Reefwander
A rocky headland with tall cactus and a separate rock stack beside a quiet beach and calm green water — Cas Abao, Curaçao.

Curaçao · Curaçao · Reef

Cas Abao

Eagle rays and seahorses on a fringing reef just off the beach

Photo: Boris Kasimov from Toronto, Canada · CC BY 2.0

Cas Abao is a beach on the south-western shore of Curaçao with a fringing reef a few fin kicks off the sand and a dive centre on site. The reef draws a wide spread of animals, from eagle rays and stingrays to turtles, morays, seahorses and frogfish.

Also known as Cas Abou, Playa Cas Abao, Cas Abao Beach.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Cas Abao: typical dive 12–36 m (40–118 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit12 m36 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 50 m (164 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

12.2274° N, 69.0930° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

From the beach the bottom is white sand until the drop-off begins at about 9 m (27 ft). The fringing reef beyond it is home to eagle rays, stingrays, turtles, morays, seahorses and frogfish, and it continues from about 12 m (40 ft) down to 36 m (120 ft).

Marine life and season

  • Eagle rays
  • Stingrays
  • Sea turtles
  • Frogfish
Month-by-month season rating for Cas Abao
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodFairFairFair

Season follows Curaçao: Diving runs all year; October to February is the rainy season, and May to November brings warmer water and fewer crowds.

Know before you go

  • Recreational and commercial boat traffic makes an inflated surface marker buoy compulsory for shore divers.

Dive videos

Scuba Diving at Cas Abao Beach Dive Site in Curaçao: Shore Diving Sites in Curaçao (4K video) · Dive Curaçao on YouTube

Questions divers ask

Is Cas Abao a shore dive?+

Yes. The reef sits right off the beach, the drop-off starts at about 9 m over white sand, and a dive centre on the beach supports divers going in from the shore.

Sources

  1. Cas Abao Beach Dive Site — Dive Curaçao
  2. Playa Cas Abao — ScubaGo

Photo credits

More dive sites in Curaçao

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Cave & cavern

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A shallow bay reef with 11 metres of water at most

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Seahorses and frogfish along a vertical wall towards Small Wall

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Artificial reef

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to 15 mbeginner

A house reef with a sunken pontoon barge and car wrecks next door

10–36 mintermediate

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