When I wrote earlier that I would be going to all three of the ABC islands, someone wrote in and expressed interest on an exit report that compared Bonaire and Curaçao. This is written chiefly to comply with that request.
When my wife and I were planning our trip that would focus on Bonaire, we struggled (no surprise to veterans) with getting the right plane connections. My wife discovered that if we extended our stay a few days, we could get a great connection out of Curaçao. I knew there was diving on that island, but I had really heard precious little about it in comparison with the oft-praised Bonaire. I am afraid that the press of my work kept me from doing much advance research at all, so I left Bonaire for Curaçao woefully short of advance knowledge.
In both Bonaire and Curaçao we stayed at the Habitat resorts. The difference in the types of people the two locales attract can be seen by comparing these two resorts that are supposedly dedicated to diving. On Bonaire, the Habitat offers three one-tank boat trips per day, with two boats each, and they are all reasonably full. Meanwhile, from morning to night, people are jumping in off the "baby pier" to dive the fine house reef. Just about everyone there is dedicated to getting as many dives in as possible.
On my first full day in Habitat Curaçao, I discovered that the electric clock in my room ran at 75% speed, losing two hours during the night and making me miss the only scheduled boat dive (one two-tank boat) of the day. Not being a solo diver, I camped out by the dock, reading, until someone else would come along to dive. The only shore diver of the day, a local, appeared at 2:30 PM. The hotel was reasonably full, mostly with Dutch families enjoying the fine pool. Divers were in a minority.
Once I mastered the time situation and actually got to dive, the lack of divers became the biggest mystery to me. The house reef at the Habitat is every bit as good as the one in Bonaire. Of all the dives I did in all the ABC's, my two favorite were on Curaçao--Mushroom Forest and Bullenbaai. On no dive on Curaçao did I encounter anything that was not on a par with the dives I did on Bonaire. I do not understand why this place does not get more press.
Bonaire is famous for its shore dives, and many people set out in rented pickup trucks to visit the many sites. I had heard that the rock cliff shoreline of Curaçao meant for no shore diving, and indeed no one at the Habitat had any intention of leaving the site. That is a mistake, though, as I learned on my last day. We rented a car and drove north, finding that the cliff walls are punctuated by deep coves, each clearly marked on the roadside by a large rock with a dive flag painted on it. A short drive off the rode and you find yourself on a beautiful sandy beach, nearly deserted. Some have little more than a palapa or two, and others have more significant accommodations. An easy wading entry into placid waters, a bit of a swim out to the regular coastline, and you drop off to a beautiful reef.
We did Curaçao as an afterthought. I see no reason not to plan it as a primary dive destination. Just know in advance a lot more about it than I did.
When my wife and I were planning our trip that would focus on Bonaire, we struggled (no surprise to veterans) with getting the right plane connections. My wife discovered that if we extended our stay a few days, we could get a great connection out of Curaçao. I knew there was diving on that island, but I had really heard precious little about it in comparison with the oft-praised Bonaire. I am afraid that the press of my work kept me from doing much advance research at all, so I left Bonaire for Curaçao woefully short of advance knowledge.
In both Bonaire and Curaçao we stayed at the Habitat resorts. The difference in the types of people the two locales attract can be seen by comparing these two resorts that are supposedly dedicated to diving. On Bonaire, the Habitat offers three one-tank boat trips per day, with two boats each, and they are all reasonably full. Meanwhile, from morning to night, people are jumping in off the "baby pier" to dive the fine house reef. Just about everyone there is dedicated to getting as many dives in as possible.
On my first full day in Habitat Curaçao, I discovered that the electric clock in my room ran at 75% speed, losing two hours during the night and making me miss the only scheduled boat dive (one two-tank boat) of the day. Not being a solo diver, I camped out by the dock, reading, until someone else would come along to dive. The only shore diver of the day, a local, appeared at 2:30 PM. The hotel was reasonably full, mostly with Dutch families enjoying the fine pool. Divers were in a minority.
Once I mastered the time situation and actually got to dive, the lack of divers became the biggest mystery to me. The house reef at the Habitat is every bit as good as the one in Bonaire. Of all the dives I did in all the ABC's, my two favorite were on Curaçao--Mushroom Forest and Bullenbaai. On no dive on Curaçao did I encounter anything that was not on a par with the dives I did on Bonaire. I do not understand why this place does not get more press.
Bonaire is famous for its shore dives, and many people set out in rented pickup trucks to visit the many sites. I had heard that the rock cliff shoreline of Curaçao meant for no shore diving, and indeed no one at the Habitat had any intention of leaving the site. That is a mistake, though, as I learned on my last day. We rented a car and drove north, finding that the cliff walls are punctuated by deep coves, each clearly marked on the roadside by a large rock with a dive flag painted on it. A short drive off the rode and you find yourself on a beautiful sandy beach, nearly deserted. Some have little more than a palapa or two, and others have more significant accommodations. An easy wading entry into placid waters, a bit of a swim out to the regular coastline, and you drop off to a beautiful reef.
We did Curaçao as an afterthought. I see no reason not to plan it as a primary dive destination. Just know in advance a lot more about it than I did.
