our Rescue diver course.
Day 1 The Dive Bus.
Suzy picked us up from our resort around 9 am the first day and drove us to the hut where we met Mark and the dogs. After meeting the other couple we were diving with we were soon outfitted in virtually brand new TUSA Gear.
Mark gave a thorough briefing and the picture of the reef below the counter on the hut gave us an idea of what to expect. We all geared up and after a catalogue style picture, into the water we went.
Pierbaai reef is right off the beach. Literally, less than 30 seconds swim and you are at the break wall. Last minute checks and we were headed down. WOOHOO!!
The vis was amazing. Probably about 80 feet or more. 79 Degrees. Spent most of the dive between 40 and 60 feet. The reef was great. As you float along there is plenty of Spotted Morays , brain sponges and other marine life. We had decided to do a night dive that day so I spent a lot of time trying to find good reference points in case we needed them later. The Coral is a little damaged between the Hut and Car Pile but for someone who only gets to dive a couple times of year it was heaven. After what seemed like 5 minutes but in reality was 35 minutes we headed back. With the slight current it was a lazy drift back to the bay. What I really like about Pierbaai reef and other sites around Curacao is there is no safety stops. There are "safety go" as Mark explained to us. You spend the last 10 minutes or so in less than 20 feet of water so you do not have to stop and hang there for the standard 5 min safety stop. And with so much to see between 10 and 20 feet the end of your dive can be as interesting as the start. Dive 1 complete. I am telling you the smile on my face was enormous.
Our second dive was with Ocean Encounters at the Breezes resort. One free shore dive per day is included at the resort. It is easy to sign up for each day. I left my gear hanging at the Dive Bus hut as we were going to be back for the night dive and I wanted to compare the gear of the 2 ops. We stopped in and introduced ourselves to Bryan the on site manager at OE, before we headed out that morning. Bryan was very friendly and helpful and although we did not use OE very much they were a good option for people just lookin for the standard dive treatment. The staff was professional and occasionally friendly. Ever get the feeling that your dive staff thinks they are better than you?? LOL Stop by OE at Breezes.... you will. That was a little harsh but not entirely untrue. I think some of the staff forget that the guests are on vacation and are not lucky enough to dive every day. Dont get me wrong they were all polite and professional but seemed a little bored of the Tourist Divers? The gear at OE was what you would expect from a resort that lets you dive for free everyday. Some new, some old, but most with small issues. Broken clips, leaky valves, a little worn in. All the equipment we used was perfectly safe and certainly nothing to complain about. We all jumped off the dock and started out headed east. Unfortunately, I was under weight and spent most of the dive fighting to stay down. By the time I got the DMs attention and grabbed some extra weight we were already turning around. Most people on the dive ended up with almost half a tank left at the end of the dive. Just a tip, you do not have to go on the guided shore dive everyday you can go out on your own too. Just get a safety sausage or Buoy from the shop and away you go. Dive 2 Complete. Not as satisfying as dive 1 but still just happy to get wet.
Dive number 3. Feeling a little silly about having Suzy pick us up for the 1 minute drive we headed out on foot. Just as we were getting to the road Mark pulled up. Great timing. Back at the "hut" we went through the same routine as the first dive, only with Crowley substituting for Mark, and with another couple divers in on the fun. Just a tip, if you are around the hut at dusk, hose yourself down with bug spray as the mosquitoes are brutal. Into the water we went after a Halloween style jack-o-lantern pic. We were all getting ready to go down when someone spotted an Octopus. WOOHOO!! Hadnt even submerged yet and I was already seeing new and great things. We have never done a night dive before, but let me tell you I will be doing one anytime I possibly can now. I always try to explain the sensation of diving to my non-diver friends as like being on the moon, this was 10 times more exhilarating and actually felt like being on the moon. It was a calm I have never experienced before. The only thing it seemed comparable to was "Zen". LOL I was one with the Ocean. LOL
I generally use my whole tank and rarely exceed 40 minutes on any dive, but for some reason I returned after a 58 minute dive and had only used half my air. I kept looking at my SPG to make sure it was not broken because I just couldnt believe it. We saw tons of Lobsters and lots of crabs, Octopus, and shrimps, and all kinds of other wondrous things. The Coral seems so much more alive at night with the colors jumping out at you when your light hits it. Dive 3 complete. With only 6 of us on the dive and fairly spaced out it was an experience of a lifetime.
Day 2
We pre-booked a boat dive day trip to Eastpoint and Klein Curacao with Ocean Encounters. After learning that the $130 pp USD fee did not include equipment and having been less than impressed with the gear I had borrowed from OE the day before I chose to keep the TUSA gear from the Dive Bus and was very happy that I did. If you do not like to dive with a weight belt you can rent a virtually brand new TUSA Liberator Sigma BCD with integrated weights from the Dive Bus even if you are not diving with them.
We got on OEs boat the Galaxy and headed out. First stop Eastpoint. After a quick briefing, off into the blue we went. This was to be a drift dive on the wall. The vis was reasonably good and the life on the edge of the wall was well worth the trip. After getting in a few traffic jams on the wall while people stopped to take pictures, I headed back up to the rim and saw some of the best life and coral I would see all week. Lots of Angelfish and other smaller fish, saw some lobsters hiding in the cracks of the wall. Saw a couple small turtles swimming and just floated along with them for a few minutes. Was really enjoying the quiet and the experience until the rest of the 22 divers noticed and all came over and scared the little guys into a large Coral formation. I was glad to see much less damage to the coral and sea life. It was really a great dive. Dive 4 complete. The boat was rocking real good on the trip to Eastpoint but the best was yet to come.
Klein was about 45-60 minutes from Eastpoint. It was a rough ride, the boat was really jumpin. A few people were too sick to do the second dive. Klein was one of the reasons I wanted to come to Curacao. I had heard it was really amazing and not to be missed. The Walls and reefs were indeed amazing. 79 degrees with vis at 80 ft or more and life was everywhere. Large schools of angels and yellowtail snappers all around. Here there were more turtles and tube sponges and brain sponges and a couple scorpion fish. The only creature we had yet to encounter was the seahorses I had been hearing about. This would be the highlight of the trip and had made the bumpy ride out to Klein worth every minute. Dive 5 Complete. WOW!!
Day 3
Mark was waiting for us when we got to the hotel lobby this morning. We headed back to the Dive Bus hut and got the gear together and were ready to take on TUGBOAT. Today there were 8 divers and 2 DMs. We met the other DM, Jesper the crazy Dane at the site. I had read a lot about this dive and a friend of mine had told me that Tugboat and Small Wall were his favourite dives on Curacao. Ask Mark what his signal is for Seahorse. It is hilarious. LMAO! After the briefing from Mark and Jesper we swam out for less than a minute and dropped down heading east. We very quickly came to the wall and I could see why it is my friends favourite. It is alive. Lots of color and movement. Standard residents were all there and the colors really jumped out. Jesper spotted the first seahorse. It was black and very hard to spot. In fact I have no idea how he spotted it at all. LOL It was camouflaged against the wall. It was very cool looking just as imagined, a little horse with its tail curled around something just chillin out. Mark spotted the second seahorse a few minutes later. This one was red. Wish we had some pics to share. It was very cool!!! Hopefully the couple we were diving with will send us some shots or post them soon. We ended the dive at the TUGBOAT wreck. It is a small Tugboat sunk in about 15 feet of water. Pretty cool little wreck! Unfortunately, Miss Ann dropped a boatload of snorklers on the site just as we were getting there. After taking a good kick to the back of my head from one of the snorklers I headed back to shore. Dive 6 Complete. Very cool!!
After an hour SI and a briefing from Mark we headed back in. This dive was called the James Bond Dive and was an interesting one. Not much of note on the way out but on the way back we swam between the dock and a huge freighter that was docked there and continued under the pier. As we came out into the open water we looked back and saw the cathedral lighting we had heard about. The sun beams through the cracks in the dock and creates an amazing view. With the pier over head and the freighter right beside you, schools of fish all around and light streaming in from above it was one of the most amazing scenes I have experienced diving so far. Dive 7 Complete. I am starting to wonder if I would ever get tired of diving if I lived in Curacao. After heading back to the hut we agreed to do a night dive the following day.
Day 4
Finally a day that we did not have to get up early. LOL We called Suzy in the morning to ask if the other couple was still on for the night dive but could not get confirmation. We went on our daily shore dive from Breezes with OE at 2:30pm (Dive 8 Complete) and had all but given up on the night dive when suddenly at 5:30pm we get the call. Night dive WOOHOO!!!
We meet at the hut at around 6:30 and go through the briefing and introductions.
I was so excited to do another night dive I could hardly wait to experience that Zen feeling again. It was driving me crazy, I could not figure out why I had used so little air on the first one. Well to my surprise this dive was even better than the first. We saw a squid float perfectly still in the beam of light just hovering there changing color for about 20 seconds before shooting to the surface like a rocket headed to space. In an amazing scene we actually witnessed an octopus eat a crab. It was truly like being in another world. At one point I was off by myself with my light extinguished just floating there calmly, Mark got worried and came over to see if I was having trouble. Scared the wife a few times doing this as well. LOL Once again I was one with the Ocean. LOL Å»en buddy, Zen! Is all I could say when they finally dragged me out of the water after nearly an hour. I had been so peaceful I hadnÃÕ been watching my SPG too closely but in the end I had used less than half a tank. Unbelievable!!! Dive 9 Complete. Amazing!! Of note we saw 2 Octopus, Squid, Lobsters, Crabs and Scorpion fish and tons of parrot fish and angelfish and yellow tailed snapper, trumpet fish and more. Along with the National geographic like scene with the Octopus and the crab.
Day 5
We met up with one of the other guests at the resort and then met Jesper in front of the hotel for another day of great diving. 3 divers and one DM does it get any better than that?? This time we were headed to DirectorÃÔ Bay. This site has a bit of a tricky entry. You have to gear up on the road then go down a broken set of stairs. Once you get down into the cove though the Crystal blue water it is quite the site. After a quick briefing and final checks in we went. About 15 feet out the wall falls away. We followed Jesper down a trench with a huge peak jutting out in front of the opening you are swimming through. It is a really impressive entry. We head East first and the wall is full of life and lots of sponge. We get down to about 90 feet and I flip over and look up. Was one of the most amazing views I can remember. Came up with about 600 PSI after about 50 minutes. Dive 10 Complete.
During the SI we caught some sun and had a snack and just chilled out in the folding chairs that were in the bus? Soon enough we were getting strapped up and heading back down to the bay. This time we headed west and it was full of life. On this dive we saw some sea slugs, some scorpion fish , and lots of others. This was one of the best dives in terms of quantity of fish. Sadly it was time to end this dive but not before getting some amazing memories of looking up the wall somewhere below 90 ft. Dive 11 complete.
So.....11 dives in 5 days. A little hectic but is only some of the dives that were possible. No matter how many times I dove Pierbaai reef I always saw something new and it started to feel like home after a while. We loved Curacao. The diving was AMAZING!!! Virtually every dive was 79 degrees F or warmer and 80 ft vis.
We cannot thank Mark, Suzy, Crowley, and Jesper enough for showing us the best side of diving in Curacao. In our opinion, if you are looking for that custom, small group, friendly, knowledgeable dive experience, The Dive Bus is the best option for diving in Willemstad. We loved hanging out with them so much, we even hung out when we were not diving. Nothing better than a couple (or 10) Polars after a night dive.
On the day we left we went to say good bye and met Curacao Sunshine and Andreas from Westpoint, along with a handful of other great people. They were having a St Patty's day celebration with all kinds of fun. We will be headed back to Curacao and the Dive Bus in the very near future, just not soon enough. Wished we could have stayed another week.
Thank you to all (or any) that had the patience to read this long winded report. LOL
:vintagediver:
We are AOW PADI certified and are just starting our Rescue diver course.Day 1 The Dive Bus.
Suzy picked us up from our resort around 9 am the first day and drove us to the hut where we met Mark and the dogs. After meeting the other couple we were diving with we were soon outfitted in virtually brand new TUSA Gear.
Mark gave a thorough briefing and the picture of the reef below the counter on the hut gave us an idea of what to expect. We all geared up and after a catalogue style picture, into the water we went.
Pierbaai reef is right off the beach. Literally, less than 30 seconds swim and you are at the break wall. Last minute checks and we were headed down. WOOHOO!!
The vis was amazing. Probably about 80 feet or more. 79 Degrees. Spent most of the dive between 40 and 60 feet. The reef was great. As you float along there is plenty of Spotted Morays , brain sponges and other marine life. We had decided to do a night dive that day so I spent a lot of time trying to find good reference points in case we needed them later. The Coral is a little damaged between the Hut and Car Pile but for someone who only gets to dive a couple times of year it was heaven. After what seemed like 5 minutes but in reality was 35 minutes we headed back. With the slight current it was a lazy drift back to the bay. What I really like about Pierbaai reef and other sites around Curacao is there is no safety stops. There are "safety go" as Mark explained to us. You spend the last 10 minutes or so in less than 20 feet of water so you do not have to stop and hang there for the standard 5 min safety stop. And with so much to see between 10 and 20 feet the end of your dive can be as interesting as the start. Dive 1 complete. I am telling you the smile on my face was enormous.
Our second dive was with Ocean Encounters at the Breezes resort. One free shore dive per day is included at the resort. It is easy to sign up for each day. I left my gear hanging at the Dive Bus hut as we were going to be back for the night dive and I wanted to compare the gear of the 2 ops. We stopped in and introduced ourselves to Bryan the on site manager at OE, before we headed out that morning. Bryan was very friendly and helpful and although we did not use OE very much they were a good option for people just lookin for the standard dive treatment. The staff was professional and occasionally friendly. Ever get the feeling that your dive staff thinks they are better than you?? LOL Stop by OE at Breezes.... you will. That was a little harsh but not entirely untrue. I think some of the staff forget that the guests are on vacation and are not lucky enough to dive every day. Dont get me wrong they were all polite and professional but seemed a little bored of the Tourist Divers? The gear at OE was what you would expect from a resort that lets you dive for free everyday. Some new, some old, but most with small issues. Broken clips, leaky valves, a little worn in. All the equipment we used was perfectly safe and certainly nothing to complain about. We all jumped off the dock and started out headed east. Unfortunately, I was under weight and spent most of the dive fighting to stay down. By the time I got the DMs attention and grabbed some extra weight we were already turning around. Most people on the dive ended up with almost half a tank left at the end of the dive. Just a tip, you do not have to go on the guided shore dive everyday you can go out on your own too. Just get a safety sausage or Buoy from the shop and away you go. Dive 2 Complete. Not as satisfying as dive 1 but still just happy to get wet.
Dive number 3. Feeling a little silly about having Suzy pick us up for the 1 minute drive we headed out on foot. Just as we were getting to the road Mark pulled up. Great timing. Back at the "hut" we went through the same routine as the first dive, only with Crowley substituting for Mark, and with another couple divers in on the fun. Just a tip, if you are around the hut at dusk, hose yourself down with bug spray as the mosquitoes are brutal. Into the water we went after a Halloween style jack-o-lantern pic. We were all getting ready to go down when someone spotted an Octopus. WOOHOO!! Hadnt even submerged yet and I was already seeing new and great things. We have never done a night dive before, but let me tell you I will be doing one anytime I possibly can now. I always try to explain the sensation of diving to my non-diver friends as like being on the moon, this was 10 times more exhilarating and actually felt like being on the moon. It was a calm I have never experienced before. The only thing it seemed comparable to was "Zen". LOL I was one with the Ocean. LOL
I generally use my whole tank and rarely exceed 40 minutes on any dive, but for some reason I returned after a 58 minute dive and had only used half my air. I kept looking at my SPG to make sure it was not broken because I just couldnt believe it. We saw tons of Lobsters and lots of crabs, Octopus, and shrimps, and all kinds of other wondrous things. The Coral seems so much more alive at night with the colors jumping out at you when your light hits it. Dive 3 complete. With only 6 of us on the dive and fairly spaced out it was an experience of a lifetime.
Day 2
We pre-booked a boat dive day trip to Eastpoint and Klein Curacao with Ocean Encounters. After learning that the $130 pp USD fee did not include equipment and having been less than impressed with the gear I had borrowed from OE the day before I chose to keep the TUSA gear from the Dive Bus and was very happy that I did. If you do not like to dive with a weight belt you can rent a virtually brand new TUSA Liberator Sigma BCD with integrated weights from the Dive Bus even if you are not diving with them.
We got on OEs boat the Galaxy and headed out. First stop Eastpoint. After a quick briefing, off into the blue we went. This was to be a drift dive on the wall. The vis was reasonably good and the life on the edge of the wall was well worth the trip. After getting in a few traffic jams on the wall while people stopped to take pictures, I headed back up to the rim and saw some of the best life and coral I would see all week. Lots of Angelfish and other smaller fish, saw some lobsters hiding in the cracks of the wall. Saw a couple small turtles swimming and just floated along with them for a few minutes. Was really enjoying the quiet and the experience until the rest of the 22 divers noticed and all came over and scared the little guys into a large Coral formation. I was glad to see much less damage to the coral and sea life. It was really a great dive. Dive 4 complete. The boat was rocking real good on the trip to Eastpoint but the best was yet to come.
Klein was about 45-60 minutes from Eastpoint. It was a rough ride, the boat was really jumpin. A few people were too sick to do the second dive. Klein was one of the reasons I wanted to come to Curacao. I had heard it was really amazing and not to be missed. The Walls and reefs were indeed amazing. 79 degrees with vis at 80 ft or more and life was everywhere. Large schools of angels and yellowtail snappers all around. Here there were more turtles and tube sponges and brain sponges and a couple scorpion fish. The only creature we had yet to encounter was the seahorses I had been hearing about. This would be the highlight of the trip and had made the bumpy ride out to Klein worth every minute. Dive 5 Complete. WOW!!
Day 3
Mark was waiting for us when we got to the hotel lobby this morning. We headed back to the Dive Bus hut and got the gear together and were ready to take on TUGBOAT. Today there were 8 divers and 2 DMs. We met the other DM, Jesper the crazy Dane at the site. I had read a lot about this dive and a friend of mine had told me that Tugboat and Small Wall were his favourite dives on Curacao. Ask Mark what his signal is for Seahorse. It is hilarious. LMAO! After the briefing from Mark and Jesper we swam out for less than a minute and dropped down heading east. We very quickly came to the wall and I could see why it is my friends favourite. It is alive. Lots of color and movement. Standard residents were all there and the colors really jumped out. Jesper spotted the first seahorse. It was black and very hard to spot. In fact I have no idea how he spotted it at all. LOL It was camouflaged against the wall. It was very cool looking just as imagined, a little horse with its tail curled around something just chillin out. Mark spotted the second seahorse a few minutes later. This one was red. Wish we had some pics to share. It was very cool!!! Hopefully the couple we were diving with will send us some shots or post them soon. We ended the dive at the TUGBOAT wreck. It is a small Tugboat sunk in about 15 feet of water. Pretty cool little wreck! Unfortunately, Miss Ann dropped a boatload of snorklers on the site just as we were getting there. After taking a good kick to the back of my head from one of the snorklers I headed back to shore. Dive 6 Complete. Very cool!!
After an hour SI and a briefing from Mark we headed back in. This dive was called the James Bond Dive and was an interesting one. Not much of note on the way out but on the way back we swam between the dock and a huge freighter that was docked there and continued under the pier. As we came out into the open water we looked back and saw the cathedral lighting we had heard about. The sun beams through the cracks in the dock and creates an amazing view. With the pier over head and the freighter right beside you, schools of fish all around and light streaming in from above it was one of the most amazing scenes I have experienced diving so far. Dive 7 Complete. I am starting to wonder if I would ever get tired of diving if I lived in Curacao. After heading back to the hut we agreed to do a night dive the following day.
Day 4
Finally a day that we did not have to get up early. LOL We called Suzy in the morning to ask if the other couple was still on for the night dive but could not get confirmation. We went on our daily shore dive from Breezes with OE at 2:30pm (Dive 8 Complete) and had all but given up on the night dive when suddenly at 5:30pm we get the call. Night dive WOOHOO!!!
We meet at the hut at around 6:30 and go through the briefing and introductions.
I was so excited to do another night dive I could hardly wait to experience that Zen feeling again. It was driving me crazy, I could not figure out why I had used so little air on the first one. Well to my surprise this dive was even better than the first. We saw a squid float perfectly still in the beam of light just hovering there changing color for about 20 seconds before shooting to the surface like a rocket headed to space. In an amazing scene we actually witnessed an octopus eat a crab. It was truly like being in another world. At one point I was off by myself with my light extinguished just floating there calmly, Mark got worried and came over to see if I was having trouble. Scared the wife a few times doing this as well. LOL Once again I was one with the Ocean. LOL Å»en buddy, Zen! Is all I could say when they finally dragged me out of the water after nearly an hour. I had been so peaceful I hadnÃÕ been watching my SPG too closely but in the end I had used less than half a tank. Unbelievable!!! Dive 9 Complete. Amazing!! Of note we saw 2 Octopus, Squid, Lobsters, Crabs and Scorpion fish and tons of parrot fish and angelfish and yellow tailed snapper, trumpet fish and more. Along with the National geographic like scene with the Octopus and the crab.
Day 5
We met up with one of the other guests at the resort and then met Jesper in front of the hotel for another day of great diving. 3 divers and one DM does it get any better than that??
This time we were headed to DirectorÃÔ Bay. This site has a bit of a tricky entry. You have to gear up on the road then go down a broken set of stairs. Once you get down into the cove though the Crystal blue water it is quite the site. After a quick briefing and final checks in we went. About 15 feet out the wall falls away. We followed Jesper down a trench with a huge peak jutting out in front of the opening you are swimming through. It is a really impressive entry. We head East first and the wall is full of life and lots of sponge. We get down to about 90 feet and I flip over and look up. Was one of the most amazing views I can remember. Came up with about 600 PSI after about 50 minutes. Dive 10 Complete.During the SI we caught some sun and had a snack and just chilled out in the folding chairs that were in the bus? Soon enough we were getting strapped up and heading back down to the bay. This time we headed west and it was full of life. On this dive we saw some sea slugs, some scorpion fish , and lots of others. This was one of the best dives in terms of quantity of fish. Sadly it was time to end this dive but not before getting some amazing memories of looking up the wall somewhere below 90 ft. Dive 11 complete.
So.....11 dives in 5 days. A little hectic but is only some of the dives that were possible. No matter how many times I dove Pierbaai reef I always saw something new and it started to feel like home after a while. We loved Curacao. The diving was AMAZING!!! Virtually every dive was 79 degrees F or warmer and 80 ft vis.
We cannot thank Mark, Suzy, Crowley, and Jesper enough for showing us the best side of diving in Curacao. In our opinion, if you are looking for that custom, small group, friendly, knowledgeable dive experience, The Dive Bus is the best option for diving in Willemstad. We loved hanging out with them so much, we even hung out when we were not diving. Nothing better than a couple (or 10) Polars after a night dive.
On the day we left we went to say good bye and met Curacao Sunshine and Andreas from Westpoint, along with a handful of other great people. They were having a St Patty's day celebration with all kinds of fun. We will be headed back to Curacao and the Dive Bus in the very near future, just not soon enough. Wished we could have stayed another week.
Thank you to all (or any) that had the patience to read this long winded report. LOL
:vintagediver:
