Dive Review of Ocean Encounters West/Lodge Kura Hulanda in
Curaçao

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Ocean Encounters West/Lodge Kura Hulanda, May, 2009, by Irina Zeylikman, MA, USA ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 4864.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was our 9th trip to Curacao and after staying almost exclusively at the Habit Curacao all previous times and seeing it rapidly deteriorating, we've decided to check out the relatively new Lodge Kura Hulanda, located in the West Punt. We did not regret our decision, the accommodations were really top notch, it is a 5 star resort after all. However, diving resort it is not. Ocean Encounters West has a shop practically next door, but it is a separate business and is not connected to the resort. The shop is open 8-5 and if someone wants to do a shore night dive, OEW people will leave a tank out for you, but you'll have to drag all your gear back to the room (which has no accommodations to hang it to dry, particularly if your room is on the ground level) after the dive, and remember to ask a security guard not to lock the gate from the beach to the lodge. There is a parking lot at the dive shop, therefore there is always an option to drive to the shop (about 150 yards). There were not that many divers at the resort during our stay, and some times there were only 4-6 people on the boat. Ocean Encounters West is a very well run operation, both dive masters, Alyson and Garret, and, of course, the Captain Touky (everyone who's ever stayed at the Habitat Curacao remember Touky) were extremely professional and a lot of fun to dive with. We dove the dive sites that we've never dove before, because there are too far West for most dive operations, Hulu, Watamula, Airplane wreck, to name just a few. On the first day, during the trip to the dive site, our boat was surrounded by the big pod of dolphins, but they did not want to play because there were babies with them, We saw plenty of turtles, eagle rays, eels, and of course, a lot of small tropical fish. However, we've noticed that fish population is getting depleted and we were told that some locals just over fish. We have even seen nets on the dive sites. One has only hope, that overfishing will stop and fish will come back for us to enjoy.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Bonaire, Turks&Caicos, Cayman Islands, Honduras, Belize, Truck Lagoon, Palau, Australia, Thailand
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	79-81°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Watch the computer
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	There was a rinse bucket for camera on board.

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Dive Review of Ocean Encounters West/Lodge Kura Hulanda in Curaçao

Ocean Encounters West/Lodge Kura Hulanda, May, 2009,

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 West/Lodge Kura Hulanda in
Curaçao