What to do in Curacao?

[samb413]

We have an upcoming cruise in two weeks and Curacao is the only island we have no plans for yet. These are the beaches I have checked out so far:

 

1. Cabana Beach

2. Mambo Beach/Seaquarium Beach

3. Kenepa Beach

 

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for what to do in Curacao? Shopping? Places to eat? Things to do? Must-sees? Heard we should buy Aloe in Curacao lol

[BillOh]

We have an upcoming cruise in two weeks and Curacao is the only island we have no plans for yet. These are the beaches I have checked out so far:

 

1. Cabana Beach

2. Mambo Beach/Seaquarium Beach

3. Kenepa Beach

 

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for what to do in Curacao? Shopping? Places to eat? Things to do? Must-sees? Heard we should buy Aloe in Curacao lol

 

 

Your post will certainly be moved to the ports section where more people will see it, but I'll watch the thread with interest, though it will be around 315 days before I get there. All reports I've read does say lots of shopping dining really close to the ship.

[Tracey/Thom]

Move away from the port - visit the local shops and restaurants. The local market is just a few blocks north - and are surrounded by non-touristy, cruisey shops and restaurants. We visited an ostrich farm (on a tour) which was a lot of fun. There was a stop off at a local artist's house, which was a waste of time. At night, the pontoon bridge was lit up and very pretty, nice place for people watching, but the port area is very Disneyfied (pretty perfect). Have fun!

[Clarea]

We have an upcoming cruise in two weeks and Curacao is the only island we have no plans for yet. These are the beaches I have checked out so far:

 

1. Cabana Beach

2. Mambo Beach/Seaquarium Beach

3. Kenepa Beach

 

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for what to do in Curacao? Shopping? Places to eat? Things to do? Must-sees? Heard we should buy Aloe in Curacao lol

We go to Mambo, specifically the Lion's Dive resort. It's a bit more expensive (maybe $25 - $30) for two loungers and shade, but also less crowded than the other areas on Mambo. Nice facilities with food/drinks and roving servers.

[britty1]

We were there last year and shopped in the port area, then had lunch in the cheese shop. Quite a unique place carved out of the salt rock and the best fondue I have ever had. Four of us shared two fondue's and a bottle of wine, they gave us four individual plates with bread/veggies. We were very satisfied would go there again.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

What a great place to visit. I hope you are there after dark to see the lights on the swinging bridge across the harbor.

[Merion_Mom]

We have an upcoming cruise in two weeks and Curacao is the only island we have no plans for yet. These are the beaches I have checked out so far:

 

1. Cabana Beach

2. Mambo Beach/Seaquarium Beach

3. Kenepa Beach

 

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for what to do in Curacao? Shopping? Places to eat? Things to do? Must-sees? Heard we should buy Aloe in Curacao lol

 

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=81

 

Curaçao forum. :)

[cat maran]

Do you want a beach day? Try Cas Abao Beach. It is one of the most beautiful we've visited in the Caribbean. We took a taxi from the port and had them pick us up at a certain time. It is sheltered, with great snorkeling, a restaurant, showers, snorkel rentals. It felt like it was our private beach. We shared a taxi as it is about a 20 minute ride from the port. We went early, got picked up at 1:00 and still had time to enjoy the walk into the city, to cross the floating bridge and shop.

[ahecht]

It really depends on what you are looking for. We had a great time just wandering around the city, especially the waterfront area. There's a tram tour that you can take from Fort Amsterdam that takes you around Willemstad for about $25, or you can just walk yourself. Willemstad is very picturesque. If you're docking at the Megapier, you'll have to walk through a large outdoor mall area that has all the standard port-of-call shops (Diamonds International, Del Sol, etc.) to get to downtown, but once you are downtown there are much better shopping options.

 

If you want a real "locals" experience, I would highly recommend lunch in the old market (now called "Plaza Bieu"). It a semi-open building with a bunch of food stands off to the left. The stands are cooking a variety of local food over wood stoves. The menus will be in Papiamento, but most have a paper menu in English they can show you. You typically sit down at one of the tables in their section, and they will come over and take your order. We entered from the side near the round market and had an excellent whole fish at the first stand (along with a bunch of great sides)and a very good iguana stew at one of the stands in the middle. The highlight, however, was the pumpkin pancakes from the very last stand -- we got two, and really wished we had room for more. The place has fans but no air conditioning, so it gets hot if you don't go early in the day, and you're likely to be the only tourists there.

Edited June 23, 2016 by ahecht

[bigque]

It is walking distance to the water front area where you will find a free ferry that you can take across the harbor to a shopping area with restaurants and an open air market. We really enjoyed it!

Edited June 23, 2016 by bigque

[Clarea]

It is walking distance to the water front area where you will find a free ferry that you can take across the harbor to a shopping area with restaurants and an open air market. We really enjoyed it!

Or walk across the famous floating bridge.:)

[Merion_Mom]

[DJLDRUMS]

Curaceo is not known for their sandy beaches. Mambo is a man made beach surrounded by a mall-like stores. They do however have beaches on the west side of the island and a 40+ minute drive. If you're looking to do snorkeling or diving yes. Aruba beaches would be a better choice.

Although if you're looking for umbrellas, lounge chairs and a lot of shade you'll find it somewhat scarce at many public beaches.

After crossing the floating bridge you can continue to walk downtown and through the alleyways where like St. Thomas there's an abundance of shops. If you go to your left after crossing the bridge there's a great place on your left to sit outside and have a beverage.

Going past there is the fishing boat docks where you'll know that as soon as you get closer.

[charmed101]

Hi there, here's another suggestion. In April we stayed at a very nice resort, paid $99. per person (sounds steep but it includes drinks and food ). It has a very quiet beach along with two large pools with plenty of chairs and umbrellas included. They pick you up at the ship exit and drop you back in the afternoon. Here is the link so that you can look for yourself.

 

http://www.resortforaday.com/Curacao-Santa-Barbara-Beach-Resort-p/cursbb.htm

 

( not sure if that link works but the resort is : Santa Barbara Beach and Golf Resort

Edited June 23, 2016 by charmed101
to add info

[Hawaii697]

We were at Mambo Beach last Wednesday. I give it a thumbs up!

[boatseller]

Go the the beach on Aruba, there's nothing else there...:)

 

1. The Curacao Ostrich Farm

2. The Curacao of Curacao Distillery

3. The North Shore

4. Snorkel the Tug Boat Wreck

[SweetThang0629]

We did a private ATV tour of the island and had a freaking BLAST! We were the only ones on the tour and the owners son was our guide. Spent four hours out and got to see so many things, including a stop at the Aloe farm. So much cheaper than the ship excursions and so much more fun. They dropped us off, at our request, down in the shopping area so we could eat and shop and walk leisurely back to the ship. We would do it all over again!!

[Fouremco]

A couple of years ago, we rented a car for the day from Blue Skies Helicopters and Car Rental:

 

http://www.blueskieshelicopters.com

 

The rates were very good, the car was in excellent condition and the staff very accommodating. They are located five minutes away by taxi, and in our case were happy to drop us off at the ship at the end of the day.

 

We spent most of the day driving up the north-west coast, stopping at numerous beaches to snorkel. Google "snorkel Curaçao" and you'll find an amazing number of beautiful beaches. We ate a fantastic lunch at an open-sided local restaurant just off one of the beaches. We had a mother hen come wandering through with her brood as we were eating, adding to the rustic atmosphere. No fuss from them, as we were eating seafood, not chicken. The food was simple but fresh and very tasty.

 

Once we reached Westpunt, we followed the highway over to the east side of the island and made our way back. We considered visiting Shete Boka National Park, but decided that we didn't have enough time with a 5:30 all aboard. When we return in November we'll have a 11:00 PM departure and will probably start there. You too will have the available time on your upcoming cruise.

 

The return drive was a bit quicker than anticipated, so we had a chance to drive around Willemstad a little bit, but never got over the Queen Juliana Bridge. Perhaps another time.

 

The driving in Curaçao is very easy. We frequently rent cars when cruising and I normally bring my GPS along, usually inputting routes before leaving home.

 

This past April, we spent a good part of the day walking in the Punda District. There's an excellent walking guide here:

http://www.curacao.com/media/uploads/2015/07/15/CTB_Walkingguide_2015.pdf

We aren't architecture buffs, so don't be put off by the title. I downloaded the map to Dropbox on my iPhone and found it to be a great way to explore this part of town.

[John&LaLa]

Or walk across the famous floating bridge.:)

 

If your lucky you can ride it as it opens

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Blue Bay. It was like paradise!

 

http://www.bluebay-curacao.com/

[AlPSUCruiser]

We enjoyed the Seaquarium and adjoining beach (a gorgeous spot), then timed the driver pick up so he could drop us off in the shopping area. From there we had a leisurely walk back to the ship across the floating bridge that also included Starbucks, shopping, and some terrific photo ops. One of my favorite cruise souvenirs is my Curacao Starbucks coffee mug, it reminds me of that great port every time I have my morning coffee. :)

 

Another tip - be sure to have your driver teach you the proper way to say Curacao. We have fun with that to this day...

[John&LaLa]

We enjoyed the Seaquarium and adjoining beach (a gorgeous spot), then timed the driver pick up so he could drop us off in the shopping area. From there we had a leisurely walk back to the ship across the floating bridge that also included Starbucks, shopping, and some terrific photo ops. One of my favorite cruise souvenirs is my Curacao Starbucks coffee mug, it reminds me of that great port every time I have my morning coffee. :)

 

Another tip - be sure to have your driver teach you the proper way to say Curacao. We have fun with that to this day...

 

Got the mug myself, and used their free internet.

 

Laura is already planning on picking one up in Mykonos, Crete, and Athens this fall. My daily use mug is Nordic Empress.

[LMaxwell]

Anything not-beach day to recommend for family with a 3 year old? Tour of island?

[awhfy]

Cos Abao Beach is superb. Peaceful, great snorkeling. Mambo is nice & a lot closer. The cheese shop is our favorite for lunch as well. Enjoy a friendly, clean island

[DJLDRUMS]

Absolutely right ! that's one of the fun things to do if you have a chnce while coming into town..OR giving yourself plenty of time when leaving town heading back to the ship. To actually be on a bridge that will take you 180 degrees as marine traffic goes past is something that's note seen or done everyday.