Playa Kalki (Alice in Wonderland)

Head across this bridge. Snack bar and restroom to the right, entry to the left! A very gentle entry, and a short kick to the reef edge. As you see this view, with the white buildings on the hilltop, turn left into the parking area. Within a 100 meters, you'll see this fork in the road. Turn left, and follow the road to Kalki. Although a little difficult to find, the search is worth it! Off the main road, as you are beginning to wrap around to the East coast, turn left here. A GPS would be helpful here. An amazingly pristine environment awaits you!

Some steps from parking to beach but are manageable with gear. Security for parking lot. Quick walk across narrow beach to water. Follow rope or buoy line out to reef and back. Large coral formations. Lots of fish life, photo ops. Friendly turtle. Coral has some damage closer to surface. Very little current.

Go West Diving was friendly to outsiders; but can't use their pier. Beach is just past the restaurant at the bottom of the stairs and to the R; no problem. Parking lot was full got lucky with parking. Saw an eagle ray at about 30 or so; from below; several eels; great reef 35 - 70 plus. One of the best we've seen so far.

Dragging all the gear down the stairs is a pain but once to the dock it's an easy entry. The water was calm and clear and the reef was an easy swim away. Good variety of fish but same coral as you see anywhere else on the island. Worth diving if you have been to the other places already but make this the morning dive so you're not tired when climbing up and down the stairs.

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Permanent 6-8 turtles in the bay, mostly around the fisherman's pier - gorgeous snorkeling.

Beach is public, but pretty much 'belongs' to Lodge Kura Hulanda. Vibe felt like, if you are not a guest at the hotel, you are not welcome. Decent snorkel with mediocre visibility. Depth and calm waters make it good for beginners.

This was the 3rd trip for my husband and I. The only negative for the corals is there is a lot of algae. Still lots of schooling fish, but no particular large ones. It was like diving in 'fish soup'. There is a rope on the bottom leading from the dock to the reef. Very easy to navigate. Great for a night dive.

We dove here Feb. 2012. Walk out on the pier and a short swim to the reef. Quickly drops down to 40' then a moderate slop on the wall as we went down to 135'. Vis was not as good as Summer but 50-70' is nothing to complain about. There is a large rope that runs from end of pier to bottom. Makes for great guide line going down or coming north or south on reef, (for locating and going back to pier). Dive shop is great and very nice. There are rinse tanks too as well as a shower. Air tanks priced well at $8. Kura Hulanda is very nice to stay at too.

Playa Kalki is a beautiful spot and I enjoyed it very much. Especially the tranquility and the private beach house we rented made our vacation the best ever!

Been here for the last five years. Yes, we keep coming back. Few years ago with OMAR, the reef took a lot of damage above 35 feet and is slowly coming back. Below 35 the reef is still in good condition overall. The inside tip was to go right off the dock, I now feel that left is a better choice. Last year we saw all the common things that you would want or expect from a great dive. Lots of sea horses in the past. This year (June 10) we saw more turtles that in years previous.

Saw stuff that I haven't seen any other location in the Gulf. Staff friendly and accommodating. Great dive! I have done it 3 times already this holiday. I saw green eels and hundreds of other sea life. Beautiful.

11/24/2009 - what a site! One of the best dives ever. The lift is broken, so you must lug your gear down 15 steps to get to the dive shop, then down 5 more to get to the dock. But - once there the beauty of the site unfolds. Best diving of the week. Went with Oceans Encounters up to Watamula (~1/2 mile north) on a 1 tank dive ($55 US). 2 dives here - to the left & right - with both offering something a little different. Beach chairs $12 if you are not staying there. Beach is not great (good for Curacao though), but not too many people there. Good snorkeling and you can see quite a bit in the shallows if you take the time and look around. No security issues, left gear in the storage room and gave wallet to dive store to hold while we were out. Need to dive with flag/sausage due to dive boat traffic. Would stay here if I come back due to 45 minute drive from Hilton. Be sure to stop off at Sol Food for lunch/dinner (open F-Sun only) & Jancinnes (around the corner from the beach turnoff)

The site is just about the northernmost site on the West coast. For $5 USD we got to use all of the facilities including the lift to move our gear up and down the stairs from the parking lot to the dive site. The people are friendly and the reef is very nice. There is a sandwich shop just next to the dive shop that is fairly reasonable for Curacao. If you show up on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, you can have lunch or supper at the nearby Sol Restaurant. Great food, reasonable prices and a magnificent view.

Good dive site. Easy entry and exit. Dive shop on site with friendly staff. The stairs from the parking area are quite easy and wide. Look for flounder on short kick out.

I thought this site had good mushroom formations, but not as many fish as other sites. I did not think it was worth the drive from the Marriott. The entry was rough and visibility was poor that day. The steps to the parking lot were not fun in scuba gear!

Playa Kalki was definitely the best reef we saw on Curacao. Huge mushroom like corals that just towered above the wall-like diving at about 60 ft deep, to the right of the dive dock. Fish were small but plentiful, but the hard corals here were extremely healthy. Amazing! Note to shore divers, on Curacao it's easier to rent the tanks at the individual sites. Kalki's dive shop (run by Ocean Encounters) was cheaper than Habitat where we bought a package of air. Kalki's dive shop was excellent, you walk down the stairs to their dock area, buy the tanks, suit up on their benches and they lock up your belongings in a room. They have a bathroom, shower and rinse tanks and a nice dock for your use. Early December was a slow time so we had the whole reef to ourselves at most every site we dove. The beach there charges $6 per chair and not many chairs to be rented. For repeat dives there, we just did a morning dive, then stored our equip in the locked dive room and went to have lunch at the local restaurant named Jaanchie's (good food, but a bit pricy) then back for the afternoon dive. We even forgot our camera in an underwater housing in the dive room when we left, and returned a half hour later and the camera was still secure in the room for us. Great, friendly dive staff! I would never recommend staying at the resort there though. Too crowded for us.

This site provides easy entry from the dock. The reef is a short swim and well marked. Blue buoys mark the edge of the reef. As previously reported, squid are really easy to find. Look under dock. During three dives on three separate days, conditions were consistent. At depths of 40-70 feet, visibility was excellent, surge and current were minimal, and marine life was abundant. Look up, and it will be raining fish. A guided shore dive is available through Ocean Encounters West for $30.00. It is worth the money for inexperienced divers or those without a buddy. Ask for Tookie (AKA Captain Jack). If it is on the reef, he will find it. (Moray eel, Juvenile Drum fish, etc) The site presents few hazards, but watch for jet skiers on weekends. One buzzed the swimming area during my trip. Other boat traffic is well off shore. The on-site shop can provide tips on assessing the current. Snorkel Tip: Try a dusk or night snorkel off the beach. Even at shallow depths, this was an interesting experience. We became part of a floating and swirling wall of fish. (Not sure if night access is restricted to lodge guests)

Really enjoyed this site. Having dive shop on site to rent tanks from was easy. The snack bar and areas in shade to relax between dives were nice. Nice school of squid right off the edge of pier was a good photo opportunity.

Wow! What a great dive site. So many fish and reef creatures. Very large fish, which is not the norm for most dive sites on Curacao. Easy entry and exit via the pier.

Dive center right on the beach, with very easy access using the pier and a short swim to the reef. Beautiful reef/wall, with well-preserved corals and sponges.

One of the best shore dives in Curacao. This was our third trip to Curacao.

If Dr Seuss could dream up an underwater landscape, it would be Playa Kalki. Reef is very healthy and covered with tons of vibrant coral. Eels crowd the nooks and crannies of this great beach. On-site dive shop Ocean Encounters runs a very nice shop here with freshwater dunk tanks, showers and a bathroom. There is a small charge to use, 5 florins. The alternate side of Kalki is run by Hotel Kurlanda and there is a charge for the use of their loungers, $6. They also have a nice but pricy restaurant & bar there. Many steps down to the shore from the parking lot, then a moderate swim out to the reef. Sandy/dead coral beach offers easy access once you get down there. Dive shop has a pier out from the shop also. A great dive! I give it a 9 out of 10.

Great site. We visit here again and again. All West Divers are GREAT. The fancy Kura Hullanda hotel just built a new resort next door. We hear All West will partner with them. Might be a nice combo…

What an incredible dive! The coral heads are HUGE. Great fish life and incredible visibility. Very secluded beach, not many divers. All West was great. I just showed up with no reservations and was diving an hour later. Wonderful dive.

This is also called Alice in Wonderland. Well, Alice has been on vacation! There's dirty sand on most of the coral down to at least 40'. This may be the result of Hurricane Ivan, which passed 90 miles north a few days before we dove it.

A great site for both snorkeling and diving. During our snorkel trips we encountered a lot of animals, like turtles, eagle rays, big schools of fish, lobsters, snake eels and moray eels. Another great site which is not included on this site, but can be dived from Playa Kalki, is Watamula and is one of the greatest dive sites on Curacao. We saw a very big green turtle, a lot of moray eels and flying gurnards here. This site also features a 'forest' of plants and soft coral and massive mushroom corrals. You can also enter Watamula by a 'dive-yak' which can be hired by request. By using this special kayak you will have a very adventurous dive trip.

Plenty of secure parking and good facilities here. We arrived here before the shop opened and finished two dives before 10:30 am. Were only 4 others gearing up to dive as we loaded our car. Easy entry via All West dive shop dock steps, only about 1-2 feet of rocks at the waters edge and then a sand bottom out to the reef. Worse part of the dive is carrying your gear up and down the steps to the parking lot, but that is only a minor inconvenience. A short easy swim out to the buoy and down you go. Current was minimal so we did two dives here - one in each direction. Coral and growth is so thick here that there is no sand to break up the visual picture so it is very easy to miss or overlook a lot of interesting life. Swam by a fishing line from the locals on the first dive. It was weighted with 4 spark plugs that they were bouncing up and down, with no success I might add. A good spot for a two tank dive as All West has air. Use of their facilities is cheap and worth it.

Great secluded dive site all the way to the north - a bit tricky to find, but worth it! Dive the wall to either side of the beach, drops as far as you want to go. We snorkeled the beach afterwards and got into a 500+ foot long school of white fish (we couldn't identify).

Sandy beach makes for easy entry with a short swim to the reef. Nice selection of small eels.

Great shore dive site on the far west end of Curacao. Only 2 other sites are further West (Mushroom Forest & Watamulla). Not crowded. Lots of parking. All West Dive Shop has rinse tanks and tank rentals at this site. Rent tanks from All West and use their shower and rinse tanks. Short swim to reef. Do not miss this one. Small beach. Bring along a lunch and drinks.

This can be a popular beach for diving and snorkeling, but is definitely one of the best dives on the island. If you head to the right, the coral heads are massive. Heading left is also a good bet. There are a number of fish and eels, always a cool dive. A must do! The 'infamous' bathroom along with some other buildings are being torn out. All West Diving was open and active at the site in July '03 (to the left of the stairs), unlike in November '02 when we first visited. The stairs look more daunting than they actually are.

We were able to enter the water by just stepping off the end of the pier. A short snorkel out and we were viewing some of the best shore diving we have seen. The dive center was very helpful also with information on where to dive.

The diving here was Incredible, easy entry and exit. One of the GPS settings #1 or #2 was incorrect but by using the final parking and entry points we found it just fine. The Bathroom was trashed and inoperative, and there were no other facilities close by so 'go' before you get there. The dive shop was closed up the day we were there, so make sure you bring your own tanks and weights. I don't know if they are even still open or not. The beach was deserted, only one other couple was there, but it was sure was beautiful (bring lots of water and your own food). There is no way to see the car from the beach, so DON’T LEAVE ANY VALUABLES IN IT. We didn't bring any valuables, and I hid the GPS unit under the dash. All that being said, the dive was wonderful and well worth all the effort. (We went to the right) It was near the top of our list of dive sites we dove while we were there. There was little to no current, water temp 81 and vis close to 80 feet and an easy surface swim to the top of the reef. Coral was in great shape, and there was plenty of sea life. If you are looking for an "off the beaten track" dive this is it. I would definitely go back here and do it again.

One of the nicer sites here, peaceful, healty, and varied reef. A lot of life. Easy in and out. Dived here 5x this trip and I never tire of it. One of my favorites, great for night dives too. Not to be missed.

Dove 11-17-01 at 9 am. Went out to buoy and then right. nice coral formation and a fun dive. not a lot of fish but the coral was pretty dang cool. the restroom was interesting, but watch your head. coral shore and there is some construction going on at the first level area from the parking lot. What a beautiful place to eat lunch after a dive.

Excellent dive site. Great coral formations and excellent visibility. It appears not many tourists visit this site, so it's not heavily populated with divers.

Beach can be really hot for your non-diving friends- bring lots of H2O. Lots of fish life.