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Early March is a great time to visit the island of Curaçao, one of the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is located about 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela, making it part of the continent of South America. I visited for 6 days and every day there were cruise ships in the harbor. Passengers tend to swarm beaches, so check here to get an idea of cruise ship timing so you can get to beaches in time to snag a chair with shade. It is hot and the sun is strong, BUT it is also quite windy which is quite nice because it feels a tiny bit cooler.

Fun Fact: Children are all taught Papiamento, Dutch, English and Spanish in the schools.

Necessities: Bathing Suit, sunscreen, sunhat with strap

I had heard that mosquito repellant and gnat spray was necessary. I am a magnet for both and did not receive even one bite, which I attribute to the wind.

The capital of Curaçao is Willemstad, divided by the Saint Anna Bay into the two neighborhoods of Punda and Otrobanda and connected by the Queen Emma Bridge. My hotel was on the Otrobanda side, while the famous picture card image of Curaçao is on the Punda side.

The bridge opens multiple times throughout the day. Sometimes it is open for less than 10 minutes, but sometimes it can be an hour. There is a ferry that runs back and forth when the bridge is not accessible.

One thing that people should know about the island was written on my bathroom mirror and was quite prevalent (and frustrating at times):

I chose to stay at the Renaissance Wind Creek Curaçao, paying with miles. The pay for 4 get the 5th night free with Marriott points is a great deal! The hotel has a private man made beach with salt water infinity pool that overlooks the ocean and cruise ship dock.

The hotel is attached to the Rif Fort (Reef Fort), loaded with restaurants and shops. (Note: Prices were slightly lower across the bridge.) The Rif Fort was built in 1829 to provide protection from pirates and enemies. It had 56 cannons, is 5 feet thick of coral stone and is 4 stories high. When it was built it was considered bombproof. In 1942 (during WW2), machine guns were added to protect the Shell Oil Refinery. It no longer has a military purpose and is used as a shopping and dining destination.

Things to Do

Wandering Around

As you wander around Willemstad, you will see Chichi dolls very frequently. The idea was created by Serena Israel in 2008, based on the nickname Curaçaoans gave to the older sister of the family, Chichi. The doll represents this older sister who is a voluptuous Caribbean woman, both proud and strong. She helps the mom and takes care of her siblings.

I had heard about visiting the “colorful steps” on the Otrobanda side of town. I looked like there might be a small market at the top of the stairs some days. I was underwhelmed but glad I went.

The Punda side seemed to have more “photo ops”, in my opinion. I can also highly recommend sitting at the Iguana Cafe, to the left when you walk off the bridge, and have a Blue Lagoon. They are delicious!

Kura Hulanda Museum

This was an okay museum that takes less than an hour to visit. I was told it opened at 9am, but it seemed to open at 8am. The museum highlights the cultures of Curacao and the African Slave Trade. The outside was nicely done and the main section (and the reason I wanted to visit) provided good information, but the other parts left me uninspired, with very few explanations.

The main section was about the Slave Trade, which was fully organized by 1535. According to the museum, banks, specifically Barclays, were huge funders of the slave trade. The Slave Trade was also a Triangular Trade. Ships carried goods such as guns, chains, padlocks and branding irons from Europe to Africa where men, women and children were bartered for the goods. Those same ships then carried the slaves to the Carribean and the USA. Next they carried sugar, rice and cotton from the USA to Europe. It was extremely profitable for anyone financing the ships.

Slaves were stripped of their clothing and only given something to cover up if the master felt “charitable”, which wasn’t often. They were stripped of their African names and given European names. The museum notes “The Catholic Church received a baptizing fee for every captured and transported African.”

The slave trade technically ended across the world in 1836, but slaves remained. Great Britain abolished slavery in 1834, but the Netherlands waited until 1861, Curacao waited until 1863 and the USA abolished slavery in 1865. According to the museum “Brazil was the last nation in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery, on May 13, 1888.” Unfortunately there is still a modern day slave trade and modern day slaves.

The other two sections were cool, but with unexplained artifacts.

One thing I didn’t do (and I really wish I had) was eat at the Lionfish restaurant, located a short walk when you make a right out of the museum. You can try eating this invasive species, prepared in a variety of ways. Or you can purchase jewelry made from it. Either way, you will be helping with conservation.

Aloe Vera Farm

I was interested in visiting the Aloe Vera Farm, but it became more important after I was sunburned. The farm has goats that trim around the aloe plants. There is a lovely shop to purchase all things aloe. Apparently there are many types of aloe plant, but only three are edible. This farm grows the edible kind and we were offered a taste from the inside of a leaf. If you eat too much, it can have laxative effects, but since it doesn’t have great flavor, you won’t want to!

Ostrich Farm and Zambezi Restaurant

The Ostrich Farm is one of the largest outside of South Africa. You can choose to do a tour, although I passed. Please note, the farm no longer offers ostrich rides. I wasn’t there for a tour because I was there for the Ostrich meat which has all of the properties of chicken but tastes like red meat. There aren’t a lot of restaurants that offer an ostrich steak, so I jump at the chance when I can. This restaurant had good food and it wasn’t too expensive. The farm is a great place for children with a nice play area, goats, pigs and a variety of birds. There is also a tower you can climb for a beautiful view.

Fishing

I chose to go fishing on an afternoon excursion using the app called Fishing Booker. Using the app and the date I wanted, I was paired with Smallfield Adventures and the boat called Party Hooker. The owner, Derek, communicated well regarding our booking and the Captains of the boat, Ack and Clint, were great. Seeing the island from the boat gave us a view we would not have otherwise seen. We tried to get through choppy waters to reach big tuna, but a person in our party became quite sea sick (even though she had taken dramamine), so we had to turn around. Ack and Clint worked very hard to make sure we caught barracuda in much more calm water before returning us to shore early. Had we stayed close to shore, it would have been better. Lesson learned here is to not go on the hunt for big tuna if anyone in your party is susceptible to sea sickness. Warning: If you are staying at a hotel, find out if they will cook your catch. We called and were told no, but found out later that there was someone near the beach who would have.

American/Caribbean Flamingos

These flamingos don’t breed in Curacao for some reason, but use the salt ponds like a fast food restaurant for brine shrimp, their favorite food. It is the carotene in the shrimp that gives their feathers the famous pink color. Once done eating, they continue on to Bonaire or Venezuela. As a result, the number of flamingos on the island can vary from 50 to 1500. Fun Fact: Flamingo pairs are monogamous and both parents incubate the egg and help raise the baby for a week or two until it can walk and swim. Then it joins a group of young flamingos, called a creche, and is guarded by an unrelated adult (although it is still fed by its parents).

Near Blue Bay Beach is the Flamingo Habitat at Sint Michiel. There were a bunch of flamingos at this location, but they were far away. You can drive right past or stop and park on the side of the road.

I was able to see them much closer on my way to Playa Porto Marie at the Salt Lake Willibrordus. It was about 10am and we were able to get quite close. When we passed by again at 2pm (after lunch at Marfa’s in Williwood), they were gone. This area has security since the flamingos are much closer and the guards say people like to chase them and throw things because they are “pretty to watch fly.” At this salt lake you can find Maria’s Good Hangout, a great spot for lunch. Google maps calls it Toko Williwood.

Beaches

There are so many beaches to visit on the West side of the island, it is hard to choose. I read about people beach hopping and, after visiting, I do not see how that is possible unless you don’t want to relax. I was only able to fit in four. It is important to mention that each beach has rocks and sharp coral and water shoes are 100% necessary. You can find both men, women and children shoes on Amazon. In addition, snorkeling was extremely easy directly off the beach. While there are places that rent snorkel gear, I prefer to have my own, which you can find here.

Blue Bay Beach

I arrived at Blue Bay, aka Blauwbaai, by 10am and was able to obtain loungers with shade for roughly $60 for the day which also included two bottles of water. The snorkeling here was wonderful with crystal clear water and schools of colorful fish.

Mambo Beach

I had heard this is a great beach with a plethora of restaurants and shopping. But I also heard it would be crowded and is a major destination for cruise ship passengers. Everything I had heard was true. However, if you are traveling with small children it is perfect since the reef forms a barrier creating a pool area. I arrived at 11:15am and by noon there were twice as many people. I did not snorkel here, but I heard it was nice and the water was very calm.

Kokomo Beach

Full disclosure, I came here for the photo opp. The road was quite rocky leading to the small parking lot and beach. It also appeared to be a great place for diving. I arrived at about 9am and had to wade through waste deep water to reach the swing. Perhaps I should have checked the tides to get a more perfect photo opportunity!

Playa Porto Marie

The reports are true, there are pigs at the entrance. PLEASE do not stop to take pictures as you drive into the parking lot. They will still be there when you have to pass them to get to the beach. I arrived at 10:30am and most of the shaded area was gone. I found some a way down the beach under some trees. There are fees to enter plus fees for loungers. I only stayed for 3 hours, but nobody asked us if we had paid (of course we had). This area had fantastic snorkeling and crystal clear water. I saw cooler fish here than at Blue Bay, but I didn’t see big schools of fish here like I did there.

Restaurants

There are so many great restaurants on the island, some of which I have already mentioned (Zambezi, Lionfish, Marfa’s). The other ones I tried were:

• Ceviche 91, excellent, expensive, reservations necessary
• De Gouverneur, excellent, expensive, reservations necessary
• Iguana Cafe, okay food, moderately priced, great drinks, great view, extremely slow service
• El Gaucho, excellent, moderately priced, reservations are a good idea, beautiful sunset view of a convent

I did get sick one day on the island. It must have been a bit of food poisoning, although I am not sure what did it. I have heard that traveler sickness is not unusual, so just take care. Nobody else I traveled with got sick. That said, the island felt safe and is wonderful for snorkeling. I would not hesitate to return.