By Susan Kleinhample – (Curacao)
I wanted to share this snorkeling Curacao tip. We live a short walk from Caracasbaai Beach, near where the famous Tugboat is located. We’ve snorkeled there many days and love it a lot, but just a short distance away we found a hidden gem.
Just below the cliffs at Jan Theil’s Vista Royal neighborhood (on the opposite side of the bay from Tugboat) is a wonderful coral garden. It’s filled with huge pristine elkhorn coral and sea fans and many other types of coral. Plus tons of fish of all kinds, huge parrotfish, schools of black triggerfish, cowfish, angelfish, barracuda, and many more!
Plus it was the sight of our first turtle viewing. We first saw him in the plume, and then he swam out from there. He was about three feet long, and just beautiful! We are anxious to revisit the site, but you can only snorkel here on very calm days because the current is really strong and would easily wash you into the coral that extends right up to the beach below the cliffs.
Comments Moved From Previous System
Galen & Nicole – Mar 4, 2010 – Wonderful!
Susan, thanks so much for sharing your Curacao snorkeling tip and wonderful turtle picture. That’s done it, we are now going to have to plan a trip to Curacao.
Colleen King – Mar 5, 2010 – Spot Time Forgot
Yes, Susan the spot which you wrote about is beautiful. A snorkeling spot which time forgot. Thank you for your suggestion.
Nicole & Galen – Feb 11, 2013 – More Details!
We wanted to update this because we have snorkeled this wonderful spot ourselves. It is a bit of a challenge to access, but worth it on a calm day. We have full details on how to get there in our Curacao Snorkeling Guide eBook.
There is more free Curacao snorkeling information here too.
Nicole & Galen – May 30, 2020 – Updated
We revisited this fabulous spot and found it to be one of the best in the Caribbean for both corals and fish! We have updated our recommendations for accessing it in the recently released second edition of our eBook, linked to above. It is not quite as challenging to access, but you still need a calm day. Enjoy!