Curaçao
Curacao is an island country that is in the far Southern Caribbean not far from Venezuela that is part of the Dutch ABC islands that also include Aruba and Bonaire. It’s the largest and most populated of the ABC islands and has a lot of unique things to see and do and an interesting history. The capital city of Willemstad is a UNESCO World Heritage for its unique and colorful architecture. As a child I read the book “The Cay” by Theodore Taylor that was set during WWII and the beginning of the book talked about life on Curacao and the anxiety of German U-Boats sinking ships off the coast as Curacao had a large oil refinery important to the Allied Powers. This book made a big impression on me, and I’ve always wanted to visit. I got my wish in October of 2023, and we toured this beautiful and unique island!
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How to get to Curacao and Transportation
There are a few different ways to visit Curacao. Many different cruise lines make a stop on Southern Caribbean cruises to the ABC islands. It’s a great option to get a flavor of Curacao while on a longer cruise. Another way is flying into Curacao International Airport (also known as Hato International Airport) that is serviced by airlines from the US (Delta, United, American and JetBlue), several from Europe like KLM and many from South America and the Caribbean. You can also fly from Aruba or Bonaire on a local airline like Divi Divi Air for example. As for transportation, on the island there are taxis and public transportation minibuses you can take that are affordable with the main bus terminal being in Willemstad. We used the buses to get into Willemstad once. There are also bookable tours and airport transfer services that we used as well, and I personally think it is the best way to go since a local does the driving and you get more information and time to enjoy the scenery. You also can rent/hire a car but it’s not something I usually recommend personally but others like to drive themselves.
Bookable Transportation Options:
Country Information
Curacao is a constituent Country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands with a somewhat similar arrangement like Scotland in the United Kingdom with its own parliament and currency. It’s the largest island in the “ABC Islands” in the Southern Caribbean. It’s only 40 miles from Venezuela in South America. Curacao has three official languages being Dutch, English and a local language called Papiamentu so there is no problem for English speakers when visiting the country. The currency recently changed in Curacao from the old Antilles Guilder to the Caribbean Guilder that as of this writing in 2025 it is exchanging at around 1 Guilder is .5 USD. Curacao has a semi-arid climate and does not get much rain throughout the year compared to tropical islands. There are desert landscapes and interesting fauna throughout the island. Curacao is outside of the Hurricane belt so its extremely rare for them to be hit by a hurricane or other tropical system. It does have a dry (February to September) and wet season (October to December) but we went in October and did not deal with any rain. Do prepare for the heat when visiting.
Willemstad – UNESCO World Heritage Site
Willemstad is a historic city and home to 80% of the population of Curacao. It goes back to the 1600 and 1700s with the building of a city outside of Fort Amsterdam. Today it is made up of several suburbs like Punda and Otrobanda that are Papiamentu words that are split by St. Anna Bay and is connected by the famous Princess Emma Bridge. Scharloo is another suburb that I remember well from “The Cay”. The city is full of colorful historic buildings in the Dutch style and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a lot to see and do in this great capital city!
Willemstad City Tours
Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge
The Queen Emma Bridge is one of the most unique historic bridges I have seen and was prominent in “The Cay”. It was built in 1888 and has gone through multiple restorations and expansions over the years. What makes it unique is it’s a floating Pontoon “draw bridge”! It has multiple pontoons that allows it to float on St. Anna Bay and when I ship needs to pass it disconnects with the Punda side and an operator uses motors with propellers to swing the bridge to the Otrobanda side so ships can pass. The harbor, including the important Oil Refinery, is North of the bridge and this is the only way out. We walked across the bridge multiple times and watched it open. Cars used to use it to cross but the tallest bridge in the Caribbean is named the Queen Juliana bridge that now is used for auto travel. On the Punda side you can see the operators shack and heart shaped places where you can put love locks to keep them off the bridge. It’s a pedestrian bridge mostly now that is a must see in Willemstad!
Shopping and Nightlife
Curacao has plenty of shopping options and a very unique outdoor mall as well. In Willemstad in the historic buildings there are plenty of shops with some being local to others being international chains. On the Otrobanda side you will find Rif Fort (Reef Fort) that was built in the 1800s to help protect the harbor from pirates and invaders but is now very different. You can still see the historic areas of the Fort but many of the former barracks are now shops and restaurants. Candy, jewelry, souvenirs and clothing stores can be found in the Renaissance Mall. There is also a movie theater and a casino for entertainment. There are elevators that will take you up a few stories and it gives you a great view of Punda and the Princess Emma Bridge, especially at night. As for nightlife there are plenty of bars, restaurants, a casino and more that you can enjoy in Willemstad. When we visited there were locals dressed in traditional Curaçaoan clothing dancing traditional dances in areas of downtown. We were lucky and were touring at night on a Thursday where they have markets, locals dancing and a fireworks show over Punda. It’s a weekly celebration that’s a nice touch called “Punda Vibes”. It’s worth checking out!
Sunset, Night and Food Tours:
The Floating Market
In Willemstad you can visit the historic floating market where colorful boats historically from Venezuela dock not far from the Princess Emma Bridge where they sell produce from South America. In the pasty many boats from Venezuela would come over to sell their fruits and vegetables to locals and tourists. Now days with the issues in Venezuela there are not as many docked. There were only a couple when we walked by. It’s an interesting and historic tradition you might be able to see while there.
Curacao Maritime Museum
In historic Willemstad there is a great museum about the long Maritime history that is so important to Curacao. It acts almost as a second national museum telling the stories of the people over the years in the country. Starting with the indigenous peoples it goes through the colonial era and then into the more modern times. Curacao is home to a large oil refinery that has been there since before World War II and was once owned by Royal Dutch Shell. At present the refinery is idle as it was bought by Venezuela a while back but due to the political differences the West has with Maduro and his government that no longer own the refinery. There might be a buyer, but no one has taken it over. In WWII it was valued greatly by the allies who needed the oil for its military campaigns. It became a juicy target of German U-Boats during the Battle of the Caribbean. The United States played an important role in protecting Curacao, Aruba and vital shipping with multiple ships like destroyers, patrol boats, aircraft from Hato Airport and land defenses. The museum tells the story of the USS Erie who was torpedoes not far from Curacao by a German U-Boat. It burst into flames and ended up beaching the ship on Curacao. It ended up being unsalvable and is sunk in Caribbean Sea. The museum has a great exhibit about all the history of Curacao and a lot of US history I did not know about. The admission is $10 for adults and takes an hour or so to see the two floors of the exhibit.
Fort Amsterdam
On the Punda side of Willemstad opposite the Rif Fort you will find the bright yellow painted Fort Amsterdam. It was built in 1634 and is part of the UNSECO Willemstad World Heritage Site area. It was featured in “The Cay” as the place young Phillip would watch the ships go out to see and where he saw one ship sunk after it left the harbor. Standing there is the place to watch the harbor operations. Today it’s still a government facility. It is the seat of government for Curacao so you can’t tour the buildings, but you can walk into the center of the fort and look at the buildings and historic fort.
Kon. Wilhelminapark – Park in Punda
Right beside Fort Amsterdam is a nice park in the center of the Punda area of Willemstad that is a great place to visit and enjoy. The Kon. Wilhelminapark is nice and shady with trees in areas and has a square with two signs that are great for anyone to get a picture in front of for your social media or just for fun. One is a colorful sign for Curacao itself and the other is for a curious word in the local dialect. Dushi is a Papiamento word that general means good, nice or sweetheart. It can mean other things but it’s a good word and something to remember about the park and a wonderful trip to Curacao.
The Curacao Museum
The main museum in the country of Curacao (a national museum) is located near the hotel we stayed at to the West of Willemstad in a neighborhood. It’s in a historic building that is a former hospital. It’s not a huge museum but it is nice. It showcases the rooms and furniture that would have been in Curaçaoan homes in different time periods in history. There is also an art gallery with art only from local artists and there is a temporary exhibition hall. You can also see a local artist’s Caribbean-stained glass window used at the 1939 World’s Fair. Outside is a nice garden with sculptures and a village meant for Children to learn about the local way of life in the past. Do note that the museum is not air conditioned so visit in the morning to beat the heat like we did. It will take you 30 minutes to an hour to finish the museum.
Video Tour of Willemstad
Day Trip Outside of Willemstad
We headed out to the more rural areas of Curacao and circled much of the island for a day as we wanted to see as much as possible of Curacao on our trip. We love resorts and All-Inclusive Experiences, but we always spend time learning about the countries we visit and interacting with the locals. It helps to make your trip sustainable as you interact with locals and help the local economy. Learning about the different countries you visit also makes you a well-rounded person! Here is what we found around Curacao!
Flamingo Habitat
If you have ever wanted to see Flamingos in the wild, Curacao is a place you can visit to see them in their natural environment. In a lake area that’s a wildlife reserve we stopped on our day trip to see Flamingos feeding and relaxing at the small lake. They are beautiful to see outside of a zoo. Curacao was the first place we saw wild Flamingos in our travels. This is a free activity, and you can spend as much time as you want if you go on your own. As we were seeing as much as we could we got a good amount of time to watch and then headed on to our next spot!
Hato Caves
A unique natural area near the Hato International Airport is the Hato Caves. They are unique caves because when you think about caves, you think about going down deep within the Earth. Well, the Hato Caves you must walk up 49 steps to get to the entrance high in a limestone bluff. The caves were formed from water cutting into the porous limestone in the bluff/hill. Once to the entrance there is a great view of the airport, the nature park and the sea. The cave tour lasts a little less than an hour and shows you many interesting cave formations. After the tour there is a nature park that shows you the traditional fauna/plant life that includes cacti. Another unique and historic aspect is the Indian Trail. Its a short walk through the natural area and you can see 1,500-year-old pictographs from the indigenous Caiqueto people! Its something you do not usually see on Caribbean islands and is well worth checking out. It’s around $10 for the visit and its included on many island tours like we took!
Hato Cave Tours:
Kas di pal'i maishi - Kunuku House
We stopped briefly to see from the outside some historic homes and museums along our journey. The first was the Kas di pal’i maishi – Kunuku House. A Kunuku house is a traditional home of former enslaved Afro-Curacaoans that are very humble. They have thatched roofs, adobe walls and fences made from Cati (cactus)! It was closed when we went by to visit, but we got to see the outside of this historic home!
Landhuis Dokterstuin (Dokterstuin Landhouse)
We also stopped by the other side of the plantation and colonial times for Curacao at the Dokterstuin Landhouse. It was built in the 18th century and was a plantation home. It’s cladded in yellow paint and has an interesting Dutch Caribbean architecture. It is now a restaurant, so we once again just visited the outside but had a chance to see what life was like during the colonial times in Curacao.
Playa Grandi and the Sea Turtles
Near the town of Westpunt in North Western Curacao we stopped at a small fishing village and beach known as Playa Grandi. Its a beautiful beach with the crystal-clear water commonly found around this “paradise”. There is a pier that extends slightly out onto the water and that’s where you find the true attraction at the beach. Right by the pier you can see many Sea Turtles! A man feeds the turtles each day off the pier, and they keep coming back. We saw many people snorkeling near the sea turtles. You cannot touch the turtles or get too close as it’s against the law since they are an endangered species. Best to enjoy them from afar and respect them in their home. It was a nice stop to see these majestic animals in their home!
Turtle Snorkeling and Beach Tours:
Blue View Sunset Terrace Restaurant
We had been touring for a little while, so it was time to head to lunch. We headed to the far North-Western part of the Island to a restaurant with a great view. There are Cliffs overlooking the ocean in the Northern part of the Island. We sat and enjoyed the wonderful view while having lunch. It has glass floors in areas that allow you to look down onto the beach. You can cliff jump in the area so you can watch people doing that as well. As for the food, we had a chicken dish and tried a unique dish as well. We got the Iguana Stew with Rice and Beans. So yes, we tried Iguana! It was pretty good and I can use the somewhat overused phrase “That it tastes like Chicken” as it really did. It was very boney as it did have the rib cage in the dish. It was a nice and quiet lunch that’s well worth it in the small town of Westpunt!
Curacao Liqueur Distillery- Landhuis Chobolobo
Towards the end of our day tour we headed to the Curacao Liqueur Distillery that is located at a historic plantation home called Landhuis Chobolobo. Blue and Dry Curacao is a worldwide known Liqueur from Curacao made with a very unique variety of oranges grown just in Curacao called Laraha Oranges. It’s a bitter orange that the dried peels have unique flavors and are used in the Liqueur. The oranges were brought by the Spanish and adapted to the climate of the island that created this new type of orange. The Blue Curacao is dyed blue or other colors as we found out as the Liqueur in its pure form is clear. We toured the facility and learned about this unique drink. The Distillery is the original maker of Blue Curacao called Senior and Co that has been in business since 1896. They have a unique bottle with a lot of symbolism. If you have never tried a cocktail with Blue Curacao, you should as its delicious! It’s a great tour and you can by things like a variety pack of Curacao in different colors you can bring back for family and friends as a gift! There is a cost to take the tour and it takes about an hour.
Fort Nassau
On the way back into Willemstad we made one more stop at a fort high on a hill built to guard the entrance to the harbor. Fort Nassau was built by the Dutch but later taken by the British and renamed Fort George before it was given back to the Dutch. It was built in 1797, so it has been a stronghold in Curacao for a very long time. Today you can still visit the fort and have a nice dinner with a 360-degree view of Willemstad and the harbor. The Fort Nassau restaurant serves a variety of food like salads and soups for appetizers and steak, seafood and pasta for the main entre. The fort is still important for the local government as its home to the Curacao port control. So, any ship that passes through is still directed from a “aircraft control tower” like building high on the hill. It would be a wonderful place to see sunset. After this visit we headed back to our hotel after a great day trip!
Curacao Day Tour Video:
Curacao Day Trip Tours:
Conclusion and Tips
Curacao is an amazing and unique country to visit. It has a very friendly people and a lot to see and do. Punda is wonderful with it’s UNESCO World Heritage site historic buildings and forts. There are great museums to see, and we cannot forget about the crystal-clear water. There is plenty of wildlife to see with wild flamingos, sea turtles that come right up to the pier and much more. The views around the island are also stunning especially from Fort Nassau and the cliffs. There are plenty of great resorts on the island like the Sandals Royal Curacao or the Mangrove Beach Resort. There are plenty of great restaurants and unique cuisine like Iguana in Curacao. If you like adventure, then Curacao has it as well with the Hato caves and plenty of water sports. Since Curacao is in the tropics it is hot so be prepared to keep hydrated and put on sunscreen. Bring insect repellent wipes (sometimes aerosol bug spray is confiscated when flying) to keep mosquitoes away. Curacao is a destination that is below the hurricane belt, so it is very rare to deal with hurricane threats when visiting Curacao so it’s a year-round destination. October to December is rainy season but Curacao like Aruba is a desert climate so the rainfall is still pretty limited. We had no rainfall while we visited in October. It’s a great cruise destination, but I really recommend flying in to stay a few days at least.
I had dreamed about visiting Curacao since I was a kid after reading “The Cay”. Before heading to Curacao, I bought and re-read the book. I am very thankful we decided to make it out to Curacao as it’s a beautiful and historic destination that is well worth visiting! Like Phillip in the book closes his eyes and remembers the ocean and the Cay he was stranded on, on a stressful day I can do the same and remember the great times and relaxation on Curacao!
If you are Interested in this trip:
Contact Donna or Jason Miller with ET Family Travel and we can help you book your dream trip today including customized trips, guided tours, cruises and much more. Our travel planning services are completely free if you book with us. Contact us at donnamiller.etfamilytravel@gmail.com or jasonmiller.etfamilytravel@gmail.com to book today!
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