The top 17 dive and snorkel sites in Santa Maria, ranked by diver reviews, with maps and photos. Read the Santa Maria guide
Steep wall right off the beach. Filefish, Trumpetfish, Juvenile Spotted Drums, Queen Anglefish, Blue Tang, Honeycomb Cowfish and much more. From the beach a very short swim South of Jan Thiel Bay
After my husband dived from a boat at this site and really liked it, we rented a car and drove out there so I could snorkel. It was the best snorkeling we did on the island. There are huge columns used for tying off ships that have lots of corals growing on them. The coral was pristine and the fish abundant. Coronets, spotted drums, parrotfish, several kinds of butterfly fish, eels, Spanish hogfish, and a very attractive tugboat below. From Anonymous: Get there early and beat the snorkel boats to this picturesque site! Tugboat is everything you see in the dive Curacao ads. Shallow site, great for photographing the little things! Finish your dive by checking out under the pier. There is a small dive shop there, but the day we went they were out of tanks and have no compressor. The attendant promised to have tanks there in a hour, we waited two hours and still no tanks. Bring your own tanks! From downtown Willemstad go east to Salina and take Nieuwe Caracasbaaiweg all the way out to its end, which is a roundabout, where you take the left turn (east). continue along the road, passing the ruins of Fort Beekenburg and alongside Baya Beach. Follow the unpaved road up the hill and back down to a parking lot below the Quarantaine Building (old, large, yellow building on hill). At the end of the parking lot is a small beach facility. It has a small dive shop, picnic tables, a small cobbled beach, and snack shop, changing rooms, and showers. The shop's name is Tugboat. On the big 'SmartDriving' road map we got from out hotel this divesite is marked as #63, 'Tugboat'.
Bullenbaai is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Curacao which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.
Great spot for a deep dive. After the deep part the shallows have unbelievable numbers of small fish. Parking Lot access to the beach
Small Tugboat with easdy Penetration. Great for pictures. Swim out just past the large piles and drop down to the Tugboat
Great dive site with lots of Tarpon (as its name is already indicating).
North shore dives in Curacao are very dangerous, due to the strong currents along the rocky shore. Recommended only if windstill(and thus less current) weather, go with a large party, use a standby diver, use dive lights even during daylight. Bring markings to find the tunnel entrance back. Possibility to shore in a nearby small bay. Located between Playa Canao and St Joris Bay. From Playa Canoa follow the big wind mills to the last one on a dirt road. At the last windmill, take a sharp turn north to the shore. You wille see a circulair hole in the rock bottom. the tunnel entrance is at the north pointing toward the see.
Hamrak is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Curacao which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.
Northern point of Klein Island. Approx 2hrs by boat from Curaçao.
Site is short ride from Playa Kanoa. Variety of coral and sealife. Use a broken pipeline on shore as reference point.
Parasasa Beach is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Curacao which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.
Dolphin Academy Curacao is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Curacao which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.
It is a very nice and easy dive, lot's of fish and very nice: a little tugboat at safety stop depth. Also very nice to snorkel. Avoid this site when cruise ships are in town--snorkel tours keep the site VERY busy. This is an excellent site for kids on a Bubblemakers course. A wreck dive on their first dive in only 15' of water! At the moment, Google Earth shows this in the wrong place. It is actually a few more miles east than the marker listed there, by the Baya Beach marker. Located just beyond the Baya Beach Club on the southeast side of Caracasbaai. The wreck is in the Curacao Underwater Park. Easily accessible from shore( boatdives also available) from a nice coral beach: Baya Beach. All facilities available.
Playa Kanoa is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Curacao which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.
This is a great reef dive, also a great second dive. Not very deep, so it is accessible for almost any diver. Relatively easy to find, most dive shops on the island know where it is. (I do not remember the exact location of this site, I have placed an approximate. If someone knows exactly where it is, please let me know to update. Thank you)
Directors Bay and Tugboat Beach are the top-rated sites you can enter from shore.
