Highlights

• Landhuis Chobolobo Curaçao liqueur distillery
• Queen Emma Floating BridgeHandelskade coloured houses
• Floating Market and souvenirs
• Punda Love Heart locks
• Fort Church
• Curaçao and Dushi Signs
• Jan Thiel Beach
• Playa Grandi/Piskadó
• Hato Caves
• Grote Knip beach and view
• Kleine Knip
• Playa Lagun
• Blue Bay Beach Club
• Stairway to Heaven hike
• Fort Beekenburg
• Shete Boka National Park
• Christoffel National Park
• Santa Martha Bay View Lookout Point
• Windmill Farm Curacao and view
• Playa Porto Marie
• Flamingo Habitat and Observatietoren Sint Willibrordus
• Williwood Sign
• Oostpunt, easternmost point
• Western most point in the north
• Helmi Smeulders cooking course
• Curaçao Sea Aquarium
• Watamula Hole- tricky to drive to
• Landhuis Ascencion country house
• Curaçao International Raceway
• Virgen Di Arrarat statue
• Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue
• The Aloe Vera Farm Curacao
• Curaçao Ostrich Farm
• Curacao Maritime History Museum
• Indoor Market

Before you go

• UK and US citizens don’t need a visa to enter but do need to complete an electronic disembarkation form at least an hour in advance of arrival
• When travelling between Aruba and Curaçao, I recommend taking a larger airline because DiviDivi was very delayed and only owns two planes
• Only visa and Mastercard were accepted in most places, not American Express nor Discover. Revolut was often declined even though it is a Visa card
• Willemstad is the capital and the island is part of the Netherlands
• The official languages are Papiamentu, Dutch, English
• Local parking only takes Florin coins
• Most places can charge in Florin or USD but not all cards accept the charge in Florin
• The weather is tropical so it’s hot and humid most of the time
• Mosquitos are prevalent so bring or buy repellent
• Many beaches and national parks close before sundown, and parking will close even earlier
• To get around easily, hire a car
• The rental car company warned about car thefts, and some areas didn’t feel very safe, especially at night
• Roads can quickly change to dirt and sometimes are in poor condition, especially heading towards the more remote beaches
• Post offices are often closed on the weekends
• In Curaçao, “dushi” is a Papiamentu word that can mean good, sweet, lovely, tasty

Transport

• Curaçao International Airport is located on the northeast of the island. I flew a small airline called DiviDivi from Aruba, which, I found out later, only owns two propeller planes.
• On the way out, I flew on Avianca to Bogotá. There are quite a few flights available
• For getting around the island, I recommend hiring a car. It makes it easier to get around, especially if you do not have a lot of time
• If you do have a lot of time, then there is a bus system. However, they do not run very often and I often saw many people waiting at the stops for a long time as I passed them coming and going from places

Accommodation

• I stayed at a newer hotel called Amazonia Curacao: The Jungle Experience. Although it was a fun idea, I wouldn’t recommend it. First, I arrived late due to a delayed flight and there was no way to enter the building or call reception. Luckily, a worker came out and rang someone for me after some convincing. Secondly, the room was spacious but not very clean, and the air conditioning did not work well. Lastly, there were so many mosquitos and I got bitten a lot just at breakfast.
• On the good side, the breakfast was excellent! And there are some birds that talk, and a few monkeys.
• As usual I recommend checking reviews on Google Reviews or using AirBnB

Currency

The Antillean Guilder (ANG), also called the Florin, is the official currency. However, US dollars are widely accepted As of January 2025, one British pound is equal to 2.27 florin/ANG

I recommend to check the currency conversion just before you leave as this fluctuates

Food

Snacks

I tried some lovely cookies from the market made of almonds. They are called Gevulde Koeken in Dutch.

Also, at the airport I bought a peanut cookie and a coconut bread from the Curaçao bakery cart. Both were tasty and the coconut bread reminded me of a dense scone.

Restaurants

Breakfast at the Amazonia Curacao hotel was excellent, although it was outside and I got attacked by mosquitos. It was Western style with pancakes, omelette, bacon, fruit, honey, jam and orange juice.

Zeng’s Bar & Restaurant Chinese food saved me when I was driving back at night, and I couldn’t see many restaurants on the way. I had a huge box of chicken and broccoli with rice for a very reasonable price.

At the Grand Café ‘Gouverneur De Rouville’. I enjoyed lunch on the terrace with a view of St Anna Bay. Banana soup was tasty and unique. And the dessert was yummy, a type of flan called Quesillo.