General information request for Curacao

[RJP]

Spend a full day up in Westpunt!

Get to Playa Kalki early AM. Have some coffee. Hang on the beach.

Grab a tank at Ocean Encounters West at the top of the stairs. (Tell Andreas, Bryan, et al I said hi!)

Dive Alice in Wonderland. Shore Dive. To the right.

Do your SI hanging out at the beach.

Grab another tank at OEW. (Tell 'em I said "hi" again.)

Dive Alice in Wonderland. Shore Dive. To the left.

Do your surface interval with a hamburger or salad at the restaurant right there on the beach.

Jump on OEW's boat for an afternoon trip to Watamula or Mushroom Forest.

Hang out on the beach for a few more hours.

Shower right there at OEW.

Head to Sol Food for pizza and beer. (Tell Sunshine and David I said "hi")

 

[diversteve]

It's all in the emphasis. drive in...to the water as compared to drive into the water...

 

[idocsteve]

Dive Alice in Wonderland. Shore Dive. To the right.
Grab another tank at OEW. (Tell 'em I said "hi" again.)

Dive Alice in Wonderland. Shore Dive. To the right.

Did you mean to post both dives to the right? I have read that it's best done in both directions. I will tell them you recommended them.

Jump on OEW's boat for an afternoon trip to Watamula or Mushroom Forest.

I definitely want to get both of those boat dive sites in during this trip, they appear to be "must do" trips. Is Watamula and Mushroom forest a daily scheduled trip for OE West?

According to OE (East) They have a Thursday morning trip to Mushroom Forest so I was planning to book that dive.


Any idea about how long it takes to drive from Breezes Hotel to the OE West dive op location?

 

[RJP]

Did you mean to post both dives to the right? I have read that it's best done in both directions. I will tell them you recommended them.

No - edited post.

I definitely want to get both of those boat dive sites in during this trip, they appear to be "must do" trips. Is Watamula and Mushroom forest a daily scheduled trip for OE West?

According to OE (East) They have a Thursday morning trip to Mushroom Forest so I was planning to book that dive.

Any idea about how long it takes to drive from Breezes Hotel to the OE West dive op location?

It's 30+ min from Marriott, so add another 15min or so from Breezes (if Breezes is where I think it is.)

I wouldn't take the boat trip from OEE all the way up there.

 

[diversteve]

Is Watamula and Mushroom forest a daily scheduled trip for OE West?

No they do both two different days a week - paired with other dives.

..:: Ocean Encounters West Curacao ::..Boat Trip Schedule

 

[Bryan.]

Hey there everyone!

Thanks for all the positive comments about OEW! It is all true... the No.1 rated shore dive is OEW's housereef... "Alice in Wonderland" and Watamula is rated the No.1 boat dive which is only 3.75 minutes from the diveshop!!

Additionally, the best shore and boat diving is found on the south western part of Curacao. We have calm waters for the most part, great beaches like Porto Marie, Cas Abou, Grote Knip, etc...

If you are looking for only shore diving w/ a few boats... check out Allwest Apartments & Diving!!

Allwest has a compressor onsite with as many tanks as you can possibly use, nitrox is available aswell. Plus we can package it up with unlimited shore diving, a truck/car rental plus accommodations. Allwest is an awesome place where each apartment has an amazing view of the sea!

If you would like more information or if you have any questions, feel free to contact me! I am always happy to assist!!

Hope to see you soon on Curacao!!

 

[Dave C]

Best Dive Destinations|Underwater Photography Guide
Scroll down to Curacao for further ideas. Diversteve has most of the info.
Here is an update I posted on Habitat:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/abc-islands/330854-diving-curacao-habitat-curacao-opinions-4.html


I could not disagree more with bkpix about Porto Marie. Maybe they were there on a holiday weekend, thus the crowding. There was damage all along the coast from TS Omar but at Porto Marie, the second reef and reef to the right are in fine shape. Plus the rubble is great for macro photography. Like Bonaire this is a macro island. I suspect I have about 250 dives at Porto Marie and there is always stuff to surprise you.
These were taken this week in 12 feet of water.

OEW is also a great place to shore or boat dive. There is no question that you will have to do some driving if you stay in hotels around Willemstad, but you will get a feel for the island. If you stay on the West End driving might be easier unless you make frequent trips to town.

Korsu, great photo of the queen angel. I spent two weeks snorkeling in Curacao in Feb/March (including at Porto Marie), and did not see a single one of these. IMO, Porto Marie was one of the best snorkeling spots on the island. However, the beach was a little crowded for my tastes, and I was there on a non-cruise ship Monday.

 

[tc_rain]

What is the crime like in Curacao compared to Bonaire? I spent two weeks in Bonaire last year and never had a problem but people always warned you of it. Many of the dive sites in Bonaire were kinda secluded and I was just wondering if Curacao is the same way. Do you have to/or should you, leave all windows down and the car empty of anything of value? Also, how about spare tanks for the next dive?

 

[jd950]

As with Bonaire, you would be wise to leave nothing of value in your rental truck. When leaving the truck parked at a dive site, leave the windows down and doors unlocked. I have never heard of tanks being taken and would not worry about those. We almost always have several tanks in the truck and have never had a problem.

There are some exceptions on Curacao. Many dive sites are also popular beaches and parked cars may be slightly safer due to the constant presence of beach goers (as opposed to divers). Some places, like Porto Mari and Cas Abao charge admission and have active parking lots and I have heard that some of the more popular West end beaches like Grote Knip are hiring security to watch the parked cars. I would think that busy beaches, commercial beaches and places with security might be safer than any of the Bonaire dive sites or the more remote Curacao dive sites. I would still be hesitant to leave valuables in the truck.

 

[idocsteve]

Thanks for all the positive comments about OEW! It is all true... the No.1 rated shore dive is OEW's housereef... "Alice in Wonderland" and Watamula is rated the No.1 boat dive which is only 3.75 minutes from the diveshop!!

If you are looking for only shore diving w/ a few boats... check out Allwest Apartments & Diving!!

Allwest has a compressor onsite with as many tanks as you can possibly use, nitrox is available aswell. Plus we can package it up with unlimited shore diving, a truck/car rental plus accommodations. Allwest is an awesome place where each apartment has an amazing view of the sea!

Based on this post I checked out Allwest apartments, and I quickly realized that all of the dive sites on my "must do list", especially the house reef, made Allwest Apartments a very logical choice for us.

It's also a lot less expensive than the AI program at Breezes which we really don't need anyway because we're going to be primarily diving and anything else we want to do can be done "ala carte" with the monies saved on the difference in cost between the two properties.

Donna at Caradonna is making the change for us today, so we'll see you there!

Bryan,

I am pming you about a few dive requests prior to making any dive bookings.