Snorkelling With Sea Turtles in Curaçao

Best for turtles with least effort: Playa Piskadó

Playa Piskadó is a working fishing beach at Westpunt, near the north-western tip of Curaçao, with colourful wooden boats pulled up on the sand. Fishermen clean their catch at the pier, and the turtles have learned to wait for the leftovers. You walk in from the beach and usually find them in the water around the pier. Green turtles and hawksbills also nest on this beach, so watch where you step on the sand.

There are restrooms and a snack bar for a small fee, and you can rent snorkel gear on the beach. The beach gets busy, in the water and on the pier, and local conservationists say crowds and feeding are driving some turtles away. Keep off the pier, and do not pay anyone there for a photo or to throw fish in for the turtles. Sea Turtle Conservation Curaçao puts up signs on the beach, so read them before you get in.

If Playa Piskadó is crowded, Playa Lagun, a sheltered cove in a fishing village on the north-west coast, is the next beach to try. Turtles are often seen in the cove, and the water is calm. It is small and popular, so arrive early.

Guided turtle tours on the west coast

A guided tour suits you if you have no car, or if you want someone to show you where to swim. The Kenepa Grandi turtle tour goes by road: it picks you up at your hotel or the cruise port, stops at Playa Grandi to snorkel with the turtles, visits the flamingo sanctuary, and ends with a swim at Grote Knip, also called Kenepa Grandi. It costs $75 for four hours and has 4.5/5 from 37 reviews.

The Blue Room and turtles boat trip goes by sea. It leaves Santa Martha Bay for five hours, with a turtle swim, the Blue Room sea cave, and pizza and drinks on board. It costs $102 and has 4.9/5 from just 11 reviews, so the rating is an early one. Choose the road tour if you want hotel pickup and the flamingos, and the boat if you would rather spend the morning on the water.

Private snorkel charters

A private trip lets a family or a group set its own stops and stay with the turtles for as long as they stay. The private customisable tour goes by road and includes a turtle swim and Shete Boka National Park, for $440, with 5.0/5 from just 6 reviews. The private beach hopping and snorkeling tour costs $330 for seven hours with a local guide, mixing west coast beaches and snorkelling, and has 4.9/5 from 14 reviews.

On the water, the private boat tour with Captain Dirk costs $517 per boat for three hours and has 4.9/5 from 9 reviews. If someone in your group can handle a boat, the self-drive boat rental starts at $269 and has 4.7/5 from 22 reviews.

Best full-day experience: Klein Curaçao

Klein Curaçao is an uninhabited island about 10 km off Curaçao’s south-east tip, and green turtles regularly feed in the seagrass shallows off its west beach. You do not need a guide to find them. The cost is a nine-hour day with an open-sea crossing that can be rough on the way out. The Mermaid costs $155, with breakfast, a barbecue lunch and masks to borrow, and has 4.8/5 from 353 reviews. The Miss Ann costs the same, runs a guided snorkel safari and has 4.8/5 from 275 reviews. Our Klein Curaçao snorkelling and turtles guide covers where the turtles feed and how the day runs.

Wildlife etiquette

Sea turtles are protected in Curaçao’s waters. The rules are simple, and they keep the turtles coming back.

• Do not touch, chase or ride a turtle, and do not swim directly above one.
• Do not feed turtles, and do not pay anyone to feed them for you.
• Keep a respectful distance, most of all when a turtle is surfacing to breathe or resting on the bottom.
• Never block a turtle’s way to open water or surround it with your group.
• Do not use flash photography.
• Keep your fins off the coral and the seagrass, and do not stand on either.
• On the beach, keep clear of nests and tracks.

Our recommendation

Go to Playa Piskadó if turtles are the main goal: it costs you a drive and a small fee, and the turtles are close to shore. Take the Kenepa Grandi tour if you have no car. Book a Klein Curaçao day if you want the whole island day, with the turtles as one part of it. For the other reefs, wrecks and caves on the island, see where to snorkel in Curaçao from the beach or by boat.

Frequently asked questions

Where can you snorkel with sea turtles in Curaçao?

At Playa Piskadó (Playa Grandi) at Westpunt, where turtles gather by the fishing pier, at Playa Lagun on the north-west coast, and off the west beach of Klein Curaçao. Guided turtle tours go to Playa Grandi by road and to the west coast by boat.

Do you need a tour to swim with turtles in Curaçao?

No. You can drive to Playa Piskadó and walk in from the beach. A tour adds transport, a guide and, on the Kenepa Grandi turtle tour, hotel or cruise port pickup.

Which turtles live around Curaçao?

Green turtles, which feed on seagrass at Klein Curaçao and along the coast, are the ones snorkellers usually report. Hawksbills are seen too, and both species nest on Playa Piskadó.

Can you touch or feed the turtles?

No. Keep your distance, never touch, chase or feed them, and stay off the pier at Playa Piskadó, where feeding for photos is a problem.