Header photo courtesy of Frank Do.
Ocean Encounters is prepared to make a perfect diving vacation a reality by providing you quick and easy access the the Best Dive Sites in Curacao via our four custom dive boats! All 4 boats are perfectly designed for every divers need and well equipped to comfortably take you, your friends or your family to the most beautiful diving or snorkeling sites in the Caribbean.
With PADI and SSI dive training schools at both LionsDive Beach Resort and, Sunscape Curacao Resort, Spa and Casino – Ocean Encounters is committed to delivering the highest-quality dive experience. The facility is the biggest on island, catering to the highest number of repeat guests. Divers return to Curaçao and Ocean Encounters for a handful of reasons, starting with the lineup of famous sites, such as Mushroom Forest, Blue Room, Klein Curaçao and Eastpoint, where visitors can’t help but be wowed by the health of the reefs and the density of the fish schools flowing overtop.
Of the dive sites, we have chosen our TOP 14 favorite dive sites to be in our weekly schedule!
PLEASE NOTE: Dive sites may change as the captain ultimately decides, on the day, taking safety, diving experience and comfort into account due to weather conditions, current, external factors, etc. Famous diving and snorkeling sites in Curacao, such as Mushroom Forest, Blue Room, Klein Curaçao and Eastpoint, are available as private boat charters or custom boat trips for groups. Contact our reservations department for more details.
Dive in and start exploring the endless possibilities! Discover Ocean Encounters Multi Day Dive Packages to ensure you visit the best sites Curaçao has to offer!
Curacao, a Dutch Caribbean island, lies below the hurricane belt and is world renowned for some of the best diving in the Caribbean. the unique position of the island creates an ideal environment for marine life to thrive. With most of the dive sites located on the southern coast, Ocean Encounters is perfectly situated to visit a number of these sites during our weekly schedule.
Dive in to these Top 10 Fun Facts because at Ocean Encounters, we love to go diving and we do it best!
LionsDive Beach Resort is a perfect launch point for discovering some of the Caribbean’s best reefs. This 4-star resort is located on an idyllic, palmtree studded private beach overlooking Curaçao’s clear waters and the fringing house reef, the Stella Maris, inside the Curacao Marine Park.
Grab your dive equipment or some snorkel gear and step right off the pier, at Sunscape Curacao, next to the onsite Ocean Encounters dive shop, into the crystal-clear Caribbean waters that a host of marine life call home for an unforgettable shore dive at, Oswaldo’s Drop Off, the house reef.
Director’s Bay is an historic Curacao landmark and it is located between the famous Tugboat wreck and Small Wall. Starting in the early 1900’s until departing in 1985, it was a private beach exclusively used by the Directors of the Royal Dutch Shell Group and the Dutch Royal family.
Now, the beach and surroundings are for public use. Perfectly suited for divers, snorkelers and beach goers looking to relax, this site includes an old decaying surge protection fence (or what locals say, a shark fence) which is now encrusted in many beautiful corals and sponges.
Dive here left (east) along the vertical wall, which extends to a depth of about 15 meters is home to most amazing underwater creatures, including sea horses, frogfish, eels, flounders and many more. A large octopus calls the rubble his home as well.
This is truly is a great dive site for macro photography on Curacao. Going right (west), you can also reach the Tugboat but make sure you have arranged transportation back due to air limitations.
Additionally, Director’s Bay is a Reef Renewal Curaçao out-planting location. Please respect the hard work of many volunteers and do not touch any of the coral structures.
Located in just 5 meters (15ft) of water, this famous Curacao tugboat was wrecked just a few yards offshore in a protected bay of Caracasbaai.
Currents make this site an intermediate to advanced dive. Located at the western tip of Caracas Bay you will find the largest pillar coral formations in the Caribbean and some amazing drop-offs. In the blue you’ll see large jacks, grouper, and barracuda chasing after their lunch.
Divers Leap is a steep wall dive, perfect for deep dives! Look for sea horses near the mooring, and large areas of pillar coral with lots of small reef fish swimming about on the terrace. The wall has excellent coral coverage with an abundance of deep-water fish. A hat shaped rock is located on the cliff behind Piedra Sombre (“Stone Hat”), which at one time was used by divers to pinpoint the site. At this dive site you may have the possibility to do a great drift dive, flying while enjoying the reef scene in front of you.
Located at Jan Thiel beach, with easy access to get in and out of the water, this is a typical Curacao diving and snorkeling site starting at a sandy plateau going down on a sloping reef. The best treat at the end of the dive will be the curious school of squid looking directly into your eyes.
Outside of the Jan Thiel Bay, you will find a beautiful reef with steep slopes. The reef has a lot of corals and fishes. Very often you will see turtles. The reef is hilly and slopes down gently. You find a big variety of hard and soft corals, donkey dung sea cucumbers and long spined black sea urchins. Inside the bay, lies the Strea – a wreck of a sailing boat which is a very nice ending to your dive or snorkeling experience.
Sandy’s Plateau is a large shallow plateau, which extends out to the coral covered wall. Gorgonians and hard corals, and everything in between. An excellent dive site to spot Caribbean Spiny Lobsters under the overhangs and crabs hiding in the large barrel sponges.
In less than 30 feet of water not far off the coast of Curacao sits the Saba, a tugboat that sank quite some time ago. The wheel house is gone and the deck is deteriorating, but it provides reef structure and home for a wide variety of marine life. Blue Chromis, Rock Beauties and other fish have made the Saba their new home.
Cornelius Bay is nestled into beautiful undeveloped bay next to the Curaçao Sea Aquarium Park between Shipwreck Point and Saba… and this is one of the reasons why sites like this are so special!
These “boat dive only” reefs have remained unchanged for more than 50 years because they are found in the remote areas of the Curaçao Marine Park along the southeastern side of the island. Large coral colonies and coral species currently listed as threatened in the wider Caribbean can still be found in large numbers at these remote locations plus interesting sea life such as Sea horses. Look for them around the many gorgonians along the wall.
This is like diving inside an Aquarium! Oddly enough, this incredible fringing reef is the house reef of the Curaçao Sea Aquarium and it is one of the healthiest reefs around Curacao. And it’s all because it’s located at a point, with loads of fresh saltwater and currents are constantly merging. At the mooring, divers will find anchors, a shaft and propellers. This is a MUST DIVE!
The Superior Producer is one of Curaçao’s most popular dive sites, and one of the Caribbean’s top wrecks. Dive in for a look at the history of this iconic shipwreck, and how it came to meet its untimely end.
Double Reef can either be a boat or shore dive. Located next to the MV Superior Producer, shore access is close to the Water Plant in Otrabanda. The first reef bottoms out at approx. 45 ft; the top of the outer reef starting at approx. 60 feet and dropping off deep. This is a beautiful dive site but stay shallow if the current is strong.
One of the most famous dive sites in Curaçao. Over time, hard coral formations have grown in such a way that they resemble mushrooms, hence the name. Underneath each one of these coral formations an abundance of marine life awaits to be looked at, admired, and photographed.
Mushroom Forest can be disorienting and throw you off, so a compass can come in very handy. High cliffs that rise out of the water protect the area, making it an ideal spot for intermediate divers who are not yet experienced enough to handle really rough currents, as well as beginners who are gaining more experience.
Along the cliff side is a large cave called The Blue Room, where you will often spot schools of fingerlings, and from time-to-time a nurse shark can be found sleeping under the ledge.
Visibility averages 26m (85 ft), wave action is calm and sometimes the current can be strong; the depth is from 12m (40 ft) to 18m (60 ft). Numerous species of fish and coral can be observed here; flower corals, giant brain corals, anemones, sea turtles, porcupine fish, smooth trunk fish, yellow tail snappers, parrot fish, groupers, spotted drums, spotted moray eels, green moray eels, lobsters, and conchs.
Don’t miss it! You will love it!
If you could imagine a picturesque deserted Caribbean island surrounded by warm aquamarine waters, then welcome to Klein Curaçao.
Located approximately 6.5 miles off the eastern tip of Curaçao, this is a very special trip for divers and for snorkelers alike.
The locals say that the underwater habitats of Klein Curaçao is where everything is bigger and there is more of it with almost the guarantee of turtle sightings, ocean triggerfish and large groupers.
This tiny, rugged, desolate island of volcanic rock is located off the southeast coast of Curaçao – about one-and-a-half hours by boat.
This is a true Caribbean dive location which is pristine and unspoiled.
Located at the very eastern tip of Curaçao’s National Marine Park, this is a MUST DIVE!!
Only accessible by boat, this site is largely one of the most pristine and unblemished fringing reef systems on Curaçao, if not the entire Caribbean.
Often this spectacular dive becomes a drift dive where you literally “fly” east from Smokey’s and end with an amazing finish at Kathy’s Paradise.
These immaculate Curacao dive locations with large dense corals overhangs lead to sharp drop offs, and this coupled with great visibility provide you with a 360-degree experience that will leave you wanting more upon surfacing!
Sharks and stingrays are often seen here too.
This beautiful and pristine Curacao dive site is only accessed by Ocean Encounters. A beautiful slope with great star coral, brain coral, and soft gorgonians.
Eagle rays and turtles are spotted frequently.
A true underwater garden. Box crabs in the sand, octopus, and baby clusters of brain and star corals. On the slope gorgonians, large brain and star corals. Lots of cleaning stations.
Southern Rays and Eagle Rays are regular visitors to this fabulous dive site. Suited for diving and snorkeling.
If you want to be in the middle of a fish traffic jam, this is the dive site for you. Huge Jacks chasing bait balls, Caribbean Chromies, Creole Wrasses, Southern Rays, and Turtles.
Wild dolphins can be seen here as well.
Next to Hole 17 and 5 at Blue Bay Golf Course. These are 2 fun dive sites to search and collect golf balls during your safety stop.
Beautiful Caribbean Reef formations cover the gentle slope. You finish your dive on a nice and easy sandy plateau populated by schools of large and curious squid.
