GO WEST Diving in Westpunt
Welcome to the GO WEST Diving Postcard – Episode 6. In this postcard episode we are visiting with GO WEST Diving in the small fishing village of Westpunt and diving into some of the best scuba diving sites of western Curaçao.
Westpunt is the name of the westernmost point of the island of Curaçao and is also the name of the island’s northernmost settlement, home to the famous dive site called Watamula, that lies two kilometres to the northeast.
Close by you will find the incredible coral beaches of Playa Kalki, Playa Forti, Playa Piskádo, Grote Knip and Kleine Knip. Westpunt is known for excellent scuba diving, and is home to several shore and boat dive sites including the submerged airplane wreck, known as Elvin’s Plane Wreck and beautiful reefs.
Most of the tourist accommodation in Westpunt caters to scuba divers and offers excellent infrastructure such as All West Apartments. GO WEST Diving is the recommended Dive Operator in the area of Westpunt.
Travel Tip: for lunch or dinner, your visit simply cannot be complete without diving into the mouth watering flavors of Sol Food and Sunshine Getaway. Sunshine and her team are renowned for their menu, service and most importantly, their enthusiastic smiles that welcome you. They are only open Friday to Sunday so it is recommended that you make a reservation.
Diving in with GO WEST Diving
A signature dive site of GO WEST Diving is Elvin’s Plane Wreck. Why? Because this is wonderful nearby site commemorates Elvin, an incredibly passionate underwater enthusiast and a cousin to the owner of GO WEST Diving. Together, they formed the original dive shop at Playa Kalki, known then as All West Watersports. (Did you know… the original dive shop still stands today and is the now the Playa Kalki Beach restaurant)
Today, the wreckage lies on a sandy patches surrounded by stunning hard coral formations. Regularly, this is a drift dive that can finish around the point of Watamula where schools of barracuda can be found. Turtles, ocean triggerfish, lobster, porcupinefish and green morays plus large schools of bogas are also seen here.
The house reef of GO WEST Diving is Alice in Wonderland. This dive site is simply a remarkable top 10 shore diving and snorkeling site that is located at Playa Kalki.
What makes this site so special is the massive hard coral formations that rise up, growing in some cases over 60 feet/18m in height encompassing a host of hiding places for the unusual characters like the pair of resident frogfish and octopus!
Of course, Hawksbill Turtles, Eagle Rays, and large schools of Boga’s being hunted by Yellow Fin Tuna are regular visitors too.
But, the real the attraction of Alice in Wonderland is the beautiful coral formations and all that hides within! So, when you are in Westpunt, Curaçao: Go visit GO WEST Diving at Playa Kalki and dive in to see for yourself!
GO WEST… to the BEST!
There are numerous dive sites within a thirty minute boat ride from GO WEST Diving that are an absolute must when visiting Westpunt. They include Mushroom Forest, The Blue Room, Black Sand Beach and of course, Paradise.
But, just like Sol Food, a visit to Westpunt would not be complete if you do not dive, what is arguably the number one boat dive on Curaçao, Watamula. This mind blowing site is an intense and often overwhelming spectacle starting with a hard coral field, then a soft coral patch, then finally ending with another hard coral field!
It is so intense that the diver really does not know where to look first! In addition to the imposing coral formations, the intensity of the macro life combined with Ocean Triggerfish, Schools of Chubbs and Porcupine Fish will leave you surfacing wanting to don another tank for more!!
If you are dreaming, thinking, or planning for your next Caribbean dive vacation, then you should consider GO WEST Diving. The only disappointment you may encounter is that you did not stay longer!
More Postcards from Curaçao!
Enjoy the GO WEST Diving Postcard? Then dive in and watch Episode 7 where head back east to visit with Ocean Encounters and LionsDive Beach Resort to discover more about their combined “Green Mission – Sustainability Pledge”. We also visit with the Coral Restoration Curaçao to dive the main coral nursery and the out-planting site located on their house reef known as the Stella Maris.
Don’t forget to discover all 16 episodes from the complete Postcards from Curaçao series too. We hope you have enjoyed this Postcard from Curaçao and we also hope to see you soon.
For more, please subscribe to the Dive Curaçao YouTube Channel to be automatically notified.
Sincere Love from Curaçao,
Bryan Horne, Dive Curaçao
Tilo and Yvonne Kuhnast, Nature Pics Films
Videos produced and edited for Dive Curaçao in cooperation with Nature Pics Films.
Header photo courtesy of Gail Johnson Photography.
