Dive Locations
My favorite dive locations for shore diving. The locations are ordered from East to West along the Southern (calm) side of the island except Playa Canoa which is along the Northern side. Diving at the North side is only for experienced divers and only when the waves on that side of the island are calm.
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The tugboat is one of the few boat wrecks that Curacao has. It is located at the sea side of the Baya Beach Club in front of the dive operator at this location. |
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The name of this dive site comes from a long anchor chain that can be followed as deep as is responsibly possible for a recreational diver without finding the anchor.
This dive site is more easily reached with a boat, but it is possible from shore. |
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This dive location is to the East of the Jan Thiel Bay. When the sea is rough it is difficult to enter at this site. So you better come here when it is calm. |
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Jan Thiel Bay is a bay near Caracasbay. Most people who go there are tourists from the resorts in the neighborhood. You have to pay an entrance fee to go to the beach, but there is a small patch to the West of the "official" beach where you can enter the water and swim. There is no sandy beach there but for diving that is not a problem. |
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This is a small beach next to the Breezes Hotel. The beach is visited mainly by local people from the surrounding area and by divers. |
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This is a divesite East from the city. It is not a beach. It is a small spot at the end of a street. It is the house reef of Atlantis Diving located here.
The drop-off is close to the shore and the private harbor at the left hand side shields you from the waves when entering the water. |
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This is the harbor entrance of Curacao. This is the location where the Mediator wreck, the wreck of the Alpen can be found and it is also the location where on the bottom along the quay and under the Emma bridge a lot of stuff can be found from the 19th century.
The Mediator is the wreck of a steam ship freighter that sank in 1884 after a collision with a German ship. |
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The Superior Producer is the wreck of a small freighter that went under in September 1977just outside the harbor of Curaçao. |
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This dive site is located at the backside of the water desalination plant. There the fishermen's village is located, a number of small wooden houses along the water with a small harbor. |
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This site got its name from the fact that there is a wreck of a small airplane located at this site. But this plane didn't crash. It fell overboard after the USS Erie was hit by a German torpedo.
The site is next to a public beach next to the Marriott hotel.
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Blue bay is located in the Blue Bay Golf Club and Beach Resort. Because this was for a long time a resort for members only, this dive site could not be reached by others from shore. |
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Slangenbaai (translated: Snake Bay, although I have never seen snakes here) is located in the village of St. Michiel. It has a small sandy beach and a pier that protects the small bay from the waves. The bay is mostly used by local people. It is a very nice location for a dive during day and night. |
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Boka Sami (literally mouth of St. Michiel) is a bay in the village of St. Michiel (Sami). It is a large bay where you can always find a lot of fisherman's boats either in the water or on the shore. It is the house reef of Dive Wederfoort, the dive school of Eric and Yolanda Wederfoort. When Eric started as a dive instructor on the island he was the youngest dive instructor; currently he is the oldest active one, so you can imagine how many divers learnt to dive here. |
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Vaersen baai (Vaersen bay) is the former private beach of (the families) of the police force. Now this beach is open for the public. Divers have to pay a fee, for others the entrance is free. |
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Sandy beach near the small village St. Willibrord.
Drop off is far from shore. Coral is healthy but sometimes covered with some sand. |
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This is a developed beach. In the past you could park your car on a strip of sand (and rocks) along the water, but since then the beach has been much improved. There are huts that provide you with the necessary shade and there is a nice restaurant. Even under water some things have changed. |
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Cas Abou is a beach on a plantation. It is a long stretched sandy beach with lots of facilities (huts, beach chairs, restaurant, bathroom). You have to pay an entrance fee per car. If you are alone in the car this fee is quite high. The prices on the beach for the facilities are also not low.
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This is the first dive site from the East on the plantation of San Juan. As the name says in Papiamentu, the local language of the island, this is a broad beach. Beach is maybe not the correct word because there is hardly any sand here. The beach is covered with coral rubble. |
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San Juan has a number of dive sites. Playa Shon Mosa is a small beach, the second one from the East on this private plantation. There are no facilities at this location, so if you want to stay longer you have to bring your own food and drinks. |
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Playa Manzaliña is a beach with coral rubble instead of sand. The the Western side there is some sandy beach and there is also a small cave. |
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Playa Chiki is not mentioned on the Dive and Drive map. It is a small bay between Playa Manzaliña and Boka Grandi. |
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This is a dive site between the plantation of San Juan and Sunset Waters. It is not easily found unless you know how to get there. |
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Boca Pos Spaño is located on the private property of San Nicolaas abou. There are several dive sites located on this property. The gate to the property is closed, so you need a key to get to these dive sites. |
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Boca Hulu is a dive site on the private property of San Nicolaas Abou. The entrance to this property is closed off by a gate for which you need a key. |
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Sta. Cruz beach is a large beach near the plantation house of Santa Cruz. It is hardly visited by tourists but well know by the local people. The beach is wide and in front of the beach is a large area with palm trees and small and large huts. The large ones can easily harbor a large group of people.
For divers the location is not a very good one mainly because of the long swim out. |
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Playa Lagun is a nice secluded bay, perfect for diving and snorkeling and also perfect for a BBQ on the sides of the sandy beach (BBQ on the beach itself is no longer allowed). |
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Playa Jerimi is beach that has not much shade to offer. So if you want to stay long you have to come early to get one of the very few huts or bring your own shade. You also have to bring your own food and drinks because there are no facilities here. |
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Kleine Knip is the smallest of the two beaches near the plantation house Knip. The sandy beach is relatively small overlooking a large bay in front of it. |
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Playa Abou is a large beach. It is a favorite for the local people to visit with large groups and spend a whole day on the beach, mostly including a BBQ. There are some huts but you need to be early to get these. In the back there are trees where you can find shade. |
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Playa Forti is at the most Western part of the island. It is a bay next to the bay of Westpunt. This bay has dark sand, so it can be quite hot to the feet when walking barefoot on the beach. |
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This dive location is almost at the most Western point on the island. It is next to a public beach. |
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Playa Canoa is located at the Northern coast in the Eastern part of Curacao near the windmills. |
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