Curaçao's quiet turquoise coves
13 stretches of Curaçao coastline, scored and sorted, from sheltered turquoise coves on the calm leeward coast to the dramatic, wave-battered shores of the wild north.
Caracas Bay (Caracasbaai)
A peninsula bay best known for the Tugboat, a shallow shipwreck just offshore that ranks among Curacao's most popular and accessible snorkel and dive sites.
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Daaibooi Beach (Playa Daaibooi)
A free, easygoing local favourite with thatched palapas for shade, calm clear water and snorkeling along the rocky edges, all without an entrance fee.
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Director's Bay (Directeursbaai)
A sheltered, sandy cove reached by a flight of steps, with calm clear water, easy snorkeling and the famous Tugboat wreck just around the point.
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Jan Thiel Beach
A lively beach-club strip where loungers, restaurants and bars line a calm, clear bay, drawing a stylish crowd that stays on from the swim into sunset drinks.
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Mambo Beach
A sheltered, man-made family bay beside the Sea Aquarium, backed by a boulevard of shops, restaurants and bars and calm shallow water that is ideal for kids.
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Playa Cas Abao
A manicured, postcard-perfect beach of soft white sand and bright turquoise water, with loungers, a dive shop and a beach bar behind a small entrance fee.
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Playa Forti
A dramatic cliff-edge cove at the far west tip, known for its high diving ledge, a clifftop restaurant with sea views and some of the island's best sunsets.
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Playa Grandi (Playa Piskado)
A working fishermen's cove where green sea turtles glide in to feed on fish scraps, giving snorkelers an almost guaranteed close encounter just off the sand.
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Playa Jeremi
A small, free, undeveloped cove framed by rust-coloured cliffs, with clear water and good snorkeling and almost nothing in the way of crowds or facilities.
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Playa Kenepa Chiki (Kleine Knip)
The smaller, calmer sister to Grote Knip: a compact cove of white sand with shade trees at the back and easy snorkeling over rocks at either edge.
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Playa Kenepa Grandi (Grote Knip)
Curacao's postcard beach: a wide cove of powder-white sand sloping into water that shifts from pale aqua to deep turquoise, with a clifftop lookout for the photo everyone takes.
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Playa Lagun (Lagun Beach)
A tiny fishing cove squeezed between tall cliffs, prized as a snorkel and dive base for its resident turtles, squid and reef life just off the sand.
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Playa Porto Mari
A snorkeler's favourite thanks to its rare double reef, with white sand, full facilities and the friendly resident pigs that sometimes wander down to the water.
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