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Dive Review of Ocean Encounters Diving/Lions Dive and Beach Resort in
Curaçao/near Punda

Ocean Encounters Diving/Lions Dive and Beach Resort: "Ocean Encounters", Dec, 2017,

by George Lynch, MA, US (Reviewer Reviewer 6 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 10073 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 2 stars
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Very professional dive operation, but mediocre diving. Nice boats, large and comfortable, and staff very helpful and friendly. Water was so warm, roughly 84 degrees, that no wetsuit was necessary on hour-long dives. Reef appears fairly healthy, with little trash, good numbers of small fish and other critters, but no large fish to be seen. Unlike other reporters, I saw no turtles or nurse sharks in nine dives there. Visibility was around 40 feet, current nonexistent, and only mild surge on a couple of occasions during the four days I dived with them. Ocean was calm and trips to dive sites generally brief, though longer excursions available for an extra fee.
Again, dive guides were wonderful and they were by no means overly-domineering regarding unnecessary rules for experienced divers. Some pleasant, if unexciting, diving to be done here, but I suspect it is much too tame for most experienced divers, though probably a great place for the novice.
Websites Ocean Encounters Diving   Lions Dive and Beach Resort

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Egypt Red Sea; Taveuni and Ringgold Islands Fiji; Palau; Sipadan Island; Kenya; Zanzibar; Hawaii (Big Island); Grand, Brac and Little Caymans; Cayos Cochinos, Roatan, Honduras; Belize; Phuket Thailand; Akumal, Cozumel, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Sangalakhi Island Indonesia; Costa Rica; Jamaica; DR....
Closest Airport Curacao International Getting There Bring a good roadmap (or use website) as it is hard to find your way around initially, and rental car free maps are useless.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, no currents
Water Temp 84-85°F / 29-29°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 30-50 Ft/ 9-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions There were guidelines but divemasters seemed very flexible regarding experienced divers diving their own profiles. They even allowed one diver to go off completely on his own at his request. I found them very nonrestrictive but still quite safety oriented.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments I am not a photographer, though I saw many. There was always a separate rinse tank for cameras but, in spite of instructions not to use it to rinse masks, I saw people doing just that, repeatedly, and no chastisement from divemasters resulting.
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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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