Scuba Destinations

 

Curacao

One of the best coral spawning locations in the world . . . .
Overview:

Wall diving, Vanessa Lafaye Curacao is a dutch island, with capital of Willemstad, which is also capital to the whole of the Netherland Antilles.  Willemstad is well worth a visit as the town has over 700 historic buildings and the preservation of many buildings is well under way.  Willemstad is also a duty free port.

The diving in Curacao is very good with some popular wreck dives, most notably, the Superior Producer at a maximum depth of 30 meters.  The Tugboat is also very popular as it is in shallow water at 5 meters and is excellent for photography.  Also, there is The Airplane Wreck, which is a shore dive and the loaction is marked on the surface with a buoy.

A very popular event for divers happens in September and October with the coral spawning.  This event happens 7 days after the full moon and the local dive centres are well aware of the happening, which does not last long and ensure that their clients are in the water at the correct location at the right time.  The best dives are the Mushroom Forest and Alice in Wonderland where there are copious amounts of star coral.  Watch the YouTube video here.

What to see:
  • In September and October every year, coral spawning seven days after full moon
  • Wreck of the Superior Producer
  • Southern Marine Park
  • Klein Curacao which is a small neighbouring island that offers scenic diving with good walls covered in coral
Need to know:
  • The southern area is a protected underwater marine park and, throughout the island, dive centres ask that divers make a voluntary donation (currently US$10) to help protect the environment
  • There are over 60 dive sites and more than half are accessed from the shore
  • For the coral spawning dives, contact one of the dive centres.
Useful stuff:
Language: English is widely used
Currency: The Netherlands Antillean guilder or US$
Time: GMT -5
Climate: Tropical
Natural hazards: Not in the hurricane belt
Diving season: 12 months
Water temperature: 24-26C
Air Temperature

26-28C

Caribbean - Curacao: Latest User Reviews

March 2013 Dive  CURious2DIVE, Curacao 5 Star Rating Added: 7th May 2013 by DocMig
Wow, what a great time. Hans was amazing. He runs a great shop and is an expert master. I can't recommend the shop more highly. A great experience. I arranged the dive on my own. I visited the island on a cruise. Hans picked me up at the dock and drove...
Flexible Service  CURious2DIVE, Curacao 5 Star Rating Added: 8th April 2013 by copsfamily
We were arriving by cruise ship for a one day stay and made a reservation with Curious2Dive for an afternoon dive on the tug boat. Later we were informed the cruise ship would be arriving an hour later than planned. Hans adjusted his time for picking us up at the...
Hans the fish!!  CURious2DIVE, Curacao 5 Star Rating Added: 22nd March 2013 by Genius4743
Hans is excellent. His equipment and attention to safety are first rate. His knowledge of the reefs and marine life are superb. He grew up on Curaçao and returned to pursue his first love; Diving! Hans never works a day in his life but simply guides people through his home...
Het júiste adres op duikgebied!  CURious2DIVE, Curacao 5 Star Rating Added: 16th February 2013 by KobusKaptijn
Als je op zoek bent naar een gemoedelijke duikschool of een onderwatergids die zeer veel van het eiland zowel boven als onder water weet, ben je hier aan het goeie adres. Als je ervaring hebt bij verschillende duikscholen, en je komt hier terecht weet je gelijk wat ik bedoel. Lekker relaxed...
Hans is the BEST!!!!!  CURious2DIVE, Curacao 5 Star Rating Added: 10th February 2013 by pmandrup
My husband and I had the fabulous good fortune to dive with Hans while we were in Curacao this past week on a cruise. His assistant was waiting for us at the dock even though our ship arrived into port late. She took us to the CuriousToDive shop which is...
WATCH OUT Do not prepay  Ocean Encounters - Lions Dive Hotel, Curacao 1 Star Rating Added: 18th January 2013 by kvlay
We decided to dive with Ocean Encounters while on a cruise to Aruba and Curacao. Our ship arrived 4.5 hours late due to weather. When we arrived all of the shops were closed and when we returned to the US I contacted this operation 3 times asking for a refund...
Exceptional service and hospitality  CURious2DIVE, Curacao 5 Star Rating Added: 16th January 2013 by chantellpeterson
I cannot thank Hans and his staff enough for everything. We came in on a cruise ship but had booked our dives ahead of time and found Hans based on online reviews. He was very informative and helpful and even though our ship let us off late due to high...
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