Airplane Wreck

Parking is up above the beach. The beach road is usually chained. Ask the guard if you can drive down to drop off your equipment. Make your entry through this small, protected lagoon. The wreck is right outside the mouth. For such a small wreck, there is a surprising amount of life gathered around it! You should head off to the South, otherwise you'll be crossing the harbor entrance.

My friend and I heard about this place and we had a great time there. It was our own personal paradise. We explored the deserted resort, drove right down to the beach. There are a couple of palapas at the waterline. We parked right next to one, unloaded our gear, steps from the water. Wreck was easy to find and is scattered down the slope. Like anywhere on the island do not leave valuables in your vehicle. We dove here several times day and evening. Only saw a few local couples enjoying the shallow lagoon and a few drinks. Friendly groups.

To update this site. The hotel has obviously been derelict for many a year now. The barrier that you must ask the guard to pass through is nonexistent. Had the entire cove to my lonesome on this one. The aircraft I believe is/was a piper cub. The engines been removed but the flap lever is still there like a vehicle handbrake and it was clearly a high wing stol type tail dragger.

We were here several years ago, and very much enjoyed our snorkel here. But we returned on January 8, and found that the resort on the site is now a vacant, stripped shell, and it was being used for military training by the Curacao military/militia, who were firing rounds of practice ammunition. We saw a few porcupinefish and porkfish, and there was some healthy-looking coral and sponges for a while -- and then we completely lost all visibility because of some change in the current. All of the water outside the artificial lagoon was opaque in a matter of minutes. Very disappointing! [I'm a snorkeler, not a diver, but I've done a lot of snorkeling around the world.]

Place was amazing and spooky. Resort was deserted. We felt like we were in our very own zombie apocalypse. Well, minus the zombies. But there was this odd special need kids playing with a water bottle and endlessly giggling. Diving was simply amazing. Easily my best dive in Curacao. The airplane or the cable has shifted. It was more to the right than the left. Don't take any valuables. I don't think anyone messed with our stuff but it sure was a odd spot.

This was my husband and my favorite shore dive. Dove it 6 times in 3 weeks. There is a pipe leading you out to the dive. The airplane is off to your right as you enter the dive. There are more sections as you go deeper. It was an amazing place to find critters. We found a frogfish and 2 pipe fish. Also saw several large schools of fish including a school of close to 100 red parrot fish. Would love to do this dive everyday.

I wanted to post a quick update on this location. The resort itself is now closed/condemned and has been stripped of everything of value and there is smashed glass everywhere. Be sure to lock your car if you dive here. The nice part is that you can now park right on the beach. The reef itself is ok, and drops off quickly if you want a short surface swim for a deeper dive. The plane sits in about 25' and is hard to miss swimming out from the entrance of the lagoon. From the plane swim out with the plateau on your left and keep on eye out in the blue on your right for cruising barracuda. The current/chop can also be a little rough on the surface, so definitely plan your dive to finish back into the lagoon.

11/25/2009 See wet suit city post - Hotel/dive store closed, place deserted.

Entry visibility was terrible. Once we got past the breakers, it was good. 60-70 feet. Nice reef, good small fish and lots of eels. Dive shop at site, make sure to drive past the resort to the dive shop. May want to call the resort first as the first day we attempted to go here, they were closed as they had a large group staying here.

Made a point to drive up here from Habitat to dive. Super friendly folks at Sunset Divers Dive Shop. The airplane is really nothing to see. Brought our own tanks, drove right down the steep hill to the dive shop to unload the tanks and gear, and then parked. Suited up on the bench and walked right into the lagoon. They actually have wheel barrels for you to get your gear to the waters-edge with benches there to suit up that much closer. Super easy to navigate in and out of the lagoon between the breakers which means no surf entry since it's a lagoon and flat calm.

We stayed for 10 days at Sunset Waters, and went for over a dozen shore dives through the lagoon to give us some variety from the boat dives (which were very good). The reef at the wreck and to the south ("Wet Suit City") is in great shape. We never experienced significant currents, and the visibility, except for one day after a heavy rain, was Cayman-like. Take a camera and look for bristleworms, lettuce leaf nudibranchs and arrow crabs. We routinely encountered scorpionfish, so watch out where you put your hands! The entrance and exit through the sandy lagoon will spoil you. Don't waste your time diving north of the wreck toward the harbor--it's silted up.

We stayed at the Sunset Waters resort at which the dive site is located. We did multiple day and night dives. Excellent coral and fish life. Best reef diving is to the left of the lagoon. Excellent dive shop!

Immediately in front of entry, reef not bad. Go 200 yards to the south and it gets pretty bad. Go 100 yards to the north and visibility goes down to zero where bay enters into ocean.

You can dive down and drop off your gear, but you must park up the hill, than walk back down. The day we were there, the surge and viz was quite bad (for Curacao) and we had encounters with those little stinging whatsis in the shallows (you know, the kind that make your lips go numb); fish life on the wreck had decided to go elsewhere due to the currents running the opposite of normal...very macro blennies...at the end of the dive, we walked back up the hill in the aerial view to the parking lot in full gear, a bit of a workout.