Beautiful Curacao Reef off Busy Beach

On March 10, 2016, when we got off the ship in Curacao, we expected snorkel boat vendors like we have found at Costa Maya. That was not the case but we did see a tour bus that was $25 and said they would give us 2 hours on Mambo Beach also known as Aquarium Beach. In all my research those beaches were not mentioned as good reef beaches. We really didn't have an option so we took it. Our heart sank when we saw the huge crowd on the beach and in the water, but we rented a lounge chair to have a place to put our stuff. We noticed a sea wall with a shallow break in it so we put our fins on and swam out. There were no people on the other side and the water was fairly smooth so we swam through the tight slit and found a beautiful healthy reef with a big variety of beautiful fish. I was so happy. This was even better than Catalina in Aruba and better than the reef on the boat tour in Grand Turk. I don't know if they rent snorkel gear there, but we had our own. There were no currents so it is do-able without fins. I promised myself if I found good snorkeling, i would take time to post it because information is hard to find.

On March 10, 2016, when we got off the ship in Curacao, we expected snorkel boat vendors like we have found at Costa Maya. That was not the case but we did see a tour bus that was $25 and said they would give us 2 hours on Mambo Beach also known as Aquarium Beach. In all my research those beaches were not mentioned as good reef beaches. We really didn't have an option so we took it. Our heart sank when we saw the huge crowd on the beach and in the water, but we rented a lounge chair to have a place to put our stuff. We noticed a sea wall with a shallow break in it so we put our fins on and swam out. There were no people on the other side and the water was fairly smooth so we swam through the tight slit and found a beautiful healthy reef with a big variety of beautiful fish. I was so happy. This was even better than Catalina in Aruba and better than the reef on the boat tour in Grand Turk. I don't know if they rent snorkel gear there, but we had our own. There were no currents so it is do-able without fins. I promised myself if I found good snorkeling, i would take time to post it because information is hard to find.

You can take a cab, or a co-operative to Sea Aquarium Beach (the name of Aquarium Beach, or Mambo Beach. The Beach IS NOT the Curacao Sea Aquarium. They charge a very small entrance fee (like $2-$3 US).

This beach is chock full of amenities, and when we were there very clean.

When D.H. was snorkeling, he followed an Octopus around for quite a while.

We ate at Hemingways, and the food was wonderful.

Hope this helps.

AC