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Dive Review of Go West Diving in
Curaçao/Northwest

Go West Diving: "Very good diving, great crew!", Jun, 2018,

by ann mcgrath, VA, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 10459 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food N/A
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments We booked Curacao because our trip to Dominica was cancelled, and it turned out to be an excellent choice! This was our first trip to Curacao (three female divers). We chose All West Apartments and Go West Diving based on the reviews, and were not disappointed.

The apartments are perfect. Priced right, roomy with nice decks right on the water. They are clean and well maintained. A pickup truck came with the apartment, so we didn't have to spend extra time or money renting a vehicle, which is a HUGE benefit. The three of us had two apartments - one junior apartment and a studio. Both were larger than I expected! The kitchen in the junior apartment is where we made most of our meals. There are minimarts close by, but I recommend the larger grocery stores for a good selection, which are at least a half hour drive. We only had to make two grocery runs for the week, and ate out a few times - the restaurants are also excellent in Westpunt!

If you choose, you can shore dive from the apartments at no extra cost! We did not, because of the steep steps to and from the water, but at least one couple did all their diving this way. There is a room at All West dedicated to shore diving, with weights, tanks, BCs (not sure if fins or masks are supplied).

The dive shop is well equipped, and efficiently run. There is ample space to gear up before diving and to rinse and pack after diving. There are separate rinse tanks for wet suits, BCs, cameras and everything else. The staff will take your gear to the boat, and unload it after the dives. You may hang your gear out to dry at the dive shop, and the staff will lock it up for the evening. The boat we used is HUGE, and we never had more than four divers, so we had TONS of space to get ready and lounge between dives. They bring water and juice, fresh oranges and raisin bread for the surface interval. Often, we were close enough to the dive shop to do our surface interval back at the dock.

The diving is better than I expected for the Caribbean (I'm spoiled by South Pacific diving). Hardly any current, and hardly any lionfish. The lettuce leaf slugs are beautiful whites, purples and blues. We got to dive in a huge bait ball one dive, which was a treat! The green morays are monstrous and laid back, good video or photo subjects. Turtles everywhere - in fact, the turtles swim back and forth just off the beach in front of the apartments, and you can snorkel with them every day! The snorkeling from the apartments or the dive shop pier is also excellent - locals and tourists show up every day to take advantage of that.

The water temps were between 79 and 81. Initially, it was COOL, even with a 3mm wetsuit and a hooded vest. But we got used to it.

Cameras: the staff will carry your camera equipment to and from the boat for you, and will put it in a small rinse bucket before/between/after dives for you. We had no issues with cameras being mishandled.

Dive staff: Everyone is friendly and knowledgeable. Because we were staying in a small community, frequenting the restaurants close to the dive shop and apartments, we would run into the dive staff at some restaurants as well. They are helpful and cheerful at all times, making the entire experience that much better. It is worth diving with them to spend time with their crew! The boat captains are excellent, and even though each divemaster has his/her own personality, they are all excellent. (Some very chatty, some as quiet as monks.)
Websites Go West Diving   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Caribbean, Thailand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Indonesia (Lembeh, Komodo), Galapagos, Raja Ampat
Closest Airport Getting There DCA to Miami to Curacao. Missed my connection in Miami, so give yourself enough time!

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy Seas calm
Water Temp 79-81°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Depth (nitrox) and time (roughly 60 minutes, depending on depth)
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments The staff will carry your camera equipment to and from the boat if you wish. Your camera will soak in a fresh water bucket before and after diving, and there is another fresh water tank at the dive shop.
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Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

Subscriber's Comments

By craig whitaker in OH, US at Nov 20, 2018 10:28 EST  
Going to Curacao, staying at All West Apartments and diving with Go West in March, 2019. Your report was excellent, and I look forward to my trip, staying for two weeks. Please email me with any other tips you may have at info@craigskeyboards.com. Craig W.
By report author: ann mcgrath in VA, US at Nov 20, 2018 15:20 EST  
you'll absolutely love it! Check out the local restaurants in West Punt - they are all excellent. And if you like fresh tamarind, there's a tamarind tree literally across the street from the apartments - just walk out the door and you'll see it.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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