DIVING IN THE ONLY WAY HE KNOWS, HEADFIRST

Bryan Horne wasn’t born in Curaçao; he’s a Canadian native, drawn to our island “out of a passion for scuba diving and the underwater world.” Moving was always going to be a life-changing decision, but in diving, Bryan had found his calling. As the founder and owner of Dive Curaçao, he spends his days showing off Curaçao’s hidden undersea treasures – and does his part to preserve them for future generations.

Typically I would take a first-time diver to the Tugboat, near Caracasbaai. It provides easy shore access and the shallow areas are magnificent, with an abundance of life. But wherever you go, make sure you search out a quality dive operator so that safety and quality are assured.

Whether you’re boat diving or shore diving, the dive sites are just right there in front of you. You don’t have to go far to find them; our reefs start at approximately 15 feet from the shoreline and then drop down.

On sustainable tourism

We started the Dive Task Force about two years ago, and we’re involved with an international organization called Project Aware. We do weekly cleanup dives at 14 dive sites across Curaçao. So the cleanup dives are about promoting safety, quality and sustainable tourism – but they’re also about keeping Curaçao a premier dive and vacation destination.

Shete Boka National Park has to be my favorite part of the island. I used to do a lot of mountain biking through there, and it became a very special place because of the wildlife and the beautiful rolling hills.

On the perfect day

Waking up my daughter, making her breakfast. Seeing her smile, then dropping her off at school. And then taking some quality time with some friends, possibly having coffee at the beach. That’s a perfect day for me.

On island favorites

In no particular order…for diving, North Point of Klein Curaçao…local dish, Keshi Yená…restaurant, Kome in Pietermaai and my favorite food truck is BBQ Express.

Search out local flavors. Experience Curaçao like a local, instead of getting caught up possibly in the regular tourist way. Get out on the street. Go down to Pietermaai, get down to Otrobanda. Take a walk, talk to some people. Curaçao is a very safe place and it’s got a lot of character.