In the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards from Scuba Diving magazine, Ocean Encounters and LionsDive Beach Resort in Curaçao were once again voted among the best in the dive industry. Ocean Encounters placed in seven categories, including 3rd Place for Quality of Rental Gear and Top 5 for both Quality of Training and Courses and Quality of Dive Boats. LionsDive Beach Resort placed in six categories, including 2nd Place for Quality of the Resort and Top 5 for Quality of the Rooms. Both were ranked among the best for Quality of Staff.
The 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards are not a one-off. They mark the third straight year, following the 2025 and 2026 awards, in which divers have voted Curaçao’s leading dive operator and dive resort among their favorites. It also follows a 2026 season in which Curaçao was named Caribbean Dive Destination of the Year.
I have lived and worked in Curaçao’s dive industry for 20 years, and at Dive Curaçao and Dive Travel Curaçao we plan dive vacations here every week. Our clients often ask two questions: where they should stay, and who they should dive with. The 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards answer from an independent source, the divers who have already made the trip. Once again, those divers have chosen the same two names.
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2027 Readers’ Choice Awards: Key Takeaways
- Ocean Encounters placed in 7 categories, led by 3rd Place for Quality of Rental Gear and Top 5 for Training and Courses and for Dive Boats.
- LionsDive Beach Resort placed in 6 categories, led by 2nd Place for Quality of the Resort, up from 3rd Place in 2026.
- Three consecutive years of recognition (2025, 2026 and 2027): Ocean Encounters has been recognized in the same seven categories every year, and LionsDive in the same five core resort categories.
- Both placed in every same category in 2026 and 2027, and both were ranked among the best for Quality of Staff.
- Ocean Encounters operates on site at LionsDive Beach Resort on Mambo Beach, Curaçao.
- In 2026, Curaçao was named Caribbean Dive Destination of the Year and ranked 2nd for Shore Diving by Scuba Diving readers. 2027 Dive Destination Awards to be announced early November 2026 at the DEMA Show.
The 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards Results
Ocean Encounters, Curaçao: 7 Categories
| Category | 2027 Placement |
| Quality of Rental Gear | 3rd Place |
| Quality of Training and Courses | Top 5 |
| Quality of Dive Boats | Top 5 |
| Quality of Facilities | Top 10 |
| Best Overall | Top 10 |
| Attention to Safety | Top 10 |
| Quality of Staff | One of the Best |
LionsDive Beach Resort, Curaçao: 6 Categories
| Category | 2027 Placement |
| Quality of the Resort | 2nd Place |
| Quality of the Rooms | Top 5 |
| Value of Resort | Top 10 |
| Best Overall | Top 10 |
| Quality of the Restaurant | Top 10 |
| Quality of Staff | One of the Best |
Why the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards Matter: A Repeat Performance
Readers of Scuba Diving magazine vote in the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards, so the results come from divers who have been in the water, on the boats and in the rooms. That already makes them more meaningful to me than most industry awards.
What sets Ocean Encounters and LionsDive apart is that they keep appearing: in the 2025 Scuba Diving Readers’ Choice Awards, again in 2026, and now in 2027. A single strong year can come from a new boat, a renovation or one exceptional season. Placing again and again across many categories is much harder. It shows a dive center and resort delivering the same standard to thousands of different guests, in different seasons, under different conditions, year after year.
For anyone planning a dive vacation, that is the question that matters: will my trip be as good as everyone else’s? Consistent Readers’ Choice results are the clearest independent evidence I can point clients to that the answer is yes.
2025, 2026 and 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards: Three Years of Consistency
Comparing three years of results shows how stable they are. Ocean Encounters has been recognized in all seven of the same categories every year since at least 2025. LionsDive Beach Resort has been recognized in the same five core resort categories every year, added Quality of Staff in 2026, and moved up in several categories in 2027.
A few results stand out. LionsDive climbed from 3rd to 2nd for Quality of the Resort, moved into the Top 5 for its rooms, and rose into the Top 10 for its restaurant. Ocean Encounters moved up to Top 5 for Quality of Training and Courses. Its rental gear and dive boats stayed among the very best for a second straight year, and it continued to rank Top 10 for Attention to Safety.
For travelers, a steady result counts as much as an improvement, and the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards show both. Top 10 for Best Overall and Attention to Safety in back-to-back years is exactly what a diver wants to see before booking.
Ocean Encounters: Curaçao’s Award-Winning Dive Operator
Ocean Encounters has been diving Curaçao’s reefs for more than four decades. Today it is the island’s largest PADI 5-Star Instructor Development Center (IDC). It operates from resort bases including LionsDive Beach Resort, Sunscape Curaçao Resort Spa & Casino and TUI BLUE Curaçao.
The 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards reflect what I hear from our clients after every trip. The fleet and rental gear are professionally maintained. The guided boat diving to Curaçao’s south-coast reefs is well organized. The training program covers everything from a first breath underwater through Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Enriched Air Nitrox, all the way to instructor level. Divers who want to add a course during their vacation can do so without changing operators or locations.
Ocean Encounters also has a long partnership with Reef Renewal Curaçao, supporting coral restoration on the reefs its guests dive every day. Learn more about how Ocean Encounters has evolved over the years.
LionsDive Beach Resort: Curaçao’s Top-Rated Dive Resort
We recommend LionsDive Beach Resort as the best overall dive resort in Curaçao, and the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards support that. This 4-star eco-friendly resort sits on Mambo Beach, minutes from Willemstad.
It has four oceanfront restaurants, a 50-meter swimming pool, fitness facilities and direct access to the Ocean Encounters dive dock.
Its Top 10 ranking for Value of Resort matters. LionsDive works on an à la carte basis, and packages typically include breakfast. We can build a stay around exactly how much a guest wants to dive, which suits couples, dive groups and families that include both divers and non-divers.
The On-Site Advantage
These results are closely linked. Ocean Encounters operates on site at LionsDive, so guests go from breakfast to the dive shop to the boat in minutes, without transfers, early-morning drives or loading gear into a rental car.
Both were ranked among the best for Quality of Staff in the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards. That shared result reflects a hospitality culture that runs from the front desk to the dive deck. It is also why LionsDive with Ocean Encounters is the combination our team recommends most often, alongside TUI BLUE Curaçao for travelers who prefer all-inclusive.
Curaçao: The Caribbean’s Dive Destination of the Year
Beyond the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards, the island itself has earned strong recognition. In 2026, the Caribbean Travel Awards named Curaçao Caribbean Dive Destination of the Year. Alexander Britell, Editor and Publisher of Caribbean Journal, said the island has “some of the best diving in the whole region.”
Curaçao has been a Readers’ Choice favorite for years. In the 2025 Scuba Diving Readers’ Choice Awards, it was named a Top 10 Best Overall Caribbean/Atlantic Dive Destination. In the 2026 awards, it placed across a wide range of destination categories:
- 2nd Place – Shore Diving
- 3rd Place – Best Overall Dive Destination
- Top 5 – Macro Life and Beginner Diving
- Top 10 – Wall Diving, Advanced Diving, Snorkeling, Best Value, Underwater Photography, Health of Marine Environment and Wreck Diving
- One of the Best – Cavern/Grotto/Cave Diving and Big Animals
The reasons are easy to see once you are here. Curaçao lies outside the hurricane belt, so it is a true 365-day dive destination. Divers can combine guided boat diving with independent shore diving at more than 38 shore dive and snorkel sites. Favorites include the Superior Producer wreck, the Tugboat, Black Rock, Alice in Wonderland, Booby Trap, Cornelius Bay and Rediho.
The island’s range suits every diver. Beginners find calm, shallow entries. Macro enthusiasts find seahorses, frogfish and nudibranchs. Advanced divers find walls and wrecks. On land, historic Willemstad, Dutch-Caribbean culture and fusion cuisine give non-diving companions just as much to enjoy.
The 2027 Scuba Diving Readers’ Choice Awards for Diving Destinations will be announced in early November 2026 at the DEMA Show.
Awards Built on Responsible Diving
Curaçao’s reef health is not an accident. Programs such as Reef Renewal Foundation Curaçao, Sea Turtle Conservation Curaçao, Green Fins and the PADI AWARE Foundation are supported by responsible dive operators across the island.
Guided dive planning, good buoyancy control, sensible dive profiles to reduce the risk of decompression sickness, and respect for the reef all help keep these awards coming. Read more about sustainable dive tourism in Curaçao.
About the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards
The Readers’ Choice Awards are run by Scuba Diving magazine and voted on by its readers. They rate the destinations, dive operators and resorts they have experienced themselves. Because the results come from divers rather than industry judges, they are one of the most trusted independent references for planning a dive vacation. These official 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards results were announced in September 2026 with Dive Destination Awards to be announced in November 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards?
The 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards are Scuba Diving magazine’s annual rankings of dive destinations, dive operators and dive resorts, voted on by the magazine’s readers based on places they have personally visited. In Curaçao, Ocean Encounters placed in seven categories and LionsDive Beach Resort placed in six.
What awards did Ocean Encounters win in the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards?
Ocean Encounters placed in seven categories in the 2027 Scuba Diving Readers’ Choice Awards: 3rd Place for Quality of Rental Gear, Top 5 for Quality of Training and Courses and Quality of Dive Boats, Top 10 for Quality of Facilities, Best Overall and Attention to Safety, and One of the Best for Quality of Staff.
What awards did LionsDive Beach Resort win in the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards?
LionsDive Beach Resort placed in six categories in the 2027 Scuba Diving Readers’ Choice Awards: 2nd Place for Quality of the Resort, Top 5 for Quality of the Rooms, Top 10 for Value of Resort, Best Overall and Quality of the Restaurant, and One of the Best for Quality of Staff.
Have Ocean Encounters and LionsDive won Readers’ Choice Awards before the 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards?
Yes. Ocean Encounters and LionsDive Beach Resort were recognized in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 Scuba Diving Readers’ Choice Awards, three consecutive years. Ocean Encounters has been recognized in the same seven categories each year, and LionsDive in the same five core resort categories. LionsDive improved to 2nd Place for Quality of the Resort in 2027.
Is Ocean Encounters located at LionsDive Beach Resort?
Yes. Ocean Encounters operates on site at LionsDive Beach Resort on Mambo Beach, so guests can walk from their room to the dive shop and boat. Ocean Encounters also operates from Sunscape Curaçao Resort Spa & Casino and TUI BLUE Curaçao.
Is Curaçao the Caribbean Dive Destination of the Year?
Yes. Curaçao was named Caribbean Dive Destination of the Year in the 2026 Caribbean Travel Awards. In the 2026 Scuba Diving Readers’ Choice Awards, it also placed 2nd for Shore Diving and 3rd for Best Overall Dive Destination. The 2027 Scuba Diving Readers’ Choice Awards for Destinations will be announced in early November 2026 at the DEMA Show.
Is Curaçao a good dive destination year-round?
Yes. Curaçao lies outside the hurricane belt, so diving is available 365 days a year. Divers can combine guided boat diving with independent shore diving at more than 38 shore dive and snorkel sites.
How can I book a dive vacation at LionsDive with Ocean Encounters?
Dive Travel Curaçao plans personalized dive vacations at LionsDive Beach Resort with Ocean Encounters, including accommodation, boat diving packages, courses, vehicles and non-diver activities. Contact the reservations team at +1 (855) 650-1558 (USA/Canada) or +5999-699-5297 (Curaçao, WhatsApp).
Scuba Diving in Curaçao
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Plan Your Award-Winning Dive Vacation with Dive Travel Curaçao
The 2027 Readers’ Choice Awards tell you who delivers. Our job at Dive Travel Curaçao is to turn that into a vacation built around you. We handle your stay at LionsDive Beach Resort or another partner dive resort, your boat diving and courses with Ocean Encounters, your vehicle for shore diving, and activities for any non-divers in your group.
Tell us your travel dates, how many people are traveling, everyone’s experience level and roughly what you would like to spend. We will put together a personalized dive vacation quote. If you are still early in planning, start with our Step-by-Step Dive Vacation Planning Guide or check the best time to visit Curaçao.
Contact our reservations team to start planning:
| Contact Dive Travel Curaçao | Details |
| Toll-free (USA & Canada) | +1 (855) 650-1558 |
| Curaçao direct (call or WhatsApp) | +5999-699-5297 |
| reservations@divecuracao.info | |
| Online inquiry | Contact Dive Travel Curaçao |
| Personalized quote | Customized dive vacations |
| Planning resources | Step-by-Step Dive Vacation Planning Guide |
| DIVE TRAVEL CURAÇAO · BOUTIQUE DIVE VACATIONS · CURAÇAO & BONAIRE Dive With the 2027 Readers’ Choice Award Winners Stay at LionsDive Beach Resort, dive with Ocean Encounters, and let our team plan every detail. Accommodation, boat diving, courses, vehicles and non-diver activities are all tailored to your dates, group and experience level. REQUEST YOUR PERSONALIZED QUOTE → +1 (855) 650-1558 (USA & Canada) | +5999-699-5297 (Curaçao, call or WhatsApp) reservations@divecuracao.info · divecuracao.info |
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