ode

Greetings,
We will be on Curacao for only the day. I have been snorkeling on St. John, Bonaire, Los Roques, Belize, etc. Bonaire has been my favorite so far! Can anyone suggest nice spots for snorkeling on Curacao. I am very reluctant to sign up with a tour group because of past disappointing (and costly) experiences. It seems we often are taken to dead corals, which seem to suit most inexperienced people. Many thanks!

SnR

I got the book Diving and Snorkeling Bonaire, Aruba, and Curacao (or maybe Aruba is first) from the library and there were a number of interesting-sounding places around the island. I didn't look at it too closely since we are thinking of going to Bonaire (nice to hear your vote for it!) but there seemed to be some walk-in places of interest. Good luck!
Sally in Seattle

greenie

Rent a car and go to the west punt area. We stayed out that way at the Kura Hulanda Lodge and the snorkeling and diving right in front of the hotel was superb. Very varied and beautiful. The dive shop there is very good.

Peace, Greenie

KVR

We used Actief for a beach hopping tour. It was just us and one other couple. They took us to Playa Daaibooi, Cas Abao, Playa Lagun and the natural jacuzzi. We booked on-line before arriving to the Island. Of those places we found the best snorkeling at Playa Lagun, but there arn't any facilities there. Cas Abao has a nice beach bar with drinks and food. We did a seperate Island tour with the same company and part of that tour was to Grote Knip. No facilities there either.

The best excursion we did in Curacao was the Animal Encounter at the Sea Aquarium. It's a beginners dive and you do not have to be certified. Tons of fish, sting rays, turtles, dolphins and sharks. Better than any snokeling trip we've ever done.

If your interested check out our pics at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/kvrlvn

There are two seperate books.

LvSun

Great info. I too was wondering about snorkeling on this Curacao. To date, Bonaire has been my fav of all the places we have been. Glad to hear it's good on Curacao also.

Ode - I'm with you. Nothing worse than a snorkeling excursion with a large group of newbies.

curacaovisitor

Habitat hotel or Kura Hulanda Lodge at the westpoint has great diving sites!

good luck,

www.curacao-visitor.com

Odin

There is good snorkeling near to Landhuis San Juan. You drive past the Landhuis and pay a small fee (private land), there are 3 beaches (no sand to speak of), 1 of the beaches has good snorkeling (Shon Mosa) although getting into the water is a bit tricky. It is a deserted beach with no facilities. Need to rent a car and it is a dirt road once you leave the main road to San Juan.