CURACAO DIVING

Curacao, while less famous for diving than it's neighbor Bonaire, is as wonderful a choice for a dive based vacation.  In many locations, you dive right from the shore, as well as enjoying a lazy day at the beach.

Located off the coast of Venezuela, with its sister islands of Aruba and Bonaire, Curacao is the "C" in the ABC islands. Featuring scuba diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, spa treatments, shopping, museums, and beautiful beaches, Curacao offers great opportunities for tourism. As part of the Netherland Antilles, Curacao's Dutch colonial heritage adds to the charm, as does the contemporary mix of Europeans, North Americans, and South Americans who now come to visit and enjoy Curacao's charms.  Curacao's downtown is full of shops, restaurants and history. The shopping areas of Otrabanda and Punda are connected by a floating walkway allowing for pedestrians to cross back and forth. Shopping for fine gems, watches and upscale clothing abounds in the upscale area of Punda, while neighboring Otrabanda offers a wide range of interesting restaurants and the Kura Hulanda Museum. Don't miss the colorful floating markets in the mornings, when traders come in boats from Venezuela to sell their fruits and vegetables.

Though nowhere near as renowned as Bonaire, Curaçao is home to some decent diving and snorkelling.  There are several reputable dive centres on the island, most of them offering a variety of services including open-water dive courses, equipment rental and charter boat services.  The following are highly recommended:  Habitat Curaçao Resort, north of Willemstad, offers a wide selection of courses, underwater camera rental, offshore diving and chartered boat dives to surrounding reefs; the friendly Dutch owners of Scuba Do, at Jan Thiel Beach (tel 5999/767-9300), who have unlimited air fills and weights at $85, numerous underwater courses beginning at US$200 and charters to Klein Curaçao for $55; and the modern PADI five-star Seascapes Dive and Watersports Centre (tel 5999/462-5905) on a private beach at the Sheraton Curacao, who offer equipment rental and storage, a host of courses and an introduction to snorkelling/diving programme for kids.