Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 14225h ago)
Max Depth
32.8 ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Playa Lagun
Playa Lagun is at the South end of Lagun. It's more of a family beach, but still with world-class diving only a few minutes out. Snorkelling: nice in the bay, with cliffs and rocks overgrown with coral and sponges.
Sometimes there are turtles swimming in the bay.
The drop-off start approx. 150-200 m from the beach, at a depth of 10 m. Slope 45 degrees outward, till a depth of 30 m, afterwards steeper.
Beautiful coral, growing in mushroom shapes, lots of sea-life.
South end of Lagun. Good parking facilities at the beach, from where you can enter the water. Swim out the bay to reach the drop-off (appr. 200 m).
Northwest of Willemstad, travel 12.3 km West on Weg Naar Westpunt from the Weg Naar Hato intersection to San Pedro. Turn left to head toward Soto. Travel 15 km to reach the intersection shown below in the village of Lagun.
Access
shore
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Nearby Shops
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(30)
Jan van den Hazelkamp
Sep 8, 2022, 4:36 PM
scuba
Great reef and nice people.
Zentacle
Sep 21, 2021, 1:06 AM
scuba
Heading toward the ocean-side village, turn left, down the ramp, into this relatively obscure entrance.
There are picnic tables here, so why not stick around for lunch?
The village of Lagun is to the left. Note your landmarks, since the coral cliffs look much the same if you surface away from the exit point.
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John Jerrehian
Jul 6, 2015, 12:00 AM
scuba
I have dove many places in Curacao and was told of the reefs at this location. To my surprise I found areas of wonderful coral formations in aprx. 30-50' of water. I dove out on the left side and found the 'better' reef formations closer to right side facing. Found large lionfish tucked inside these coral formations.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Anonymous
Apr 2, 2013, 12:00 AM
scuba
The current pushes to the east, so be sure to start heading to the west.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Anonymous
Jan 22, 2013, 12:00 AM
scuba
You go past Discover Divers restaurant to get to this site. Green turtle; easy access. We came on a Sun. Beach was full with locals but still found parking. One other pair of divers in our hour swim. Pretty much what carib Jane said.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Anonymous
Jan 20, 2013, 12:00 AM
scuba
A long swim out to the reef. If you hug the cliffs on the left going out, there are supposed to be some caves you can enter. We didn't know this so missed it on the way out. One of our favorites on the trip.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Carib Jane
Aug 13, 2012, 12:00 AM
scuba
This was by far my favorite dive on the island! Followed closely by Playa Jeremi. Turtles, an eagle ray, eels, sea snake, and more fish than I can list here. Short swim out to the reef, if you like, but then we would have missed the sea snake & the turtle who was so used to snorkelers & divers that it sat still on the bottom for photos. No restrooms on the beach, but a dive shop & restaurant are within walking distance.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Dan Ford
Jul 20, 2012, 12:00 AM
scuba
Snorkeled here on two occasions in July, 2012. Fairly easy entry. Calm water. Very healthy coral along both sides of the cove. Sea life of note included an octopus, the dreaded lion fish, eels, and many sea wasps.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Debby Kaplan
Apr 20, 2012, 12:00 AM
scuba
Long snorkel out, but well worth the effort. Many amusing things to see on the way out. Several turtles are always around, some squid and an occasional octopus. The reef is dark but very nice. Great corals and sponges. The entry is marked for an easy return.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Ralf
Apr 14, 2012, 12:00 AM
scuba
One of the best snorkeling sites at Curacao. Turtles Moraies Large groups of Caribbean squids flying gurnards etc.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Paul S
Jul 11, 2010, 12:00 AM
scuba
My new favorite site. Went left first dive. I love the coral and thus the fish here. Second dive went right because of STRONG current. Turtles! Site can drop a bit lower than many sites, say 70 feet, turtles turtles. Great nursery near shore.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
S Warner
May 30, 2008, 12:00 AM
scuba
Dove this site two days ago and found abundant life. Plenty of reef squid, moray eels, invertebrates, and more stone fish on one dive then I've seen in the last 15 years. Some mushroom-like coral formations, too. There is apparently a cave under the cliffs, but I missed it. Definitely better to do this one during the week due to crowds. It *is* quite a surface swim but worth it. A bit sandy in the parking lot for gear setup and break down so I'll bring a tarp next time. I'll definitely be doing this one again.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Anon001
Apr 25, 2008, 12:00 AM
scuba
This site was a long surface swim out to the reef, I personally did not care for the isolation of the dive site. There were a lot of local fisherman that looked somewhat sketchy and we were hesitant to leave our gear. We did not stay after the dive on the beach, there are much better beaches with facilities.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Marloes
Mar 29, 2008, 12:00 AM
scuba
It has a long swim out, and in the bay visibility is not so good because of the sandy bottom and the water movement. Not a lot of life in the shallow bay. The reef is okay, but not as good as other sites. Still a lot of spear fishing done here by locals in the weekends. Not one of the best sites here.…
Originally posted on shorediving.com
P & M
Feb 3, 2008, 12:00 AM
scuba
A most enjoyable site. The beach sometimes is crowded on weekends but usually empty during the week. The diving and snorkel site is never crowded, and the good sea life variety is protected by the lagun. Reef has a 45 degree drop 100 meters out of the bay. Conditions are usually great. All types of coral. Sea life includes: spotted eagle rays, sting rays, turtles, barracuda, scorpion fish, octopus, morays, flying gurney, porcupine and blowfish, lobsters, crabs, squids and many more. Occasionally pods of bottlenose dolphins join the divers and snorkelers. I snorkeled here for 4 years and dived for 2. This is my favorite site on the island.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Belle
Apr 6, 2007, 12:00 AM
scuba
The best place on Curacao! There is a nice diveshop there, and DiscoverDiving is the best place for snorkeling, and is a good place for dinner and lunch.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
JKeenan
Mar 22, 2007, 12:00 AM
scuba
I only snorkeled this site. This is the best site I found on Curacao for snorkeling, going along the sidewalls and around the sea cliff. Here, as elsewhere, the reef starts out and down too far to snorkel [semi-exception of Playa Kalki].
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Andre Mazeron
Mar 19, 2007, 12:00 AM
scuba
We did a night dive here. Easy access, but it is a long swim to the reef. The street lights and the unique shape of the beach makes navigation very easy, so it's a great place for beginners. Not much life as others sites in scuba, but the afternoon snorkeling was great here. There's a dive shop at the beach that opens at 10:00AM.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Chris 5
Dec 7, 2005, 12:00 AM
scuba
The reef is beautiful. This is a great place to enjoy, relax, and make great friends. Take your time on the reef as there is a lot to see: spotted eagle rays, turtles, lobsters, puffers and many others. The colors are very good!
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Laszlo Ilyes
Nov 30, 2005, 12:00 AM
scuba
Plan to rent your tanks at Discover Divers right there on the beach. Careful, they're closed on Mondays. The young ladies working the shop were really nice to us. They sell cold refreshments there as well. Nice dive site, typical of many of the western beach dives on Curacao. You have to swim some distance over a sandy bottom before you reach hard corals. A very nice dive. If you like a crowd, go on the weekend. For some solitude, try Wednesday or Thursday.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Anonymous
Sep 25, 2004, 12:00 AM
scuba
We had a great and easy shore dive. We saw a big stingray and a lot of other fish including moray eels and angelfish.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Dan Benson
Sep 25, 2004, 12:00 AM
scuba
There's a fairly long surface swim to the drop off. In about 40-50' of water is a pretty nice mushroom coral forest. Otherwise, this is about like most of the dives on Curacao.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Ronald
Sep 12, 2004, 12:00 AM
scuba
Good site for all divers-- very good dive shop Discover Diving near the beach. Very good service and equipment. The best on Curacao
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Anonymous
Jul 27, 2004, 12:00 AM
scuba
Nice spot but not worth a listing in the top ten of Curacao places. Saw turtle and lobsters. Small area in front of the lagoon is the best. The Dutch dive shop at the parking could use some more focus on customers. Had to do my best to get tanks and drinks. Almost seemed too much trouble.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Bob K
Oct 8, 2003, 12:00 AM
scuba
Easy parking and short walk to the water. All the facilities including bathrooms and fresh water showers were closed when we were there. There is a small boat on the bottom in about 15 feet of water on the east side of the cove. It’s a long swim to the reef, but take your time and relax. Make sure you know where you are before you submerge to the reef. The cove is small and could be missed if you do not watch your time and the current. Lots of shade. The dive shop next door was open and teching a class.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
RobnKim
Aug 7, 2003, 12:00 AM
scuba
Nice place, but you will run into other divers and many people using the beach. There is also a dive shop at the beach. Fun dive, long kick out, then the reef remains shallow for a while before dropping off. If you come up too close to the cliffs, it is hard to tell where you came from, so do take a heading right from the beach. The current will take you east quicker than you might think. There are houses with stairs down to the ocean that you might want to use as a reference point around the corner from the mouth of the inlet. No fee to use the area, picnic tables and shade abound (and the occasional cat begging for scraps - the almost all black cat with the white tipped tail is very friendly).
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Allan Myers
Dec 29, 2002, 12:00 AM
scuba
Entry was very easy and there's a bit of a kick to the reef. The reef (to the left) was nice and had a gradual slope. Saw my first turtle during my second dive at this site. My dive partner was so engrossed with the turtle that he missed the two dolphin that swam right over our heads. That was an awesome sight! Came across two small caves up against the cliff, but didn't go in. There's dive shop here with a very friendly staff. They have a nice hand drawn map of the best way to dive this site. I recommend stopping in to check it out.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Marcus L. Barnes
Nov 18, 2001, 12:00 AM
scuba
Playa Lagun is an excellent Shore Dive. Entry is from nice sand beach and is easy in that the bottom upon entry is sand. Surf and currents are minimal. There is shade on part of the beach and there is excellent snorkeling along the cliffs that enclose the bay. The slope is gradual and is almost completely covered with coral. The shallows are very interesting because there are decent sized coral heads with many different types of coral fish. Also, there are sandy spots on the bottom where you can remain stationary and observe the sea life going on around you. Visibility was approximately 80 Feet. It's a short walk from gear up to entry. Playa Lagun is one of the better shore dives I have done.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Curtis Barnes
Sep 10, 2001, 12:00 AM
scuba
This was my first ever shore dive and I had a blast! The visibility was superb. Although there was not the amount of interesting plant and animal life found on other sites we dove on Curacao, there was still plenty to see. The site was easy to get to and there was even a cemented area with a roof close to shore where we put on our gear.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
