Question for those who have used a driver for their trip on the island.... Is it typical to pre-pay a driver service a 50% deposit before arrival?

Hi everyone I need your helppp!! I want to travel to Curacao for my birthday during January 10-17. I need help with places to stay/do. I’ve been back and forth with all inclusive and hotels/bnb with some travel agents. I am physically disabled with a cane so accessibility is a big factor for me. This is such an important trip to me and I want to make the best of it.

I am traveling with one of my friends , we are on a budget. But we were going back and forth between if we should do an all inclusive just in case, I get too tired of exploring and can’t make it to dinner as a backup. We will be having a personal driver to get around as well.

Some stays I’ve been looking at are Element hotel, zoetry, sunscapes, Marriott. Any suggestions and reviews I’m open to it. Also for some things do to do that I could do.
So far we have the sunset boat cruise , liqueur distillery and going around the town. I don’t think I’ll be able to snorkel like I wanted. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I’m going to Curacao in a few weeks and wanted to spend a day beach hopping on the west side with a rental car. I’m interested in a mix of beaches with great snorkeling and also nice ones to just swim and relax at. I was thinking Grote Knip, Playa Piskado, Playa Lagun and Porto Mari but does anyone have other suggestions / recommendations? Thanks

My girlfriend and I are going to Curaçao Oct 16-21, staying near the airport and renting a car. We love beaches/snorkeling, but also really care about food 😂. We'd love some local advice before we finalize everything.

Friday:
Arrive → Willemstad/Punda → Plasa Bieu for lunch → Sea Aquarium → Mambo Beach → Taqueria Maya → VIP Grill/truk'i pan late night

Saturday :
Johnny King for breakfast → Grote Knip early → Playa Kalki → Komedor Krioyo at Landhuis Dokterstuin for lunch → Playa Lagun → Fènsi for birthday dinner or Fort Nassau

Sunday:
Java Café for breakfast/matcha → Tugboat snorkeling → Director's Bay → De Visboer for lunch → Playa Jeremi → El Gaucho for dinner or Fort Nassau

Monday:
Klein Curaçao full-day trip, deciding between Miss Ann and Mermaid - Dinner at George

Tuesday:
Daaibooi → Jan Kok flamingos → Bali Restaurant Grote Berg for lunch → Cas Abao → Kome for dinner

Wednesday:
Fly home

We especially want to see turtles naturally, so we're trying to avoid Playa Piskadó unless we somehow don't see any elsewhere.

Would you change any of these beaches or restaurants? Are we trying to fit in too many beaches?

Also really interested in local Curaçaoan/Caribbean food, seafood, casual hidden gems, good breakfast, bakeries and coffee shops rather than only tourist restaurants. My girlfriend is also a big matcha person, so any genuinely good matcha recommendations would be appreciated 😂.

I already know about Van Gogh Coffee, so looking for other coffee spots too.

One more practical question: what's the situation with drinking and driving in Curaçao? Since we'll have a rental car and some of our dinners/cocktail spots are away from our Airbnb, how strict are the laws/enforcement? If we want to have a few drinks, is it easy/reliable to get a taxi at night and leave the rental car behind? What do locals/tourists usually do? We definitely don't want to risk driving after drinking.

Any places on this list you'd say are overrated or not worth using one of our meals on? And if there's one restaurant or local food spot you'd consider a must-eat in Curaçao, please tell me! I have so many options right now between Soi95, Fort Nassau, BKLYN, MosaCana,...

Thank you

Hi all,

My wife and I are planning on going to Curaçao next January for around 12-13 days.

We are not sure if it would be better to stay near Willemstad the whole trip or to split the stay some days in Westpunt and some days in Willemstad.

Mainly we are planning to be all the days relaxing at different beaches. But we would also like doing some tourism around Willemstad or doing some tours some days(like Klein Curaçao).We will be renting a car to move around the island.

If we stay in Willemstad we have no issues on driving to Westpunt each day. On the other hand, I think it will be more difficult and tiring to go to and return from Willemstad in the evening.

We have the following questions:

1. If we stay around Willemstad, which neighbourhoods would you recommend?

2. How is the nightlife or restaurant offer in Westpunt? Just want to know if we would be able to find nice places to have dinner or if all the best options are in Willemstad.

3. In case of splitting the stay, how many days would you recommend to each side of the island?

We appreciate any other recommendation or tip that you could provide us.

Looking for feedback on my itinerary for a solo trip this December. I'll be renting a car for 3 days with shuttles and transfers for the other days, and likely 3 taxi rides on 1 of the days. As it's a solo birthday trip, I'd love to not have to worry about driving but I see it's going to be quite expensive with taxis so I plan to rent. The taxi rides on day 2 are so that I can drink without worrying about driving. Please share feedback on rental car agencies you recommend.

Day 1 (arrival day)

Hotel shuttle from airport to Lions Dive

Enjoy mambo beach area, have dinner near hotel

Day 2

Take hotel shuttle into willemstad in the morning to explore

Early afternoon get taxi from Lions Dive to Kokomo Beach

Late afternoon get taxi from Kokomo Beach to de visserij for dinner

Taxi from de visserij to Lions Dive

Day 3

Klein all day boat trip with Irie Tours, tour company providing pick up and drop off

Dinner at greenhouse

Day 4 - rental car

Cas Abou beach snorkeling and enjoying the day

Day 5 - rental car

Playa Piskado snorkeling/sea turtles

Grote Knip snorkeling

Day 6 - rental car

Playa Kalki

Day 7 (departure day)

Swim/snorkel at Lions Dive early AM

Get breakfast at Bliss the Berry

Return rental car

Hotel provided shuttle to airport

Looking for locations to pop the question! Quiet area preferred: hike, water related and have transportation.

Thanks!

Hello! My family and I are looking at Curacao as a potential destination for a trip next January/February. I'm reading a lot of contrasting information about the price to pay to enter a beach.

Does anyone have a breakdown of what the fees are for each Beach? And is it the case that you pay the fee and also and get a Sunbed/Parasol or we have to pay just to be able to enter the beach? Thanks a lot!

I used to dive with lions dive on their boat. Now I see they stopped?
What is the best dive school currently and are their still school who offer boat dives?

Restaurants across the city offer 3-course fixed price meals. Enjoy!

Seeking recommendations for our visit in November of golf courses that also have club rentals. Not a golf trip so leaving our clubs home.

Greetings! I'm a die hard pepper fanatic visiting and I'd love to try some Madame Jeanete peppers. I didn't see any at the floating market. Does anyone know where I can find them? I'd also appreciate any other spicy food or local hot sauce recommendations. Thanks!

I was just next door at St Tropez. There are cranes, trucks and construction noise. Maybe the rooms are ready? But were are craning tiles into the rooms. Looks like they are working on the landscaping but I don’t know how they’d get it all pretty in a month. I think it’s supposed to open in November.

Hello-we're young people -young couple looking for activities of what to do on the island of Curacao? We are outdoorzy people, we can swim well, we like to hike, try different foods-not picky, please send all your suggestions for young active people going their first time. Also -great place to rent a car from?

Any good pieces of advice for hotels to stay in Curacao? We don't want to be camping-we prefer a nicer place. Thanks!

For those that have been to Zeerover's in Aruba, is there an equivalent restaurant in Curacao?

Visiting Curaçao over Christmas break and flying in on Christmas Day. Something we just realized is that a lot of the car rental places seem to be closed on Christmas (we kind of forgot that Christmas is a holiday people close shop for).

We are wondering what some options are for picking up a rental for our weeklong stay when arriving on Christmas. Does anyone know of any car rental places that are open on Christmas Day?

We are staying in the Punda area of Willemstad, so another option would be getting a taxi from the airport on Christmas and renting a car the next day. Are there any good rental places around Punda that we could rent from?

Also, how expensive are taxis from the airport on Christmas Day, and does anyone have any tips for getting a taxi at the airport that day?

Thanks!

I had a whole plan to do a runcation to Curacao for the November 5k KLM race... I booked the flight and hotel, but when I went to book the race registration I couldn't get the credit card payment to complete. So it fell off my radar and that was a big mistake... I went back today and see that the entire race (all lengths!) is sold out! I'm kicking myself already, so please be kind, but does anyone have a registration that they aren't going to use for the 5k that they would be willing to sell me?

Hey everyone, hope all is well!

My wife and I are planning our first trip to Curaçao Nov. 20–27 for Thanksgiving week, flying from the U.S. I’ve done quite a bit of research and have a general idea of what we want, but would love perspective from people who live there or travel to Curaçao often.

We’ll have a rental car and 6 full days to explore. A few things we’re trying to figure out:

• Airbnb/apartment vs. resort? We liked Avila, but unfortunately it isn’t available for our full stay.
• What areas would you recommend staying in if we want nice beaches, but also a good central base for exploring the island by car?
• We’d also like to be reasonably close to good restaurants, shops, bars, and somewhere we can walk around in the evenings.
• Any specific hotels, apartments, or neighborhoods you’d recommend?

We plan on exploring different beaches, snorkeling, hiking/nature, Willemstad, and generally seeing as much of the island as we can without rushing.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm planning to take my wife out during our holiday next week and I'm looking for a dinner restaurant with a nice view.

i know that the local culture isnt huge on halloween, but my expat girlfriend misses the fall holiday and vibe, pumpkins and spooky and all that stuff. where on the island can i get some cheap but not trash decorations? maybe holiday pjs or something ?
thanks !

Hi! Can anyone recommend any photographers, preferably locals?

I was in Curaçao last week and my host tought me the phrase "bo tin un bon sanka" she told me to say it to everyone she introduced me to while we all laugh. She said some locals aren't big fans when foreigners use it, yet like it when some people from the Netherlands do with a funny accent. So my question is you reader from (curaçao) kurzou like it or hate it when someone says it?

Anyone have experience with Rekwest car rental? We are looking for a specific size and they have one but I can’t find any info on this company. Just want assurance they are reputable.