Snorkel Boat Trips in Curaçao: Tugboat Wreck, Blue Room or Both?
6 min read
On this island most of the snorkelling is free from the shore, so a boat trip should buy you something the shore cannot: the Tugboat wreck with a proper lunch, or the Blue Room cave. Here is the short answer.
For most people: the snorkel cruise with BBQ lunch and open bar, 4 hours 30 minutes at €89.39 per person, 4.7 stars from 97 reviews. If the Blue Room is the whole point: the Blue Room Cave snorkelling tour with snacks, 2 hours at €49, 4.8 stars, though from only 28 reviews.
Pick by what you want to see
The two groups of boats do not overlap. The south coast cruise stops at the Tugboat wreck and a shallow reef; it never goes near the Blue Room. The Blue Room trips leave from the west coast. Decide on the place first, the boat second.
The comparison
| Tour | Duration | From | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snorkel cruise with BBQ lunch and open bar | 4 hours 30 minutes | €89.39 per person | 4.7 (97 reviews) | Tugboat wreck, lunch and drinks, a social boat day |
| Blue Room Cave snorkelling tour with snacks | 2 hours | €49 per person | 4.8 (28 reviews) | The Blue Room alone, cheapest and shortest |
| Blue Room Cave and turtles boat trip with pizza | 5 hours | €89 per person | 4.9 (13 reviews) | Blue Room plus turtles, small boat |
| West coast boat trip with beaches, BBQ and Blue Cave | 1 day | €134.08 per person | 4.8 (63 reviews) | A full day on the water with a ride home |
The south coast snorkel cruise
The boat is a standard or a double-decker catamaran (the operator cannot guarantee which). It sails first through Spanish Water, past the waterfront villas and yachts, then along the south coast to the Tugboat wreck, the first snorkel stop and the one this trip is built around, then to a shallow reef a short way along. The crew prepare the barbecue on board while you are in the water. Lunch is meat and chicken skewers, chorizo, salads and garlic bread, with vegetarian, vegan and pescatarian meals on request. The open bar covers soft drinks, water, juice, rum, vodka, Blue Curaçao, wine and beer. Mask and snorkel are included.
Touching marine life and plants is not allowed. Back problems and wheelchair use are listed as reasons not to book. Reviewers praise the crew and the food, and the summary on the booking page mentions that clearer information about the second snorkel stop would help, so ask the operator what to expect there. Hotel pickup is an optional add-on at $15 per person for the round trip, free in the Jan Thiel area.
Check availability and prices for the snorkel cruise with BBQ lunch and open bar
The two-hour Blue Room run
It leaves from the fishermen’s harbour at Santa Martha on the west coast, so you are on the water in the right place straight away. You cruise the coast, snorkel at the Blue Room and come back to the harbour; snacks, water and snorkelling gear are included and other drinks are for sale on board. The guide speaks English, Dutch and German. Arrive 15 minutes before departure.
The rating is the best of the group at 4.8, but 28 reviews is a small sample. The operator lists non-swimmers and people prone to seasickness as not suitable. If either describes you, skip it: the cave entrance is below the waterline and needs a calm sea, as our shore snorkelling guide explains.
Check availability and prices for the Blue Room Cave snorkelling tour
The five-hour version with turtles and pizza
Same operator and harbour, a longer day: the Blue Room first, then a swim with turtles at Playa Piskadó, and Sicilian pizza and unlimited drinks on board, with alcohol served from noon. The booking page describes a small group with local hosts and free parking at Santa Martha Bay. The same exclusions apply: non-swimmers and people prone to seasickness. The score is 4.9, from nine reviews. That is a promising start, not a track record.
The west coast day with a bus ride home
A catamaran from The Village Marina takes you to the north-west: Kokomo Beach (45 minutes of snorkelling), Cas Abao Beach (two hours, with the barbecue lunch prepared during your time there), the Blue Room Cave (50 minutes) and a pass by Playa Kalki, where an open-air bus takes you back to the city on a ride the itinerary lists at 70 minutes. Breakfast sandwiches, coffee and tea, the BBQ lunch, open bar, fruit and snorkel gear are included. It rates 4.8 from 63 reviews and is not suitable for people with mobility impairments.
At €131.76 it is the most expensive of the four, and the only one to give you a long beach stop and the cave. Book it if you want the west coast in a day without driving.
Check availability and prices for the west coast boat trip with beaches, BBQ and Blue Cave
Who should skip the boat
Skip the boat if you are only here for turtles: they can be seen from the beach at Playa Piskadó, and the animal guide says how to behave there. If you do not want to put your face in the water, a two-hour clear-bottom boat tour at €65.88 lets you see the reef from above. The Turtle Bay and Blue Room boat trip, 4 hours 30 minutes at €89, holds 2.8 stars from 189 reviews; with better scored options at similar prices, we would not book it.
Getting to the west coast harbour
The harbour at Santa Martha is reached by a dirt road, and the booking page for the pizza trip notes free parking at the bay. If you want to be at the harbour by yourself, compare hire cars for Curaçao. For the south coast cruise you can add a hotel pickup. More boat options are under boat trips.
Our recommendation
Book the snorkel cruise with BBQ lunch and open bar unless you specifically want the Blue Room. In that case take the two-hour trip at €49, or the five-hour trip at €89.39 once it has more reviews.
