Scuba diving Vacation at the Caribbean Island of Curacao by Mark from Seattle.

My cousin and I just returned from our annual dive vacation. This year we chose the Caribbean island of Curacao and we stayed at Habitat Curacao. It was a series of 3 flights just to get there from Seattle, which just sucks. Upon arriving the first thing I notice are the warm, humid temperatures. Paradise at least for 9 days I?m thinking. After taking a ½ hour taxi ride we get to Habitat and get settled in. Then we make it down to the dive shop(Easy Divers) and introduce ourselves to Anne Marie, who is the dive shop manager. She gives us the tour of the place and shows us where we store our stuff, where/how to get our Nitrox fills, where the boat docks, and where to start the shore dives if we choose to do them. Then she gives us the final test we have to take for Nitrox, and after we both passed, all we had to do was two dives with Nitrox, and how to properly check our tanks for the proper Nitrox % and write it all down on the log sheet. All in all, it was pretty straightforward. The weather was warm and humid while we there. Temps were between 87 and 95 everyday. The day the temp hit 95 it was too hot, mixed in with the humidity and low winds.

Note: Thanks for all your help with the Nitrox info Skip!

Habitat Curacao: The resort is built for divers. It?s a nice place, situated all by itself about 40 minutes from the capital of Willemstad. If you don?t like being isolated from everything, Habitat won?t be to your liking. For me, I thought it was a great place to spend several days diving and just taking it easy. They have a very good spa that caters to everyone?s needs. I had a 1 hour deep tissue massage my last day to work out all the kinks we get from diving, and it was well worth the $$$. The restaurant was pretty good. They served a buffet breakfast that had all the food you need for a full days diving. The dinner menu had pretty much anything you would want, and for a reasonable price. There were 3 cats that would hang out and they spent so much time with us that we named them, CIA, Spook, and Tiger Shark. The bar had happy hour every day and was occupied by the resorts owner Albert and his wife. They freely talked to us and were very nice people. I?m still kind of perplexed with the 8 ounce bottles of beer though. The rooms had two queen size beds, a small fridge to hold our beer and rum mixer. We asked them prior to arriving if we could have a coffee pot and they did it. Gotta have some of that strong Seattle coffee to wake me up in the morning! The only thing I didn?t like about our room was the shower water wasn?t that strong. But that?s not bad considering we were in a top notch dive location. At the time we were there, most of the guests were European. We did hang out with 2 dudes from Switzerland; diving, partaking in happy hour, and talking about Europe and the United States.

Easy Divers: These guys really knew their stuff, hence their name. They were very customer service oriented. You asked a question and you always got an answer. Anne Marie was a pleasure to meet, especially after all the e-mails from me prior to us getting there. Her orientation told us everything we needed to know about the boat and shore diving. She asked us how many dives we have done, probably just to make sure we weren?t newbie?s. We met all of the dive masters and they turned out to be very knowledgeable. Angela, Anthony, Ima, and Ingrid all knew their stuff. We dove exclusively with the 3 gals and they would always do a dive briefing before getting in the water. You had the option of staying with them or diving with your buddy, as long as you were back in the boat after 1 hour. The two boats we used were both 42 footers that held up to 24 divers. Luckily, the most we had on board were 8 divers. We were told that during high season the boats are filled to the max. We arrived at the perfect time, off season. I would not want to be on one of those cattle boats! Two big pelicans called the dock home and when flying they looked like Pterodactyl?s. We started calling them that and everyone would shake their heads at us and laugh. Got to have fun and laugh a little, right? You can?t go wrong diving with Easy Divers.

The Dives: Note: All dives performed with a Nitrox blend of 32%, water temps between 80 and 83 degrees, 3-5 minute safety stop, and between 500-1000 psi remaining.

Day 1
Dive 1: Porto Marie  This was our first Nitrox dive and I wanted to dive conservative. This site has 2 parallel reefs with a valley in between. Saw Angelfish, Triggerfish, Trumpetfish, among other reef fish. Depth 60? for 55 minutes

Dive 2: Witches Kitchen  Known for big sponges(dive masters called them pots and pans). My hamstring was tight on this dive and starting to be bothersome. Depth 60? for 55 minutes.

Dive 3: House Reef Left(shore dive)  My hamstring was really hurting on this dive. I had to stretch it several times underwater. Good color and a lot of fish on Habitat Curacao?s shore dive. Depth 45? for 55 minutes.

Day 2
Dive 1: Hells Corner  On the way to the site I was up on the bridge with Ingrid and the two of us saw a huge spotted manta ray near the surface. We both guessed that it was as wide as the boat. She stopped the boat but by that time it was gone. We were the only one?s who saw it. I?ve never seen anything that big before! Very rich with fish life. Finally saw a Spotted Drum, which was to be a regular occurrence in Curacao. Healthy reef colors too. Depth 85? for 1 hour.

Dive 2: Barts Wall  Named after a guy who lives above the water who has been throwing his bottles into the water? Must?ve been doing it for years, because there were hundreds of them. Nice black coral formations at this site. Depth 60? for 1 hour.

Dive 3: House Reef Right  My cousin was frantically trying to get my attention so I finned over to see if he was ok. He started waving and moving his arms and then pointing at the coral. After I looked and saw nothing, he kept pointing and doing his arm dance again. I looked again and saw nothing and was wondering what the heck he was doing. He kept pointing and then I finally saw it, an octopus. It was next to impossible to see unless you looked and focused on it. To get a picture I had to go inverted, which isn?t the easiest thing to do while trying to photograph something. I did get a couple, but they weren?t that great. But at least I saw this rare creature. Also saw a family of French Angelfish, a Lizardfish, and a Spotted Drum. Towards the end of my dive I came across 3 Reef Squid who let me get real close as long as I kept still. One of them swam right up to my mask. Pretty cool! Depth 55 foot for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Day 3
Dive 1: House Reef Left  5AM morning dive we saw several Eels, an adult Spotted Drum, a lobster, and a crab. We also noticed an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, and a destroyer in the distance. We wondered what was up with that. Depth was 60? for 1 hour.

Dive 2: Long Beach  This was an ok dive. We saw good coral formations with a lot of fish life. It?s so awesome to be diving and all of a sudden hundreds of fish swarm all around and follow you for several minutes. Depth 85? for 1 hour.

Dive 3: Mushroom Forest  This is Curacao?s signature dive, and if you like big masses of coral formations, this is a dive you have to do. Huge formations of Mushroom Coral, with some 12 feet tall. When you look up and see how big they actually are, it?s kinda mesmerizing. Also saw Eels, a Spotted Drum, a Lobster, and a lot of Cleaner Shrimp. It?s interesting watching them at their stations cleaning fish. My cuz was complaining of stomach pain, so I followed him back to the boat and then stayed shallow. Depth 65? for 55 minutes.

Dive 4: House Reef Right  I spotted the biggest Green Moray Eel I?ve ever seen. It took me several minutes just to find his head because he was in hiding. I measured him to be approximately 7 feet long. His head was enormous for the few seconds he showed himself. I told myself I was going to go hunting for him again. Another Spotted Drum was seen. Depth 65? for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Day 4
We took the day off from diving and went to Blue Bay Golf Resort and played a round of golf. First we went to Willemstad(Curacao?s capital) and had breakfast at a French deli, then walked around the town a bit before heading to the golf course. I?ve never played a course so near the ocean. On some holes the crashing waves came pretty close to the course. Several of the holes had post card views. It was hot and humid on the course so we had to make sure to drink a lot of fluids. I ended up posting a 92, which is very good for me. My cousin broke a 7 iron on an approach shot. I had a hard time trying to stop laughing at that.

Day 5
Dive 1: House Reef Right  This 4AM dive was to look for the big Green Moray. We did find him, but his head never made an appearance. I just had to get a picture of him! We saw several other eels, including 2 Gold Spotted Morays and a crab. My brand new Nitrox dive computer was blinking low battery. I couldn?t believe that a brand new computer would show that so soon. When I checked the dive shop, they didn?t have the correct battery I needed? Murphy?s Law strikes again! At least it worked the whole time in Curacao. From now on I will pack an extra battery, just in case. Call that a lesson learned. Depth 55? for 1 hour 10 minutes.

Dive 2: Vaarsen Bay  The sea was pretty rough today This site has a barge that sunk accidentally several years ago. As we started to descend I noticed a turtle on the reef, so I swam over to him. No one else saw the turtle, so I had him all to myself. After he swam away I descended on the barge. By this time everyone else was ending their time on the barge so I did a quick once a round. Some nice coral formations on it and a lot of fish surrounded it. On the way to the next dive we went right by a submarine that had surfaced. I?ve never seen a surfaced sub in the middle of the ocean. Depth 90? for 1 hour.

Dive 3: Boolaan Bay  Nice coral formations at this site. Saw another Spotted Drum, and towards the end of the dive Ima pointed out something to me I?ve never seen, a Fire Clam. It was wedged in between two corals so I couldn?t really get a good picture. To see what it looks like go here.
Depth 55? for 1 hour 5 minutes

Dive 4: House Reef Left  This was my first solo dive here. I saw a Green Moray Eel in the open and when I got close, he headed down. I followed for perhaps 30 feet trying to get a picture of him, but no luck. Big schools of smaller fish were following me for most of this dive. Depth 65? for 1 hour 15 minutes

Dive 5: House Reef Right  I had to make another attempt to see that big Green Moray. This dive was by myself again. I tried and tried, but the eel wasn?t spotted. I did see a pretty big lobster. I ended up naming it Alien. Depth 50? for 1 hour

Day 6
Dive 1: Black Coral Gardens  Abundance of Black Coral formations, which are always fascinating to see. Back on the boat someone mentioned ?All the coral was green not black?. I guess they didn?t listen to the dive briefing. Also saw some Eels and a Spotted Drum. Depth 85? for 55 minutes

Dive 2: Cor Abou - Several Eels were spotted along with a lot of Cleaner Shrimps. Some of those critters are so small. Two French Angelfish were eating an Anemone and they let me get real close to watch. Never have seen that before either. Depth 70? for 1 hour 10 minutes

 Dive 3: House Reef Right  Another attempt for us to try and see the giant eel. No such luck again and I was getting frustrated because I was running out of opportunities. We never did find the Octopus again either. Big schools of reef fish followed us around. Depth 60? for 55 minutes

Dive 4: House Reef Right  I dove this one alone just to try and find Mr. Eel. I did see a Green Moray, but it wasn?t the big one. I did see a cleaning station and watched for several minutes while a few fish let the Cleaner Shrimps go about their business. I spent some time looking for the Octopus too, but had no luck. This was my last dive because I wanted the full 24 hours(and more) to off gas. I wanted to be very conservative since I was using Nitrox for the first time. Depth 60? for 1 hour 15 minutes

Day 7
Was spent cleaning our gear and lying by the pool all day. We said our goodbye?s to all the dive masters. I think they were sad to see us go because we would spend time talking to them. I had Ingrid give me a deep tissue massage and it felt so good. Nothing like a massage to end a dive trip! We said our goodbye?s to Albert and his wife at happy hour. They ended up buying all our drinks, which was very nice of them. They told us ?We better come back soon?. As for coming back, I would return to Curacao to dive. It?s much the same as Bonaire, but Habitat?s shore dive wasn?t as good as Buddy Dives. That?s just my opinion. So if you?re thinking of a good place to dive, you can?t go wrong with Curacao. The people are very nice and the diving is great.