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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Caribbean

Caribbean

Curaçao

Calm west-coast reefs you can walk into from the beach, with turtles, eagle rays and deep blue water close to shore.

Clear water and small beach at Playa Kalki near Westpunt, Curacao
Playa Kalki, Westpunt, Curacao · Photo: dronepicr, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Exploring

Ethics pass, with care. We found a way to visit this country that meets our animal-welfare standard, as long as we work with the right local operator. Checked by Ocean Calling on 26 Sep 2026. Sources: Preserve Playa Piskado: stop feeding turtles in Curacao, Dive Curacao (citing Global Ecology and Conservation study); Captive dolphin swim programmes, operator site, Curacao; Curacao Marine Park: rules, management and establishment, Dive Curacao.

🧭 Travel advice, checked 30 Sep 2026. The UK FCDO travel advice for Curaçao covers safety and security, insurance, entry rules and legal differences, and notes that a digital immigration card must be completed up to 7 days before departure. Sources: UK FCDO travel advice, Curaçao Advice differs by passport: check your own government before you plan.

FreedivingScubaSnorkellingTurtlesDolphins

Why Curaçao

Curaçao sits in the south of the Caribbean, where the reef starts a few metres from the beach and drops into deep water. This makes it a good island for shore diving, snorkelling and freediving without a boat. Green and hawksbill turtles feed in the bays, spotted eagle rays pass along the drop-off, and there are easy shallow wrecks. The southeast coast is a marine park managed by a local research foundation. At one busy beach, turtles are fed with fish scraps, so Ocean Calling snorkels elsewhere and never feeds or touches them. Wild dolphins are sometimes seen from the boat. The captive dolphin swims on the island are not something Ocean Calling supports. Curaçao is south of the main hurricane path, but the reefs felt the 2023 heat wave and a coral disease.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

United States of AmericaHaitiDominican Rep.BahamasMexicoBrazilPeruColombiaPanamaCosta RicaNicaraguaHondurasEl SalvadorGuatemalaBelizeVenezuelaGuyanaSurinameFranceEcuadorPuerto RicoJamaicaCubaTrinidad and TobagoWestpunt, CuraçaoWillemstad and the central coast, CuraçaoCuraçao Marine Park (southeast coast), CuraçaoKlein Curaçao, Curaçao

When to go

Year-round. Timing changes by place and by animal, so check each place below.

We have researched this place and keep learning about it. There is no trip here yet.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Ethics pass, with care

Good with the right operator. Here is how we choose.

Curacao has calm reefs close to shore, and the southeast coast is a marine park with moorings instead of anchors. At one busy beach, turtles gather because people feed them, and research shows this changes how they forage and adds risk from lines and debris. The island also sells swims with captive dolphins. We do neither, and we snorkel and dive quiet reefs, watching turtles from a respectful distance.

Checked 26 Sep 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check
Places we are exploring

Where in Curaçao

Short notes from our research. Wildlife is never guaranteed.

Westpunt

Exploring

The quiet west end of the island, with calm bays, reef close to shore and turtles feeding in the seagrass.

🤿 In the water: Green and hawksbill turtles (feeding naturally, from a respectful distance), Reef fish, Spotted eagle rays (sometimes, more in the cooler months), Octopus on night dives

When: Year-round. The west coast is sheltered from the trade wind all year. September and October often bring the calmest water.

Willemstad and the central coast

Exploring

Shore dives and a deep shipwreck near the capital, with coral terraces that drop into the blue.

🤿 In the water: Reef fish and coral terraces, Hawksbill turtles, Great barracuda, Nurse sharks (occasional), A cargo ship wreck at 22 to 30 m (for certified divers)

When: Year-round. Diving runs all year. The harbour wreck can only be dived when no ship is at the pier.

Curaçao Marine Park (southeast coast)

Exploring

A protected coastline from Jan Thiel to the east point, with a shallow tugboat wreck and quieter reefs further east.

🤿 In the water: A small tugboat wreck at about 5 m, good for snorkelling, Reef fish, Hawksbill and green turtles, Southern stingrays in the sand

When: Year-round. The western part is calm most days. The far east is more exposed to wind and swell.

Klein Curaçao

Exploring

A small flat island off the east point where turtles nest, reached by a boat crossing that can be rough.

🤿 In the water: Green and hawksbill turtles, Reef fish, Clear water over the reef

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Turtle nesting beaches (keep away from nests), Bottlenose and spinner dolphins (sometimes, from the boat)

When: Year-round. Day boats go most days, and the crossing into the trade wind can be choppy. Turtles nest from about May to December. It can feel crowded on busy days.

Animals

Animals recorded in Curaçao

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Land animals
Green turtle resting on the reef, shell and head pattern in sharp detailGreen turtleChelonia mydasSeen in 103 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHawksbill turtle swimming, pointed beak in profileHawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricataSeen in 88 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredLoggerhead turtle at the surface feeding on Portuguese man o' warLoggerhead turtleCaretta carettaSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasVulnerableWhitespotted eagle ray gliding over reef and sand in BelizeWhitespotted eagle rayAetobatus narinariSeen in 58 countries in the AtlasEndangeredSouthern stingray resting on white sand, St John, US Virgin IslandsSouthern stingrayHypanus americanusSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedNurse shark swimming over a reef at Fernando de Noronha, BrazilAtlantic nurse sharkGinglymostoma cirratumSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasVulnerableGreat barracuda cruising in open blue water, showing jagged teethGreat barracudaSphyraena barracudaSeen in 84 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernRed lionfish with spread fins over sand in Dauin, PhilippinesLionfish (red and common lionfish)Pterois volitans and Pterois milesSeen in 80 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCommon bottlenose dolphin swimming over a seagrass bedCommon bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo spinner dolphins swimming over sand in clear waterSpinner dolphinStenella longirostrisSeen in 66 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernPantropical spotted dolphin gliding at the calm ocean surfacePantropical spotted dolphinStenella attenuataSeen in 56 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo rough-toothed dolphins leaping together, blotchy grey skin visibleRough-toothed dolphinSteno bredanensisSeen in 36 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernStriped dolphin leaping, dark flank stripe clearly visibleStriped dolphinStenella coeruleoalbaSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernShort-finned pilot whale surfacing off Tenerife with the island behindShort-finned pilot whaleGlobicephala macrorhynchusSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernOrcas surfacing close together in calm Arctic Norwegian watersOrca (killer whale)Orcinus orcaSeen in 55 countries in the AtlasData DeficientHumpback whale swimming close with long pectoral finHumpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliaeSeen in 87 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernBryde’s whale surfacing and exhaling in deep blue open oceanBryde's whaleBalaenoptera edeniSeen in 36 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSperm whale mother raising her fluke beside her calf off DominicaSperm whalePhyseter macrocephalusSeen in 114 countries in the AtlasVulnerableDwarf sperm whale leaping clear of the open seaDwarf sperm whaleKogia simaSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCuvier's beaked whale surfacing, pale scarred head and small dorsal finCuvier's beaked whaleZiphius cavirostrisSeen in 42 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCaribbean reef shark swimming close over a reef in the BahamasCaribbean reef sharkCarcharhinus pereziSeen in 19 countries in the AtlasEndangeredWhite-spotted eagle rays gliding over coral at Heron Island, Great Barrier ReefSpotted eagle ray (ocellated eagle ray)Aetobatus ocellatusSeen in 28 countries in the AtlasEndangeredHuge spotted whale shark gliding through open blue waterWhale sharkRhincodon typusSeen in 54 countries in the AtlasEndangeredTwo Gervais' beaked whales at the surface in the Gulf Stream off North CarolinaGervais' beaked whaleMesoplodon europaeusSeen in 9 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernMale magnificent frigatebird perched on a mangrove branchMagnificent frigatebirdFregata magnificensSeen in 52 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLongsnout seahorse holding a red sponge stalk with its tail against blue waterLongsnout seahorseHippocampus reidiSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedMasked booby on Ascension IslandMasked boobySula dactylatraSeen in 80 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernQueen conch with a reddish spiny shell resting on seagrass over sandy seabedQueen conchAliger gigasSeen in 32 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedAdult brown booby standing on a rock with its bill open against blue sky, PrincipeBrown boobySula leucogasterSeen in 104 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernScarlet ibis in flight against a pale blue sky, photographed in Georgetown, GuyanaScarlet ibisEudocimus ruberSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasLives on landLeast ConcernClose view of a red-footed booby head with blue, pink and red bill and throat skin among green leavesRed-footed boobySula sulaSeen in 91 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTarpon swimming in open blue water with a dense school of small fish behind it, off St John in the US Virgin IslandsAtlantic tarponMegalops atlanticusSeen in 24 countries in the AtlasVulnerableCrowd of brown pelicans packed together on a coastal roost, one adult with a pale head and coloured bill facing the cameraBrown pelicanPelecanus occidentalisSeen in 48 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernAmerican flamingo wading in shallow water with its head lowered toward the surface, Yucatán, MexicoAmerican flamingoPhoenicopterus ruberSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasLives on landLeast ConcernCaribbean spiny lobster at the edge of a reef overhang with long antennae trailing across sandCaribbean spiny lobsterPanulirus argusSeen in 30 countries in the AtlasData DeficientNeotropic cormorant perched among willow branches beside the waterNeotropic cormorantNannopterum brasilianumSeen in 29 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern
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Also in Caribbean
AnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArubaThe BahamasBarbadosBelizeBritish Virgin IslandsCaribbean NetherlandsCayman IslandsCubaDominicaDominican RepublicGrenadaGuadeloupeHaitiHondurasJamaicaMartiniqueMontserratPuerto RicoSaint BarthélemySaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSint MaartenTrinidad and TobagoTurks and Caicos IslandsUS Virgin IslandsVenezuela

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