Eastpoint Dive Sites

Eastpoint Curaçao

Discover the mesmerizing underwater realm at the Eastpoint Dive Sites. Here you will find several sites nestled along the pristine southeastern tip of the Curaçao National Marine Park. Renowned for its vibrant coral gardens and diverse marine life, this underwater paradise beckons adventurers and nature enthusiasts alike. Immerse yourself in crystal-clear waters, where a tapestry of colors unfolds beneath the surface. From thriving coral formations to elusive sea creatures, the Eastpoint Dive Sites promise an unforgettable exploration of Curaçao’s rich aquatic wonders.

Eastpoint is a MUST dive site in Curaçao

Diving at the Tarpon Bridge Dive Site

Tarpon Bridge is a natural underwater formation at Eastpoint that lies at a depth of about 20 meters. The bridge itself is approximately 7 meters high and about 12 meters wide.

What makes this impressive is that it is covered with an abundance of hard and soft corals, and of course, you can always find a school of tarpons there.

Additional Curaçao Dive Sites in the Eastpoint Area

1. No Way!

NO WAY! is a pristine dive site west of Eastpoint, Curaçao, featuring massive elkhorn corals, vibrant soft fans, and abundant marine life. As part of Curaçao’s National Marine Park, it remains largely untouched by human activity, offering divers a unique opportunity to explore one of the island’s most unspoiled underwater environments .

3 Black Rock

Black Rock, located west of Eastpoint Curaçao, is a boat-accessible dive site featuring a vibrant reef with diverse marine life. Divers can explore steep walls, coral formations, and encounter species like nurse sharks and barracudas. Strong currents make it suitable for experienced divers.

2. Awa Blancu

Awa Blancu, nestled between Black Rock and Smokey’s dive sites and west of Eastpoint Curaçao, offers a pristine coral reef teeming with marine life. Divers should be cautious of strong currents at this site.

4. Smokey’s

Smokey’s, also known as Punti Sanchi, is a pristine dive site near Fuikbaai, Curaçao. Accessible only by boat, it features vibrant coral reefs, sea fans, and sponges, attracting reef sharks, barracudas, turtles, and rays. Ideal for experienced divers, Smokey’s offers exhilarating drift dives towards Kathy’s Paradise, with currents that can be strong and variable.

5 Kathy’s Paradise

Kathy’s Paradise is a pristine drift dive site near Fuikbaai, Curaçao, nestled between Smokey’s and Newport, west of Eastpoint. It features vibrant coral overhangs, steep drop-offs, and abundant marine life, including nurse sharks and rays, offering exceptional visibility and a tranquil underwater experience.

Effectiveness of the Curaçao Marine Park

Eastpoint contains five former plantations; Klein St. Joris, Oranjeberg, Fuik, Duivelsklip, and the Eastpoint Plantation. This integral to the history of Curaçao and the history of the Caribbean.

Conservation of Coral Habitats

The beautiful coral reefs that surround Curaçao are very important to the island economy and dive tourism. The Curaçao Underwater Park was established in 1983 to help preserve coral reefs present offshore from the Breezes Hotel (now known as Sunscape Curacao Resort, Spa and Casino) to Eastpoint.

The Study

The purpose of work carried out by Benjamin J. Greenstein (Department of Geology, Cornell College, Iowa U.S.A.) is to learn whether the park has been effective in protecting the reefs inside its boundaries since they were established more than a quarter century ago.

The Problems

One of the problems with determining the “health” of a coral reef is that many reefs were harmed by human activities before scientists had the opportunity to study them. A solution to this problem is to use the fossil reefs exposed in the cliffs of Curaçao as “ecological baselines” for comparison.

The fossil coral reefs exposed in the cliffs lived 125,000 years ago, long before humans could have disturbed them. They are conducting extensive surveys of several fossil reefs to determine what corals were present and how abundant they were and compare those results surveys of modern reefs inside and outside the Underwater Park.

The Results

Their results indicate that the modern reefs inside the park are more similar to the fossil reefs than those outside the park. This indicates to us that the reefs inside the park closely match what was “natural” along the shores of Curaçao before extensive human occupation occurred.

Thus establishment of the Curaçao National Marine Park seems to have thus far been effective in fostering the development of relatively pristine coral reef communities.

More information

Learn more – download “An overview of the ecological values of the Eastpoint area on Curaçao” via the Carmabi Marine Research Station in Curacao, authored by Prof. Dr. Ben Greenstein (Cornell College, U.S.A.) and Dr. Brigitte Sommers (University of Queensland, Australia)

Read more about sustainable dive tourism in Curaçao

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