Curacao – blue paradise

08Jun
by Kamila Pala

Are you looking for some perfect place for exotic holiday? Discover a Dutch Caribbean island Curacao. Island is located only 65km off the Venezuelan coast and is 60km long and 14km wide. This amazing island has everything – beautiful beaches with white sand, blue and crystal clear water. The coral reefs offer unique rich maritime life and that is real paradise for diving or snorkeling between the Sea Turtles if you want.

 A bit from history…original population Arawak came from South America. They lived here for long time in piece. Spanish expedition discovered island in 1499 and changed everything. People were enslaved. The Dutch West India Company in 1643, liked this strategic location and decided build the port and established settlement, today’s capital Willemstad, was important trade city and centrum for the Atlantic slave trade.  Curacao has from 2010 status an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

HERE ARE MY TOP PLACES to VISIT in CURACAO

WILLEMSTAD – is capital and heart of the life in the island (UNESCO). Mostly from 160.000 inhabitants live here. The city is famous for his stylish colonial style and Europe- Caribbean atmosphere! Do not miss local market (Mercado Flotante) with the fruits and vegetable, floating Queen Emma Bridge or for the local lunch is a great experience try something from local food in Plaza Bieu. Fresh fish with polenta and vegetable salad is really good.

SEA AQUARIUM PARK – is beautiful place to see amazing and rich marine Caribbean life. You can see absolutely great dolphins and Sea Lions performances or help to feed the pink Flamingos or big Sharks! That is cool for everyone.

CHRISTOFFEL NATIONAL PARK  – if you like hiking and climbing, you must not miss this place. Park protected natural area and nice museum is in one of the oldest plantation houses of Curacao.

THE BEST BEACHES– you must see 

PLAYA GRANDI where you can swim between the giant Sea Turtles or romantic blueGROTE KNIP and forfunis cool MAMBO Beach.

CURACAO LIQUER DISTILLERY  – produced since 1896 and when you visit this place you feel like coming back in time! Almost everybody knows popular Blue Bird cocktail but maybe you did not know that Curacao Liquer is naturally colorless (the factory produced 5 colors) and made from special citrus – Laraha!

HATO CAVES – very original and popular place consists of marine coral limestone.

A FEW WORDS about FOOD – the cuisine is simple and with influences from Spanish, Portuguese and Caribbean cuisine. Fresh fish (mostly Red Snapper) or the seafood is the best and tasty, anywhere. Between the famous local dishes are the Goat, Papaya or even Iguana Stew (Iguanas are all over the place in Curacao, they are not danger but look weird)!!! Do not hesitate and try this special meal.

GOOD to KNOW – all island is safe and clean. The climate is good for all year – the temperature is approximately about 30 degrees Celsius. Wet season is from November to January. There are many direct flights from Miami, New York, Toronto and of course, twice par day, from Amsterdam! The official language is a Dutch but almost everybody speaks English and Spanish. That is almost unreal but there live more then 50 nationalities in this small place and they have own language – Papiamento! I wish you -Bon Día – that means – Good day!

51 thoughts on “Curacao – blue paradise”

  1. YellowCable

    A gorgeous place. The place does not look so crowded. That is a very good think for such place where you expect for a relaxing place to be. Ah, for food I think I like most of what you described But for “Iguana”. I think I would not try it for certain 🙂

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  3. Darlene

    We visited this island once and I loved it. I bought some art from a lovely Dutch painter at the floating market which hangs on my wall. We ate Dutch food when we were there. It was very good. A very interesting and colourful place. Your pictures brought back great memories. Thanks!

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  4. Bama

    Glorious photos from this sun-kissed Caribbean island! The Dutch must have been happy to keep a tropical paradise as its possession after Indonesia became independent in 1945 (sorry, but I can’t help it). Your recommendation of places to visit will surely come handy for anyone visiting this part of the world.

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  5. Becky Dingle

    I love traveling with you vicariously…the pictures are unbelievable….and I do appreciate all your supportive comments on the chapel of hope stories…you are so generous with your time to make one’s day…and you do!

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  16. Chantaki

    Until now, I only knew Curaçao by the name of the liqueur 😉 by thanks to your nice pictures I can imagine the beauty of this island, Thank you for sharing 🙂 have a nice week end

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  19. Mrs. P

    Wonderful collection of pictures! I’ve been there twice and loved it both times. One of the things I found most interesting was the people. Once you get past the touristy facade, you find the little bungalows where the islanders live. They are very warm people, easy to talk to. Another interesting point was the mansions that seemed to be abandoned between the tourist area and the bungalows. As I rode past them on my scooter, I could feel the oppression that was behind the walls, even before I knew its history. I also loved the beaches and how you could play chess on the beach. Snorkeling was quite good as well.

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  23. Polmeetsworld

    ah Curacao, my God I was there in 2009 and stayed in 3 different hotels. The Hato Caves and Dolphin Aquarium I remember like it was yesterday. blue Curacao in the afternoon, a real paradise and the cool thing is I can speak my own language Dutch or Flemish there. Great post Kamila, it brought back memories to me

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