Sitting alongside Aruba and Bonaire as the third of the Caribbean’s “ABC” islands, you may be wondering what Curaçao is known for.
For many, their first experience of this lovely little island may well be its most famous export: orange-flavored Blue Curaçao liqueur. While that might grace any good cocktail cabinet, there are many more reasons to choose to vacation here.
Variously ruled by the Spanish, the Dutch, and the British, the island has a unique take on Creole culture. Those colonial influences blend with indigenous and African customs to create a beguiling mix that can readily be seen in the vibrant capital, Willemstad. The coastline is a mix of idyllic coves, towering cliffs, great beaches, and some of the best shore diving you’ll find anywhere in the world; yet another compelling reason to visit.
Punda & Otrobanda
Willemstad
The capital of Curaçao is vibrant Willemstad, a UNESCO-listed site packed with history and culture. This colorful city is split into two main districts. Punda, the Dutch word for “point” references the first settlement on the island, while across Sint Anna Bay lies Otrobanda, literally “the other side”.
Punda
While part of the same city, both have their own distinct flavors. Punda is home to the brightly-colored Dutch colonial buildings that make up the Handelskade waterfront, images of which have graced many a magazine article. Otrobanda, meanwhile, is just as historic but slightly less tourist-oriented.
It’s visited more by people in the know who cross the bay for hip restaurants, boutique hotels, and some of the Caribbean’s best street art thanks to a series of murals dotted around the neighborhood. Otrobanda is also home to the Kura Hulanda Quarter, a maze of hidden courtyards and colonial-era mansions, a legacy of Curaçao’s role in the slave trade.
Klein Curaçao
Klein Curaçao
A 50-minute ride by rigid inflatable boat from Curaçao lies its smaller sibling, Klein Curaçao, one of the most fascinating islands in the Caribbean.
Uninhabited—or rather abandoned—it has the feel of a desert island thanks to some truly incredibly beautiful beaches and wonderful untouched Caribbean reefs. Many hours can be spent lounging on the sands in what is often described as the ultimate daytrip from the main island.
If this sounds idyllic, it is—but that image starkly contrasts with the island’s dark history. When the slave trade was at its height in the 17th century, Klein Curaçao was used as a processing facility to ensure those who’d crossed the Atlantic in chains were fit for onward sale.
With a large number of them perishing thanks to illnesses picked up on the journey, their graves dot the island’s interior, alongside a few structures, including a faded pink lighthouse, that act as a lasting remembrance to their plight.
Snorkeling & Diving
Snorkeling in Curaçao
If exploring reefs is your thing, Curaçao rates as one of the best diving locations in the Caribbean for both its fabulous underwater kingdom and the ease with which it can be visited.
Curaçao’s best snorkeling and diving sites are located on the south coast where a huge reef runs parallel to the shore. Unlike other Caribbean destinations where a boat is required for the best underwater sites, here you can step right off the beach to the reef.
And with more than 70 different dive sites, the island can cater to all levels, from those donning a snorkel and mask for the first time to experienced divers.
Tugboat Wreck
Great dives are in abundance. Mushroom Forest takes its name from its giant coral formations, while the Tugboat Wreck is a great beginner-friendly wreck. At Playa Piskado, divers can swim alongside sea turtles, while Superior Producer is one of the deeper, more advanced dives. Just outside the harbour, it offers the chance to descend to a fully intact cargo ship that sank here in 1977.
Papiamentu
While Dutch may be the official language of Curaçao and English is widely spoken, you’re likely to hear more of Papiamentu, the sing-song tongue of the people. Spoken everywhere from street markets to government offices, it’s a Creole blend of Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, and African languages. A dash of indigenous Arawakan words is thrown in for good measure.
With a smooth, rhythmic flow, Papiamentu developed as a way for the enslaved and indigenous people to communicate in a world where they were dominated by the colonial Dutch.
Over time, this symbol of Curaçao’s independent identity seeped into local musical forms such as tumba and seú, which are filled with expressive storytelling. Known as “The Curaçao Blues”, you can hear the music in laid-back bars and cafés all over the island.
Fort Amsterdam
Fort Amsterdam
What is Curaçao famous for? Fort Amsterdam, for one thing, sitting at the entrance to St. Anna Bay in Punda and part of the Unesco-listed historic district. Built in 1635 by the Dutch West India Company, it was the island’s main defensive structure against attacks from pirates and European rivals of the Dutch as they fought for Caribbean dominance. In fact, a cannonball from a 19th-century British attack can still be seen embedded in one of the walls.
In a city of already colorful buildings, the bright yellow walls of Fort Amsterdam provide a bright contrast to the deep blue skies seen over the island. While visitors can wander around parts of the fort for a taste of history, the building today is the seat of the island’s government.
Two Bridges
Queen Emma Bridge
Two very different bridges take people over Sint Anna Bay from Punda to Otrobanda. Down by the oceanfront is Queen Emma Bridge, a floating landmark also affectionately called the Swinging Old Lady.
Built in 1888, this pontoon pedestrian bridge opens laterally to let passing ships through into the main harbor. Perhaps, uniquely, you can be halfway across when the bridge starts to move—but that just adds to its charm.
The other is the quite magnificent Queen Juliana Bridge. The tallest bridge in the Caribbean, it carries four lanes of traffic at a maximum height of 160 feet, offering great views as well as a functional purpose for drivers.
Beaches
Grote Knip
You don’t have to don snorkel and fins to enjoy the seascapes around Curaçao. The island is home to some incredible stretches of sand that cater to all tastes.
Unlike other Caribbean islands, the beaches here tend to be more cove-like and framed with limestone cliffs that can make them feel quite remote. There are beaches all around the island, but the best are on the south-southwest coast where the reef offers great protection and the waters are so clear that visibility can reach up to 100 feet.
Cas Abao
Everyone will have their own favorite, but some of the best include Grote Knip with its soft, white sand and picture-postcard setting, and Cas Abao, a great all-rounder that offers both beauty and convenience of access from the capital.
Animal lovers will take particular delight in two of the others. The aforementioned Playa Piskado offers the chance to spot turtles, while Playa Porto Marie is home to some playful wild pigs that will swim in the ocean with visitors.
Shete Boka National Park
Shete Boka National Park
If taking a walk on the wild side is more your thing than the pristine beaches in Curaçao, head to Shete Boka National Park. Set on the island’s rugged north coast around 45 minutes from Willemstad, it’s dramatically different to the south coast. Say goodbye here to calm, turquoise beaches and hello to rocky cliffs, crashing waves and hidden sea caves.
The name “Shete Boka” translates as “Seven Inlets” in Papiamentu, in reference to a series of bays along the coast. The park’s most famous attraction is Boka Tabla where powerful waves smash into an underground cave. Boka Pistol, where waves crash like a gunshot is equally dramatic, while at Boka Wandomi and the Natural Bridge, the waves have carved natural arches into the coastline.
Kura Hulanda Museum
Kura Hulanda Museum Photo by Pi3.124 on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Once the epicenter of the transatlantic slave trade, Curaçao certainly doesn’t shy away from this dark chapter in its past. Case in point is the Kura Hulanda Museum, which provides an emotional journey into the circumstances that led to so many people of African descent being sold on the island.
A short walk from the Queen Emma Bridge and within the Kura Hulanda Village, its stories are told in a series of restored 18th- and 19th-century buildings to provide an immersive experience.
Amongst its exhibits are collections of African artifacts, Middle Passage relics, and post-slavery culture heritage. The chains and branding irons of the Slave Trade Exhibit and a series of reconstructed slave dwellings are particularly moving.
Hato Caves
Hato Caves
Located around eight miles north of the capital and close to the international airport, visiting Hato Caves has become one of Curaçao’s best things to do since opening to the public in 1991.
Sitting on a limestone plateau and with walls covered in marine fossils, the caves offer significant credence to the theory that Curaçao was once totally submerged under the ocean. Visitors today can view a series of stalactites, stalagmites, and underground pools, as well as ancient petroglyphs said to date from more than 1,500 years ago.
The main “cathedral” cave is particularly impressive, while many of the rock formations are said to look like animals, faces, and even a giant statue of the Virgin Mary. Those with keen eyes may also spot the colony of rare long-nosed bats that inhabit the caves.
Landhuis Chobolobo & Blue Curaçao
Blue Curaçao
For many people, the first they hear of this delightful Caribbean island comes in the way of the famed Blue Curaçao liqueur. What many may not know, however, is that this most famous of Curaçao’s exports was created by botanical accident.
The original Valencia oranges brought to the island by the first Spanish settlers could not grow in such an arid environment, evolving into the distinctive Laraha orange. While almost inedible, their peels contain essential oils which now form the basis of the drink, which, interestingly, was once clear but had blue food colouring added to make it more appealing.
Landhuis Chobolobo
How the authentic version of Blue Curaçao is produced can be discovered in the original distillery, Landhuis Chobolobo, one of the Caribbean’s hidden gems. Set in a 19th-century mansion in the Scharloo area of Willemstad, visitors can see the original copper distillery, visit a tasting room, and explore certain areas of the mansion itself for an insight into colonial-era culture.
Pietermaai
Pietermaai
As with many other destinations around the world, the hippest spot to hang out in Curaçao is a place that’s undergone serious regeneration. Despite being home to some incredible colonial-era buildings, a legacy of its wealthy merchant district past, Pietermaai, just east of Punda, was falling into disrepair until a few years ago.
A huge restoration project later, and those mansions have been revitalized to house boutique hotels, cocktail bars, street art, and some of the island’s best restaurants. It’s a place so vibrant it’s now been nicknamed Curaçao’s SoHo.
While the district really comes to life in the evenings, it’s certainly still worth a visit by day. Both the regenerated buildings and the incredible views out to sea produce images that can grace anyone’s social media feed.
Krioyo Cuisine
Kabritu Stoba
Nowhere is Curaçao’s diverse blend of African, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and Indigenous influences more readily seen than in the island’s cuisine.
Krioyo, or Curaçaoan Creole cuisine is found all over the island, from small roadside snèks, which are local eateries to sit-down restaurants serving traditional dishes. One of the best places to sample it is Plasa Bieu, or the Old Market, in Willemstad. This airy, rustic market is home to six open kitchens serving local dishes that can be eaten at restaurant counters or on the outdoor picnic tables.
Look out for dishes such as Kabritu Stoba, which is slow-cooked goat stew. Keshi Yena is a hollowed-out Edam cheese rind stuffed with meat, vegetables, and spices, while Funchi & Tutu, a pair of side dishes made from cornmeal. Some may find the thought of Yuana stoba, or iguana stew a little less palatable, though inevitably most people claim it “tastes just like chicken”.
Queen Wilhelmina Park
Queen Wilhelmina Park
Willemstad’s Queen Wilhelmina Park is pretty enough but fairly inconsequential, despite its waterfront location and proximity to the shops, cafés, and historic downtown Willemstad. What makes it such a must-see, though, are the two huge signs—DUSHI and CURAÇAO—with which every visitor simply has to have their picture taken.
The Curaçao sign is self-explanatory, but “dushi” has a deeper meaning here. In Papiamentu it can mean sweet, lovely, delicious, and sometimes even sexy, depending on the context. As such, it’s a perfect representation of Curaçao’s friendly, laid-back vibe, rendering in turn any images captured beside it the perfect take-home souvenir.
Read: Curaçao vs. Aruba: Which Should You Visit?
Willemstad
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