Curacao - sight seeing, food, shopping - what do you recommend?

[cml9712]

Hi all:   Never been to Curacao.  What is a "must try" there?  Food, sight seeing, shopping, beach, etc.  Thanks for your feedback!

Edited June 20, 2021 by cml9712

[ColeThornton]

6 minutes ago, cml9712 said:

Hi all:   Never been to Curacao.  What is a "must try" there?  Food, sight seeing, shopping, beach, etc.  Thanks for your feedback!

 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  This site has forums for all of the ports of call, you can find them by clicking on the "forums" link at the top of the page.    Here is the link to the Curacao forum where you will find all kinds of helpful information.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/50-curacao/

[Essiesmom]

Look at the list of excursions offered by your cruise line to see what they think might interest passengers.  When I visit a place for the first time, I book a basic half day tour that gives me an overview of the place.  The rest of the day I just wander around.  Having been to Curacao several times, I get off the ship at the mega pier and stroll along the shore to the Rif fort.  Glance at the shops and restaurants as I pass.   Continuing out the other side, I glance at the row of straw market booths on the was to the Queen Emma floating pedestrian bridge.  I cross the bridge and wander the main part of town.  Further down is a wooded area in front of a number of restaurants and bars.  Good place to stop for a snack, drink, people watch until it is time to go back.  EM

[Host Kat]

2 hours ago, cml9712 said:

Hi all:   Never been to Curacao.  What is a "must try" there?  Food, sight seeing, shopping, beach, etc.  Thanks for your feedback!

 

Howdy @cml9712 and welcome to the Cruise Critic message board!  

 

I see you have been a member for a long time and thank you for your first new thread on the Ask a Cruise Question forum. 👍  It is the forum for general questions regarding cruising. However, your thread was off-topic there since your topic concerns a specific Port of Call. 

 

To help you out, I have moved your thread to the Ports of Call - Caribbean - Curacao forum where it will be on topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have been there or plan to be there frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Browse through the thread titles on this forum and l👀k for titles of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that will be of interest to you.

 

Be sure to use the Follow feature on this thread. You won't have to go l👀king to see if there are new posts on this thread because they will come l👀king for you!  If you need more info on how to do it, please see How to: Follow Topics & Forums (Subscribed Threads/Forums Info).

 

And don't forget, after your cruise be sure to submit your review for publication by Cruise Critic. Many cruisers will benefit from your experience! See How To: Submit a Member Review.

 

I sincerely hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard the Cruise Critic message board! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat  

[bup1224]

On 6/20/2021 at 12:25 PM, cml9712 said:

Hi all:   Never been to Curacao.  What is a "must try" there?  Food, sight seeing, shopping, beach, etc.  Thanks for your feedback!

I live here in Curaçao. 

I recommend a half day tour that will give you some beach time.

Definitely make time to visit Punda (as suggested above).

 

[TTEllis]

On 6/20/2021 at 12:25 PM, cml9712 said:

Hi all:   Never been to Curacao.  What is a "must try" there?  Food, sight seeing, shopping, beach, etc.  Thanks for your feedback!

When you get off the ship walk up to the Curacao Welcome Center can't miss it and get a city map it's free. Follow everyone else walk through the tourist area on your right, walk across the bridge and your in town. 

Really nice place, people are awesome, nice little bars super laid back, you'll figure it right out. 😉

[CntPAcruiser]

On 6/23/2021 at 9:46 PM, bup1224 said:

I live here in Curaçao. 

I recommend a half day tour that will give you some beach time.

Definitely make time to visit Punda (as suggested above).

 

 

Hi, bup1224, can you tell me if Best of Curacao, a t-shirt and souvenir shop, is still in business? I can't find a website and would like to recommend them on here, but I don't know the address. They are a cross street or two in after you cross the floating bridge. 

[bup1224]

6 minutes ago, CntPAcruiser said:

 

Hi, bup1224, can you tell me if Best of Curacao, a t-shirt and souvenir shop, is still in business? I can't find a website and would like to recommend them on here, but I don't know the address. They are a cross street or two in after you cross the floating bridge. 

It sure is still in business! We see the owners all the time!

It's on Heerenstraat - after crossing the Queen Emma Floating Bridge,  make a left where Penha (yellow building) and Effy (blue building) are, that's Heerenstraat.  They are about a block down on the right.

[CntPAcruiser]

2 minutes ago, bup1224 said:

It sure is still in business! We see the owners all the time!

It's on Heerenstraat - after crossing the Queen Emma Floating Bridge,  make a left where Penha (yellow building) and Effy (blue building) are, that's Heerenstraat.  They are about a block down on the right.

 

Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to the day we can visit Curacao again. 

[bup1224]

14 minutes ago, CntPAcruiser said:

 

Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to the day we can visit Curacao again. 

We are excited to have ships back again!

And thank you for supporting our local businesses!

You might see mine on the streets in Punda (I can't post my business per CC rules) - look for the Italian Ice cart!

[CntPAcruiser]

1 minute ago, bup1224 said:

We are excited to have ships back again!

And thank you for supporting our local businesses!

You might see mine on the streets in Punda (I can't post my business per CC rules) - look for the Italian Ice cart!

 

I will have to look next time we are there 🙂

[VegasVic14]

Restaurant suggestions? Looking for moderately priced with some local flavor to it. Thanks.

[smwg]

On 6/30/2021 at 11:50 AM, bup1224 said:

We are excited to have ships back again!

And thank you for supporting our local businesses!

You might see mine on the streets in Punda (I can't post my business per CC rules) - look for the Italian Ice cart!

 

bup1224:  I know this sounds like a silly question, but do you have Stroopwafels in Curacao?  I loved them when we went to Amsterdam and was hoping since Curacao is part of the Netherlands, it might be a common treat there, as well.  🙂

[bup1224]

4 hours ago, smwg said:

 

bup1224:  I know this sounds like a silly question, but do you have Stroopwafels in Curacao?  I loved them when we went to Amsterdam and was hoping since Curacao is part of the Netherlands, it might be a common treat there, as well.  🙂

We do but not freshly made at the moment. 

[SueMo]

If you're looking for a 4 hour island tour, we've done two different Irie tours that we've enjoyed.  You can book them online ahead of time or wait until you get to the pier.  There are actually a lot of tour operators at the pier that will take you on an island tour.  Afterwards, there is plenty of time to check out the shops.

[ALSPAUGHDOLL]

On 8/4/2021 at 7:16 PM, smwg said:

 

bup1224:  I know this sounds like a silly question, but do you have Stroopwafels in Curacao?  I loved them when we went to Amsterdam and was hoping since Curacao is part of the Netherlands, it might be a common treat there, as well.  🙂

We got some amazing Stroopwafels in Aruba at the grocery store.  We went back for more.. twice!

 

[smwg]

7 hours ago, ALSPAUGHDOLL said:

We got some amazing Stroopwafels in Aruba at the grocery store.  We went back for more.. twice!

 

Thank you!  I will definitely be looking! 🙂

[Sparetiming]

On 6/20/2021 at 2:05 PM, Essiesmom said:

Look at the list of excursions offered by your cruise line to see what they think might interest passengers.  When I visit a place for the first time, I book a basic half day tour that gives me an overview of the place.  The rest of the day I just wander around.  Having been to Curacao several times, I get off the ship at the mega pier and stroll along the shore to the Rif fort.  Glance at the shops and restaurants as I pass.   Continuing out the other side, I glance at the row of straw market booths on the was to the Queen Emma floating pedestrian bridge.  I cross the bridge and wander the main part of town.  Further down is a wooded area in front of a number of restaurants and bars.  Good place to stop for a snack, drink, people watch until it is time to go back.  EM

Can you please tell me where are the straw market booths?  Looking for a good place for t-shirts and souvenirs that is reasonably priced.  Thank you.

[CntPAcruiser]

2 hours ago, Sparetiming said:

Can you please tell me where are the straw market booths?  Looking for a good place for t-shirts and souvenirs that is reasonably priced.  Thank you.

 

If you are docked at the pier for larger ships, you'll walk through a sort of shopping mall in the fort and continue out along the canal toward town. On the way, you'll immediately see the straw market vendors before you get to the floating bridge. Another possibility in town for good quality t-shirts, as well as hats and other items, is a shop called Best of Curacao. After you cross the floating bridge, continue on that street for one block and turn left. I'm pretty sure that is the street Best of Curacao is on, on the right-hand side in the first block off the street the bridge comes in on. If not, then it might be one more block in from there. We bought t-shirts there on our first visit to Curacao many years ago that we are still using!