Difficulty
advanced
Viz (last reported 66142h ago)
Max Depth
100ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Karpata
Popular with shore divers. Karpata is located at the end of the one-way section on the coastal road. Known for its good visibility and panorama views, this site is great for wide-angle photographers. Divers can pose by huge ship anchors embedded in the coral, or over branching colonies of elkhorn, which stretch from ten feet up to the surface. Depth 20-100 feet (6-30 meters). Karpata is just to the East of the No Dive Zone, and offers some of the more spectacular diving on the island.On the stretch of road between Columbia and Karpata, 7 km North of Kralendijk.
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shore
boat
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Bill K
Dec 21, 2011, 12:00 AM
scuba
We finally worked out the family schedule to make this dive and it was definitely worth it. Remember that this site is pretty far north on the one-way road, so you have to make the 25-minute trip back through Rincon to return to town. The entry wasn't bad in 1 foot surf -- gently walk in to the platform, grab on and walk to the right side, then put on your fins and swim out. Reverse the steps on the return. Heavy surf conditions should make you carefully reconsider this dive. The reef drops off steeply and is cut by V-shaped coral canyons, not sand chutes as at most other sites. The comments about flying out from or above the reef should be followed! Corals and sponges were abundant and healthy, though we saw lots of brown algae below about 60 feet. There are plenty of fish, but the scenery makes this dive outstanding. Take time to snorkel after your dive, since the mooring is only in 18 feet of water. There are some sea fans south of the concrete entry slab.
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