Jan Thiel Bay
Diving and Snorkeling at Jan Thiel Bay
Jan Thiel Bay is a typical Curacao diving and snorkeling site and the house reef of Dive Center Scuba Do. At the start of the dive you will find a sandy plateau that tapers off to a beautiful sloping drop off and a wonderful fringing reef system.
Access is easy to get in and out of the water but the best treat might be at the end of the dive where you will encounter a curious school of squid looking directly into your eyes.
Outside of the Jan Thiel Bay, you will find a beautiful reef with steep slopes. The reef has a lot of corals and fishes. Very often you will see turtles.
The reef is hilly and slopes down gently. You find a big variety of hard and soft corals, donkey dung sea cucumbers and long spined black sea urchins. Inside the bay, lies the Strea – a wreck of a sailing boat which is a very nice ending to your dive or snorkeling experience.
Beach Tip: At Jan Thiel Beach there are 5 unique restaurants and 3 beach clubs that offer a wide diversity of culinary treats and beach fun! Entrance fee to the beaches are $3.oo USD per person and beach chairs can be rented too starting at $3.00/chair. For more information about the beach services offered at Jan Thiel Bay, CLICK HERE.
Dive Site Recommendations
- Dive Type: Shore / Boat
- Snorkel Site: Yes
- Experience Level: Open Water (Min)
- Depth: 0 -120ft (0 – 36m)
Special Notes
Due to recreational & commercial boat traffic, an inflated surface marker buoy is mandatory when shore diving. Consult with Dive Center Scuba Do, the onsite Curaçao Dive Operator, for additional details & recommendations.
Sail to Klein Curacao from Jan Thiel Beach
“The best beach isn’t on Curacao at all, it’s on Klein Curacao, an uninhabited cay a few miles off the southeastern coast.” – Lonely Planet, Travelbook.
Surrounded by spectacular coral reefs, Klein Curacao is a sunlit pearl in the Caribbean Sea, just off the coast of Curacao. This uninhabited island is about an 1,5-hour boat ride away from Curacao and holds an intriguing history, mystery and beauty on just 1.7 square kilometers!
Explorers, sunbathing enthusiasts, snorkelers and divers will all really enjoy a trip to diverse Klein Curacao!
Klein Curacao day trips with BlueFinn Charters
Jump on board the BlueFinn, a beautiful 75 foot Catamaran and sail to the deserted Caribbean island of Klein Curaçao! Just imagine yourself on this uninhabited island in the middle of the Caribbean sea with a pearl white beach stretching along the western shoreline.
Step a board and join the sailing trip to Klein Curacao (Little Curacao). Departure is at 8:30 AM and the sailing trip will take approximately one hour and 45 minutes, depending on weather conditions.
Once you arrive on the island of Klein Curacao, you can dive in to the crystal clear water for some incredible scuba diving or snorkeling. Additionally you can explore the islands lighthouse, shipwrecks plus the incredible natural beauty and wildlife.
BlueFinn will hoist their sails at 3:00 PM, to ride on the easterly trade winds, for a relaxing sail back to the mainland of Curaçao and to arrive at Jan Thiel Bay around 5:00pm.
Traveler Tip: We would encourage you to explore the topside treasures of the Klein Curaçao. A wonderful path will lead you toward the west side of the island where you will first encounter the lighthouse that dates to 1913 and then on to the shipwrecks of the famous oil tanker ‘Maria Bianca Guidesman’, the German freighter called “Magdalena”, and the most recent wreck of the French yacht called “Tchao”.
Sleep and Dive Vacation Packages
