Are Watamula & Mushroom Forest That Much Better Than Other Dive Sites?

[cleung]

If I were to come to Curacao and do only say two days of diving (as part of combo Curacao/Bonaire trip) and therefore want to hit the very best of the dive sites, I'm reading that they are in the Westpunt area. I further learned that dive sites Watamula and Mushroom Forest are the two iconic dive sites in Curacao but when I looked at YouTube videos of these two particular dives sites and compared them to others like the many shore dives on the island, to my eyes I really did not see a huge variation in terms of the marine life density of the various dive sites.

This leads me to think that perhaps Watamula and Mushroom Forest might not be or no longer the must dive sites if only a short period of time was available. Would I be better off just staying central and just diving some shore (or boat) dives there and pretty well see the same type stuff I would see if I dragged myself out to Westpunt specifically for Watamula and Mushroom Forest?

What are thoughts from those who have done a considerable amount of diving in Curacao and can offer a basis of comparison between the various dive sites there?

 

[tkaelin]

Divers who try for the "best" sites in a short period of time invariably set themselves up for disappointment.

 

[AndrewBoyd78]

Do check out any videos you can find on Eastpoint (oostpunt) sites in Curacao. Google maps has some nice 360 pictures on the Street View outside on Awa Di Oostpunt.

 

[morecowbells]

I would do two morning shore dives at the San Juan area or at Playa Kalki, grab lunch, and do an afternoon Watamula dive with Gowest. While Mushroom Forrest is a nice dive, I think the other ones I listed are better sites.

 

[Damselfish]

I've dove Mushroom Forest both long ago and more recently. The original draw of MF, back when it got put on "best" lists, was the interesting and pristine coral formations that looked like a field of giant mushrooms crossed with silly sand. Pretty cool and unique looking. That and a nearby small cave that could be dove, or snorkeled on the SI. After years of diver pressure and storms MF, like many things, isn't what it used to be. If you're staying out there by all means dive it but I personally don't think it's worth jumping through hoops to get to anymore.

Watamula is a drift that had lots of good corals and fishlife because of the currents out at the end of the island, but for some reason I've only managed to dive it once and not sure how it compares to anything (including itself over time.) But I think probably more worth going out of your way for.

A lot of the best diving IS on the West end, so it may be worth staying out there for your couple days of diving if that's your priority. You can dive with Go West Diving for boat dives, and do shore diving there (quite good) or around the area. (You'd want to check what day(s) they're doing Watamula so you're not disappointed.) However it's inconvenient to doing much of anything else on Curacao, and getting out there and back kills a little more time - feels like a long trip when you're unfamiliar with the route.

You could look into Coral Estates, which is halfway west and not quite as inconvenient. Good shore diving on site and in the area. I don't know how far west their boat dives go.

When the Marriott Beach Resort just west of town was open and had an onsite op, they used to travel decently far west, but I'm not sure if they went as far as MF or Watamula. The Marriott has been closed for renovations for years and is supposed to reopen "real soon now" but the date keeps slipping. In the meantime the dive op moved to the Hilton. I would guess they will move back to the Marriott when it reopens and the Hilton closes for renovations. If the Marriott is open when you are going it might be a good compromise location. (The Hilton maybe not so much, it's kind of crappy.)

I have not managed to do far Eastpoint sites, or Klein Curacao - both worth checking out from everything I understand, but if you're only there for a few days catching a boat running there might be tricky, and you'll wipe out most of the day getting in 2 dives. Ocean Frontiers has locations east of town, and runs a day trip to Eastpoint and Klein. Looks like they are also running a trip to Mushroom Forest again. I expect either is weekly at most, so you'd have to be there when they're going. There are small ops that may also do those things, or even North side diving.

 

[scubadada]

Watamula is the best dive I did, twice, on my visit to Curacao west end in 2010. Mushroom Forest was a big disappointment with a lot of dead coral. The Go West house reef, Playa Kalki/Alice in Wonderland, was quite nice, particularly to the right, north.

 

[cleung]

Thanks for all your comments. What prompted me to post this thread was that recent videos on both Watamula and Mushroom Forest in terms of marine life don't really look all that different with other Curacao dive videos. Perhaps as some of you may have suggested, their glory days are over
and now every site there is more or less pretty equal?

 

[AdivingBel]

I go to Curacao to shore dive and relax. That said...I would say Mushroom Forest has changed from what it once was. While still a nice dive, I wouldn't consider it special. Watamula on the other hand is substantially different from most other shore diving sites and I find it well worth a boat ride. Whether any particular site "out west" is worth the effort/time for a two day stop compared to doing more dives near the city depends on if you plan to return and how "wet" you like to stay. Not sure what you mean by "wildlife" or "glory days." This is not "pelagic central." Curacao is "nice Caribbean diving" and all that that entails. I enjoy leisurely stays with warm, blue water; idyllic coves with small white beaches; and dives that last as long as I want. I go other places for "big stuff" and excitement. All IMHO, YMMV.

 

[diversteve]

I like morecowbells suggetion of a day in Westpunt shoredivig Playa Kalki and boat divibg Watamula with GoWest. check\k the GoWest schedule also - IIRC they only dive Watamula twice a week,

Do not "centrally locate in town as there;s really no good dives there. Centrally locate in the West instead - maybe around Lagun. Playa Lagun is a ggod dive, Playa Jeremi on the north side of town another one. We also lijed the Coral Estates house reef - so much that when we relocated to town we drove back out there to dive it again. Varsenbaai makes the list, nice reef, seahorses by the ball, a big pontoon wreck at the turn point east (ddeper) and the 2nd Carpile site is still deeper there but they;re badly decomposed.

If you can squeeze in a might dive find a shop diving Superior Producer,

We actually did not do a lot of boat dives as 2-3 times we saw a dive boat on the ball at a site we were shore diving so it seemed silly.

The DM on the boat talked us out of Mushroom Forest - a storm broke some of the corals abd since they're so bare, don't attract fish life since they're easy targets for the tarpon.

 

[cleung]

I go to Curacao to shore dive and relax. That said...I would say Mushroom Forest has changed from what it once was. While still a nice dive, I wouldn't consider it special. Watamula on the other hand is substantially different from most other shore diving sites and I find it well worth a boat ride. Whether any particular site "out west" is worth the effort/time for a two day stop compared to doing more dives near the city depends on if you plan to return and how "wet" you like to stay. Not sure what you mean by "wildlife" or "glory days." This not "pelagic central." Curacao is "nice Caribbean diving" and all that that entails. I enjoy leisurely stays with warm, blue water; idyllic coves with small white beaches; and dives that last as long as I want. I go other places for "big stuff" and excitement. All IMHO, YMMV.

I knew that the general ABC islands were not known for pelagics and big stuff so I'm willing to come just for some nice diving as I already went to Galapagos for the big ones this year. What I meant by marine life density was when I compared videos of Curacao dive sites, it seems that the most recent Watamula videos don't seem to have anymore fish per square metre/feet than the other sites around Curacao. This might be different in the past but recent videos seem to suggest otherwise. That's why I was questioning the value of getting to the west part.