Curaçao: feel it for yourself

We really enjoy going to Curaçao, one of the six Dutch islands in the Caribbean. Valentijn lived and worked there for six months in his roaring twenties. Even though it is a part of The Netherlands, and Dutch is spoken, it doesn't look and feel Dutch at all.

The Dutch Caribbean

Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (ABC Islands) and Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba (the SSS Islands) are all Dutch islands in the Caribbean and are often called ‘The Dutch Caribbean’ or ‘The Netherlands Antilles’. Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten are, like the Netherlands, independent countries. Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba are special municipalities of The Netherlands. The Kingdom of The Netherlands therefore consists of the mother country The Netherlands and the Caribbean part with six islands.

Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a country within the Kingdom of The Netherlands. Dutch is spoken here and the island has its own language, namely ‘Papiamentu’. Curaçao is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, about 65 km north of the Venezuela coast. Together with Aruba and Bonaire, it forms the ABC islands. Even though the three islands are very close to each other, they are still incredibly diverse. Curaçao is the largest of the ABC islands in both area and population as well as the largest of the Dutch Caribbean.

Since 1854, Curaçao has been a colony of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. The colonial status came to an end on December 15, 1954 when the Statute for the Kingdom of the Netherlands was signed by The Netherlands, Suriname and The Netherlands Antilles after eight years of negotiations. In 2010, the country of The Netherlands Antilles was abandoned and since then Curaçao has been part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands as an independent country. Willemstad is the capital city of Curaçao; this city has always been an energetic, regional hub where trade interests, cultures and religions met. 

Our highlights

Curaçao's most characteristic image, the multi-colored 'Handelskade' 

1. Dutch Heritage-Tour

We started at the charming old town of Otrobanda, a district of Willemstad. Otro banda means 'other side' (from Punda). For years, this side of the center suffered from decay, poverty and crime, but thanks to the necessary investments, the district has been well renovated and is once again worth a visit. We walked from Brionplein (1)* along picturesque streets, through fragrant markets, past colorful Dutch architecture, and saw vibrant murals. The Otrobanda area has been of historical importance since the first mansions were built in 1707. Many street names, squares, buildings and houses have Dutch names.

* the numbers are matching with the numbers in the map below.

We walked via the Breedestraat (main shopping street) to the famous Kura Hulanda Village (2). This neighborhood is transformed into a real art gallery open-air. Very beautiful. Then we walked back to the Douwe Egberts Café (3) and had a delicious coffee here, before going to the 168 meter long Queen Emma Bridge (Pontoon Bridge) (4) to cross St. Anna Bay to get to the other side. On the bridge we had the best view of the Handelskade (5); the collection of multicolored buildings on the water that has become the most characteristic image of Curaçao.

After crossing the bridge, we arrived in the Punda district (6) with open-air markets, colonial shop buildings and unique souvenir shops. The streets in Panda are full of life and colours; fantastic murals and colorful buildings all over the city. We also walked past the Governor's Palace (7).

We continued our way to Landhuis Chobolobo and on our way there, we passed (via the Princess Amalia Bridge) the historic district of Scharloo (8), a former Jewish neighborhood, home to many historic buildings currently classified as monuments, and the reason why Curacao is listed on Unesco’s World Heritage List.

Landhuis Chobolobo (9) is a former plantation house in Curaçao. The country house houses the distillery of the famous Genuine Curaçao from Senior & Co. established. We were warmly welcomed with a tour and a tasting of the various liqueur flavors.

At that time we booked a tour with a local guide, a comparable tour can be booked here: Curacao's Colorful History Walking Tour.

2. Klein (Little) Curaçao

The distance from Curaçao to Klein Curaçao is approximately 25km. We took a cruise boat from Caracas Bay in the Marina and this trip takes about 1.5 hours.

The island is uninhabited and has a snow-white beach of approximately one kilometer long, which runs along the entire west coast of the island. Really beautiful, it can easily compete in the top 10 of 'the world's moist sun-drenched bounty islands'. Furthermore, the island contains the ruins of two lighthouses, a number of fishing huts, a number of graves on the northwest coast and two freshwater wells. The waters around Klein Curaçao offer good diving and snorkeling opportunities. There are many turtles swimming, so beautiful.

Is Klein Curacao worth a visit? The chance to go to an uninhabited, tropical bounty island may only come once in your life, so why not grab it with both hands?

3. Sint-Christoffel Park & Mountain

The north of Curaçao is dominated by the largest national park on the island: the Christoffel Park with an area of ​​approximately 2,000 hectares.
The park, which was founded in 1978, is famous for its enormous variety of local flora and fauna. such as the rare palabrua (a variant of the barn owl) and white-tailed deer. The absolute highlight of the Christoffel Park is the Christoffelberg, which is approximately 375 meters high. Of course, it is small by European standards, but it is a striking appearance in the landscape.
We visited the park partly by car, partly on foot. Special car routes have been created, including the Mountain Route and North Coast Route (no 4WD required). During our tour through the park we came across many cool 'stops'. Here we got out and continued on foot, via the walking paths, to the beautiful viewpoints. Recommended!

4. Beach life

Curacao has about 40 different beaches, most of which are really beautiful. Our favorites are: Jan Thiel, Mambo, Sant Martha, Porto Marie and Bon Bini Beach. The best part is that you can go snorkeling or even diving from the beach as the coral is right in front of you.

5. Traditional food & drinks of Curaçao

Surrounded by sea, the island is obviously fish-loving and this is often reflected in the local dishes like stewed pike. Other specialties on Curaçao you have to try are traditional Creole dishes like kabritu stobá (goat stew), karkó (conch), yuana (iguana, tastes like chicken), kadushi soup (cactus soup), mondongo (beef innards soup), funchi (a kind of polenta) and tutu (funchi, rice and beans). Not to be missed if you are in Curaçao: taste the Genuine Curaçao Liqueur; it is distilled on the island. 

6. Hato Caves

We went to the Hato Caves, located on the northern part of the island of Curaçao. The caves were used by runaway slaves who hid there from slave traders. Some slaves were therefore in these caves for a very long time. In the caves are shapes called the Sleeping Giant and Mother Maria. There is also a romantic pool and a colony of rare bats hanging from the ceiling (we weren't able to take good pictures in the caves).

7. Jan Thiel Beach Resort

We stayed 9 nights at Livingstone Jan Thiel Beach Resort, which was really chill and comfortable. We stayed in one of the colored chalets (ours was blue). The resort has a pool, restaurant and its own private beach; it's just a wonderful place.