By David Thompson
I wanted to share my Curacao snorkeling gems. We went there in January 2025 for a week-long trip.
Snorkeling Sunscape’s House Reef
We stayed at Sunscape and it turned out to be a great location from which to snorkel. The house reef (created by a rock break wall that runs the length of the beach) is surprisingly good. On the inside, you can see lots of fish close up and the occasional eel and octopus. There are also urchins and small corals. It is great for beginners as it is very calm.
The ocean side has very good coral formations and bigger fish with some schools at the right time. There is not much to see on the exposed rocks west along the shore near the public park, so I would suggest skipping that swim. The outside is exposed to wind and current, and we found that keeping close to the break wall kept us out of the (occasional) boat traffic.
You might want to swim from the east to the west to take advantage of the prevailing winds and to drift with the waves. The entry/exit just west of the public beach (looking to your right from the resort beach) is a little shallow, so you have to time it right when coming back into the protected bay.
Snorkeling Playa Santa Cruz to Santu Pretu
We rented a car and made the 50 minute trip to Playa Santa Cruz to do the short hike to Santa Pretu. The topography is hilly here, lush and with interesting rock cliffs down to the water. The beach at Santa Cruz (where you park) is a nice horseshoe shape where you can rent lounge chairs and buy cold drinks. The entry to the hike is BEFORE the sign to Let’s Go Water Sports. It’s basically an opening in the trees. Don’t go to the extremely steep and sketchy path carved out of the hill past that opening like we did. It is not doable in water shoes!
Santa Pretu has some great snorkeling to the left of the beach. Be aware of the swells that bring you close to the rocks, but the wind and waves were fine on the day we went so we could see lots of schools of fish and good corals along the walls that drop down from cliffs above. We saw a turtle in one of the small inlets and a ray on the swim back to Santa Cruz Beach.
We do NOT recommend making the swim all the way from Santa Cruz to Santa Pretu unless you’re a strong swimmer as it’s at least 1000 meters, but it is possible in the right conditions with the waves – we did see a small ray on the swim back.
Four Caracasbaai Snorkel Spots
We had a couple of great days just east of the resort at Playa Caracasbaai and Directors Bay/Tugboat.
West Caracasbaai is DEFINITELY worth the walk/swim to get there! Be very cautious of the boat channel that is not too wide (after we got out, a group of jet skis came screaming out of the channel, so it’s a lot about timing!). The payoff on the other side is excellent. Tons of healthy coral, lots of interesting fish (and schools), rays etc. The look and consistency of the reef is extraordinary. It makes for a nice long snorkel.
Be aware that it is exposed, so picking the right time and day is key. We went on a nice calm day and it was fantastic. Also, you can get carried away with moving along the reef, so keep in mind that you have to swim back. We were decently tired on our return, but it was well worth the effort.
Directors Bay is a great way to get a 2-for-1 experience. If you are relatively strong swimmers and the conditions are right, it’s a fair swim from Directors Bay to Tugboat and back. The water is exposed to wind and waves, so the trip to Tugboat was easier than the trip back to Directors.
The small drop-off wall look to the reef is very interesting, the coral and fish are abundant. The wreck at Tugboat is fun to see (but probably not worth a dedicated outing in my view as it’s very near the moored ship and it’s sparse in fish and coral coverage) and it’s in relatively shallow water. The parking lot at Directors Bay was nice, there is a security guard after 9am and the concrete stairs down to the rock and coral beach are kinda cool. You do need to be aware of the fishermen and fisherwomen who might be working off of the overhanging rocks just to the right of where you start your swim west to Tugboat.
One More Spot
We snorkeled Playa Parasasa and it was decent. The day we went was a bit rough, so we didn’t see a lot of fish and the corals were not as good as the outside of the house break wall at Sunscape.
Final Tips
So all in all, we found some great spots that certainly give Bonaire a run for its money! The Curacao Snorkeling Guide from Galen and Nicole was crucial, as always, and let us save time and focus on the great spots. A rental car is a great idea and you can combine some sightseeing (like the fort near Tugboat which has free entry) with your diving adventures.
Thanks again to Galen and Nicole for making our trip way more enjoyable in the water!
Hi David, thanks for sharing your Curacao snorkeling gems! We are glad you found the guide useful.
For anyone interested, here is a link to TripAdvisor’s reviews of Sunscape Curacao Resort. You can help us if you use this link. We may make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
We stayed up by Playa Lagun at Lagun Blou for 10 days in January. We wanted to stay away from crowds and touristy spots. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to get beyond the amount of people at the popular beaches, parking was a nightmare at most.
We found Playa Jeremi to be small and quite accessible. Lovely spot, with beautiful fan coral along the right rocky edge. The clarity and fish variety was excellent.
Many will say to go to Playa Piskado to snorkel with turtles. AVOID this disaster area! The fishermen are throwing fish guts, heads, and scraps into the water for the pelicans; someone is selling ‘food’ for the turtles so they will come to you. Snorkelers are bumping into each other, while surrounded by pelican droppings and fish guts! Unhealthy and Unnatural! Leave the Turtles alone. It should be outlawed!
We are back from a three week stay in Westpunt, Curacao in January 2025 with a well used and tattered copy of Galen and Nicole’s guide. I snorkeled many of the sites in the guide but unfortunately with constant high winds I did not get to many of the more eastern sites.
The beauty of the island and color of the water can’t be argued but I have to admit from a snorkeling perspective I was disappointed, which I know will be linked to my snorkeling preference, which is, I like to snorkel in shallow reef areas and look for critters, take great underwater photos and not have to fight currents or surf action constantly.
I found that in many areas the coral lacked color and was boring to look at. I did not enjoy the constant surf action which impacted visibility and meant one was fighting to stay in a spot, which makes good photos challenging. I also encountered poor visibility on most days regardless of distance from the sand. Lastly I missed being able to find cool critters, crabs, file clams, etc. There was an abundance of eels and turtles where we were staying in Westpunt and a variety of fish including flying gurnards in four of the spots I snorkeled.
So yes, I saw ocean life at each snorkel spot but Curacao is not a place we will go back to based on a snorkeling decision for the reasons noted above. Now the hunt is on for a new destination to snorkel that better aligns with my snorkeling preferences. Currently researching Indonesia but am open to pretty much anywhere. We had hoped Curacao would replace our go-to of Roatan, Honduras.