Dive Review of Ocean Encounters/Lions Dive in
Curaçao

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Ocean Encounters/Lions Dive, Mar, 2007, by Steve Davidson, GA, USA ( Contributor 15 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 3551.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	First time to Curacao after a dozen trips to Bonaire. Great resort although my bed was hard as a rock. Lions Dive is an older resort but it is a really romantic setting. We were in the older part and it was well maintained but our bed needs to be replaced. The newer part is a multi story deal but still nice and overlooks the pool and restaurant. They both have their good and bad aspects. If I went back, I wouldn't much care which part I stayed in. The setting is awesome with a huge beach and lots of beach seating with umbrellas and shaded palapa style stuff. If you go with non-divers, this is definitely the place to stay. You could park yourself at this resort and not leave again. The food at the resort was good, nothing to write home about but adequate. We took most of our meals across the lagoon at a restaurant near the Aquarium. Ocean Encounters is a good operation, well equipped and staffed with friendly and helpful staff. They have two great dive boats, well equipped and, for the most part, properly maintained but the one we were on belched huge clouds of black smoke constantly. The wife got deathly seasick, and she is not prone to seasickness, so we didn't dive much for that reason. It wouldn't have been so bad if the boat anchored during the dives but it would circle the area while waiting on the other divers so that it was almost constantly enveloped in its own stench. Curacao is different than Bonaire diving-wise. Most of the diving we did was from the resort on the southern end of the island. The wife and I only made a few dives on the boat because of the effect of the smoke from the boat engine. It would have been a much more pleasurable trip on the other boat and if I went back, it would have to be on the condition that we were not on the boat that smoked so. We did one day trip to the northern part of the island where we drove to another resort, boarded another boat and dove the Mushroom Forest and another site nearby. The water was calm and the boat was clean. I really enjoyed those dives but the wife declined to take the risk of getting seasick again on another smoker. Beach diving is what I enjoy about Bonaire but Curacao is so much larger and if you are staying on the southern end of the island, its an all day trip to the best shore diving. Crime is clearly a problem on Curacao also as can be gleaned from other posts on this site. Curacao is picturesque and much larger than Bonaire. I would definitely go back although if diving is your primary reason for being there, it seems that the northern part of the island is a better choice for calm conditions. Otherwise, Lions Dive is a great resort, located on the main beach and the associated restaurants and gift shops on the beach. I highly recommend it.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Bonaire, Belize, Bahamas, St. Lucia, Saba, Tahiti, Roatan, Utilla, Costa Rica, Keys, NC, Cozumel, Mayaha, Virgins, T&C, etc.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	None to speak of.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	I was lazy. I didn't take many pics.

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Dive Review of Ocean Encounters/Lions Dive in Curaçao

Ocean Encounters/Lions Dive, Mar, 2007,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Ocean Encounters/Lions Dive in
Curaçao