Why you should visit Curacao

Let’s say that lately, the most underrated destinations turned out to be some of our favorite. Like for example, Curacao. We can’t believe that this colorful island has never been on our radar. We think you should avoid our mistake and immediately add this destination to your bucket list. And if you are wondering why, let’s dive straight in and tell you why you should visit Curacao.

Here’s why you should visit Curacao

This beautiful Caribbean island is part of the ABC Islands ( Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao ). Curacao is a Dutch island that’s being overshadowed by its more popular neighbor island Aruba. However, each year more and more people are coming to this paradise and have quicky prooved its name on the map. It is known for its breathtaking beaches, diverse history, rich culture, and world-class diving, Curacao is like no other Caribbean island. Another highlight of the island is that it’s located outside of the “hurricane belt” which makes it perfect to visit all year around. The colorful capital Willemstad is a UNESCO World Heritage Site full of charming pastel-colored colonial architecture, shopping, restaurants, and the floating Queen Emma bridge.

Things to know before you go:

Airport: Curacao International Airport ( CUR )

Currency: Netherlands Antillean Guilder, as well as the US dollar, is widely used.

Language: Curacao has 3 national languages, Dutch, English, and Papiamento but Spanish is very common as well.

Visa: Generally tourists holding a valid passport may enter Curaçao without a written permit and remain in the country for a period of up to 90 days. However, several nationalities (e.g. Cuba, Haiti, Peru) must present a tourist visa as part of the country entry requirements.

Weather: Being outside of the “hurricane belt” the weather in Curacao is nice and mostly sunny all year around. Although the rainy season is considered September – December it really doesn’t rain much. The high season is from mid-December till mid-April, and off-season May – December with August being to hottest month.

Driving: On the right side of the road and international driver license is not required.

Electrical Adapters: On Curacao, the power sockets are of type A, B and F. The standard voltage is 127 / 220 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz.

FOOD

Most of the food in Curacao is imported from the neighboring islands and parts of South America. In downtown Willemstad, there’s the famous floating market with boats from Venezuela full of fresh fruits and veggies but unfortunately wasn’t open during our visit. There are a lot of restaurants that serve American, Dutch, Italian, Thai, Latin and even Indonesian cuisine. Although not many options for us to eat vegan we managed to find some delicious vegan burgers at Restaurant Gouverneur de Rouville and dinner at Batik Asli Indonesian restaurant. There are also great options for food at Bijblauw.

Places to stay

There are many amazing options when it comes to choosing a place to stay in Curacao, but we will only share with you the ones we stayed in and experienced.

Renaissance Curacao Resort and Casino

The colorful Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino is perfectly located in historic Willemstad, walking distance to many shops, restaurants, and the floating Queen Emma bridge. It is built around the Rif Fort, a 19th-century landmark designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and offers an elevated beach infinity pool that’s out of this world.  Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino is a great choice to stay with many boutiques, open-air Mall, cafes, restaurants, and a casino. Don’t miss the spa treatments at the beach, which we absolutely loved.

Bijblauw

Another option for your stay in Curacao is the unique boutique hotel Bijblauw which blew us away. This hotel is made with so much love and attention to details that you would never want to leave. It is located in the trendy Pietermaai area where you can walk and admire other colorful colonial buildings. Bijblauw offers unforgettable Caribbean sea views that will leave you speechless. BijBlauw has 9 unique rooms for 2 people and 1 apartment that can host a maximum of 4 people. Each room has its own setup, character, and atmosphere. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and it’s open to everyone. We had some amazing food there.

What to do and see in Curacao

The best part about Curacao is that there’s so much to see and do. We were there only for 4 days, and it was not enough at all. We highly recommend going for at least a week so you can fully experience it all. We definitely missed not having the time to visit the small island Klein Curacao, which looks like a must and we didn’t explore the south side where they say it’s the best diving on the island.

Although having less time we did and saw the most we possibly could. We explored the historical center of Willemstad where we admired the colorful colonial architecture. We visited many unbelievably beautiful beaches that blew us away. We saw some of the most blue and clear water we’ve ever seen and can confidently say that Curacao has some world-class beaches.

Here are some of the things you can see and do in Curacao:

1. Day trip to Klein Curacao

2. Diving

3. Surfing

4. Visit Fort Beekenburg

5. Stroll through historic Willemstad

6. Explore the beaches

These are our top favorite beaches that we recommend while visiting Curacao:

• Kokomo Beach ( with one of the best water swings )
• Playa Porto Marie ( where you can find swimming pigs )
• Cas Abao Beach ( absolutely beautiful and you need to pay a small fee to enter )
• Klein Knip ( one of our favorite small beaches )
• Grote Knip ( the bluest water and fun cliff jumping )
• Playa Jeremi ( not so popular, less crowded and stunning )
• Playa Kalki ( worth the visit )

7. Santa Martha viewpoint

We hope that we inspired you to visit this beautiful Caribbean gem, Curacao. Leave us a comment if you liked it and if you have any questions that we can answer for you. Thank you for reading.

Mikey & Jana

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