Diving in Curacao

If you are a diver who loves a varied diving environment, with the possibility of finding every dive ambient that you want to experience, you will find it in this little paradise on earth. Curacao has it all: a beautiful coral reef, several wrecks, a marine reserve, and beautiful walls to visit. What’s more, it has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere to unwind in the evening when you return from your expeditions. So, are you ready to discover it?

What is Curacao like?

Along with Aruba and Bonaire, Curacao is part of a group of islands known as the Leeward Antilles, which were once under Dutch rule. The beauty of the island is that it offers a wide variety of different types of diving and a pleasant historical center in the capital, Willemstad, with over 700 buildings and surface activities that are appreciated even by those who are not dedicated to diving.

Is diving good in Curacao?

Curacao’s marine life is varied and colorful, but mostly smaller fish (if you’re looking for sharks and manta rays, you’ll want to go elsewhere). However, turtles, barracudas, and rays are not uncommon. In addition, you will find all kinds of tropical fish, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, and bottom fish such as frogfish and eels. The corals are magnificent, so it is easy to see all kinds of multicolored sea slugs and nudibranchs. So, prep your tanks, fins and diving watches!

Diving Conditions

The water temperature is warm and friendly all year round, between the mid-80s in summer to high 70s in winter, with good visibility, between 50 – 100 ft, and dives typically starting from 20 feet up to 250 feet.

Best dive sites in Curacao

The island offers more than 60 diving spots, and most of them are directly accessible from the beach. Among the many, we can mention the following:

• Watamula – This is one of the most important diving sites on the island, offering a spectacular view of the corals, which extend between 30 and 80 ft. You will find all the typical reef fish fauna, and turtles are also quite common;
• Elvin’s Plane Wreck – An easy and accessible dive among the wreckage of a plane that sank here, and like a box of chocolates, it always offers something new. It’s a boat drive, but it’s pretty close to the beach.
• Alice in Wonderland – A perfect name for this site, which offers the possibility of taking wonderful macro photos, especially since the reef drops off from 30 to 100 feet, to satisfy even the most experienced divers.
• Mushroom Forest – A diving spot where corals have created formations similar to large mushrooms. It is a bit far from the coast, so you have to be prepared for the wait, but it has to be said that it is worth it.
• Superior Producer – A dive for the more experienced (100 ft depth) leads us to a beautiful wreck – one of the most interesting in the Caribbean. Besides the sunken ship, whose wheelhouse you can easily explore, the corals that have attached themselves attract a lot of marine life.

Resorts & dive shops

With so many choices, it’s not hard to understand why all the resorts in Curacao have a diving center or agreements with an external one. But even if you’re an “independent” tourist, you’ll find many diving centers on the island. Although most diving sites require the use of a boat, you won’t struggle to find support for your favorite activity!