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Dive Review of Easy Divers/Habitat Curacao in
Curaçao

Easy Divers/Habitat Curacao, Oct, 2005,

by Leslie and Michael Bardelli, CT, USA . Report 2871.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Curacao is an easy island for us to get to. We had booked with AA from Hartford to Miami and then Miami to Curacao. The flights from Miami run daily. Our travel day was uneventful and we arrived delayed, but only by an hour.

Habitat Curacao: The Hotel
The property is very desert-like cactus gardens. The buildings are colorful and very geometric. Our room had 2 queen-size beds that made the room feel small. There is an in-room safe, but you need to ask at the front desk for the lock and key. There was a small closet with shelves. Nice size bathroom. The room also had a kitchenette and TV. The balcony with the view was the highlight. It was nice to sit out at the table and chairs. We tried lunch out there, but got rained on several times. Sunsets were the best. The hotel also has a small infinity pool. They also provide boat/pool towels that can be turned in daily for dry ones.

Oceans Restaurant
Habitat is about 30 minutes from town, so unless you have a rent a car, you are eating at Oceans Restaurant. Their food gets a lot of press, not much of it positive. We found the food to be good. We prepaid for the Breakfast Buffet and were satisfied with what we got. It was basic, but for us it was plenty. It was not always ready, but we still had enough time to eat and get to the boat for the morning dives. It was nice to have the option of ordering a lunch entrée at dinner. We ate off the menu the whole week, and never had a meal we were unhappy with. The BBQ night was great. We ordered a combo platter and had enough for 2 lunches as well. We took someone else suggestion and borrowed some English muffins from breakfast to make sandwiches from our BBQ. When we get to Curacao again I would bring several cans of tuna or chicken with a jar of mayo, to do lunches in the room. Just makes the afternoon more relaxing.

The Diving – Easy Divers
We booked 6 days of 2 tank boat dives with Easy Divers. The set up is very nice. The dive shop is on the water with tanks ready to go for you shore dive 24 hours a day. They have lockers for your gear. Bring your own locks. Beware combination type Master locks are too large for the clasp on the locker. They sell locks in the shop, but they rusted out by the time we went home. The dive shop is multi-level with the shop on the main level, tanks and gear lockers at water level. Be careful those steps can be slippery. The dive shop is well supplied with T Shirts, log books, defog as well as some equipment. We found the staff to be very helpful. You need to sign up at the dive shop on a special board prior to the dives (each diver gets a number). When you check out they give you a computer print out of all the boat dives that you went on (kind of nice).

The boats are large with space for dry storage up front. The have a small camera only rinse tank behind the captains ladder. Beware the boats do not have heads. Giant stride is the entry used with 2 easy to climb ladders to get back on board. Each trip there is a boat Captain and Divemaster (all the staff do both jobs). Once the briefing is given you have the choice of going with the DM or off by yourself. They give a time limit and general depth, but the profile is up to you. Each crew member usually did one dive. If you followed the DM, really watch you computer since the DM for dive #2 had no nitrogen debt.

The diving was GREAT. The reefs are healthy, teaming with life. We saw more eels on this trip than ever, all kinds. We got to see our first Sea Horse and Frog Fish. The House Reef is very easy to navigate. Just drop down at the bottom of the stairs, follow the rope to the reef. The rope keeps going down. Follow the reef to the left or right, turn around half way and look for the rope on the way back. Take and spend some time in the sandy shallows, you’ll find, anemones, crabs, and eels. We did several night dives and were not disappointed. We did 20 dives in 5 ½ days of diving.

One of the only things we were disappointed in was the lack of communication between the 3 businesses, hotel, diving, restaurant, since they are 3 distinct businesses. Be aware they don’t necessarily have correct information about the other business. My advice is ask, ask, ask. We found that information was not volunteered. They offer a shuttle into town 3 times a day. You stay in town 4 –5 hours, until the next pickup. We learned from another guest that they will drop you at a grocery store and you have about 15 minutes to power shop. The gift shop is just that, don’t expect to get much else. Gift shop is great for those things you forget, but not to get groceries in.

We are planning on going back again this year as well. We learned a few things along the way that will make the trip that much better.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Roatan, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, New England
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather rainy, cloudy Seas choppy
Water Temp 80-82°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Dive time and general depth were given in the briefing, but the profile was yours. You could dive with the DM or on your own.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Curacao provides great subject matter for photographers. Habitat/Easy Divers has a small bucket for cameras on the boat, but otherwise do special facilities for photographers.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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