Klein Curaçao Day Trip
A full day on a sailing catamaran to Klein Curaçao, the uninhabited island with a white-sand beach, a lighthouse and a rusting shipwreck. Snorkel, swim and eat a barbecue lunch with an open bar, then sail home at sunset.
Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is the Caribbean island that never wanted to look like anywhere else.
Willemstad, its capital, is a harbour town of pastel Dutch gables in ice-cream colours, split by the Sint Anna Bay and stitched back together by the Queen Emma pontoon bridge, and the historic districts of Punda and Otrobanda are inscribed by UNESCO. Beyond the city, the island is dry, spiky and beautiful: cliffs where the sea explodes through limestone blowholes, a national park with a mountain you climb at dawn, a cave full of bats, and small west-coast coves where turtles graze in clear water. This guide books Curaçao properly. It pairs the Klein Curaçao catamaran day with the Sea Aquarium, the Hato Caves and the Blue Curaçao distillery, adds the free and low-fee sights that make Willemstad worth walking, such as the oldest synagogue in the Americas still in use, and then matches you to the right hotel, from a harbour-front resort in Otrobanda to a boutique stay in the Pietermaai district, because on an island this long, where you sleep decides how much you drive.
Don't miss
Willemstad: Punda and Otrobanda (UNESCO)
The pastel Dutch harbour town that UNESCO protects: Punda and Otrobanda face each other across Sint Anna Bay, linked by the Queen Emma pontoon bridge. Walk it, cross it and eat on the waterfront. Free.
Curaçao Sea Aquarium
The island's most popular family attraction at Bapor Kibrá: a seawater aquarium with a semi-submarine underwater observatory, sea lion and dolphin shows, nurse shark feeding and a natural lagoon where you can snorkel with stingrays.
Hato Caves
A guided walk through a limestone cave of stalactites, stalagmites and a colony of bats, a short drive from the airport. Combine it with turtles, flamingos or a beach on a half-day island tour.
Shete Boka National Park
A wild stretch of north-coast cliffs where the sea charges into limestone inlets and caves, including the thunderous Boka Tabla. Short trails, big drama and sea turtle nesting bays. Go early.
Things to do in Curaçao
Curaçao Sea Aquarium
The island's most popular family attraction at Bapor Kibrá: a seawater aquarium with a semi-submarine underwater observatory, sea lion and dolphin shows, nurse shark feeding and a natural lagoon where you can snorkel with stingrays.
Hato Caves
A guided walk through a limestone cave of stalactites, stalagmites and a colony of bats, a short drive from the airport. Combine it with turtles, flamingos or a beach on a half-day island tour.
Christoffel National Park
The island's biggest wild area on the northwest, with a dawn climb up Mount Christoffel, white-tailed deer, orchids and signed driving and hiking trails. Go with a jeep safari or drive yourself and start early.
Blue Curaçao Distillery at Landhuis Chobolobo
The home of Senior and Co. Curaçao liqueur, in a historic mansion in Saliña. Take the guided tour, learn about the bitter laraha orange and finish with a tasting and a cocktail.
FreeWillemstad: Punda and Otrobanda (UNESCO)
The pastel Dutch harbour town that UNESCO protects: Punda and Otrobanda face each other across Sint Anna Bay, linked by the Queen Emma pontoon bridge. Walk it, cross it and eat on the waterfront. Free.
3-4 hoursDetails →
Shete Boka National Park
A wild stretch of north-coast cliffs where the sea charges into limestone inlets and caves, including the thunderous Boka Tabla. Short trails, big drama and sea turtle nesting bays. Go early.
Sea Turtle Swim and Grote Knip Beach
A west-coast day built around swimming with wild sea turtles and an afternoon at the postcard cove of Grote Knip, with free underwater photos included. One of the island's best-reviewed excursions.
Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue and Museum
A sand-floored synagogue consecrated in 1732 in the heart of Punda, still in active use, with an adjoining Jewish cultural historical museum. A small fee, a big story and a quiet escape from the waterfront crowds.
Kurá Hulanda Museum
Otrobanda's museum of the transatlantic slave trade and West African kingdoms, housed in restored buildings of a former slave-trading post. Serious, moving and essential for understanding the island.
Where to stay
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
Renaissance Wind Creek Curaçao Resort
Otrobanda
The harbour-front resort on Otrobanda's side of Sint Anna Bay, a few minutes' walk from the Queen Emma Bridge and the UNESCO old town. Pools, a casino, restaurants and the Rif Fort waterfront next door make it the easy, full-service splurge.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Avila Beach Hotel
Pietermaai
A long-running beachfront hotel on Penstraat in Pietermaai, with two private beaches, a house reef for snorkeling, an infinity pool and a spa, about a fifteen-minute walk from downtown Willemstad.
Rates on Expedia →Kurá Hulanda Village and Spa
Otrobanda
A village of restored historic buildings in Otrobanda, with the Kurá Hulanda Museum on site and the UNESCO lanes and the Queen Emma Bridge a short walk away. For travelers who want history and atmosphere over beach-resort polish.
Rates on Expedia →
$$Pietermaai Boutique Hotel
Pietermaai
A boutique stay in Pietermaai, Willemstad's restored-mansion seafront district of restaurants and bars, a short walk from Punda. Good value for couples who want to eat out every night.
Rates on Expedia →Atelier Skalo Boutique Hotel
Scharloo
An art-led boutique hotel in the Scharloo Art District, surrounded by street art, small cafes and colorful merchant houses inside the UNESCO area. A good-value, characterful base a walk from Punda.
Rates on Expedia →Curaçao guides
First Time in Curaçao: What to Book, How to Get Around & How Many Days
The practical first-timer primer: the day trips worth booking ahead, whether you need a car, how many days to plan and where Willemstad, the beaches and the parks fit in.
Where to Stay in Willemstad: Otrobanda, Pietermaai, Scharloo & the Beach
A neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to staying in Willemstad, tied to five hotels from a harbour-front resort to an art-district boutique stay, with advice on cars, beaches and noise.
