 Facts at a Glance
Area: 171 sq miles (444 sq km)
Population: 170,000
Capital city: Willemstad (pop 140,000)
People: African descent, mixed African and European descent, Dutch
Language: Dutch, Papiamento, some English and Spanish
Religion: Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and Jewish
Government: Autonomous part of the Netherlands
Governor General of the Netherlands Antilles: Jaime Saleh
 Environment
The 'ABC' islands - Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao are strung along the balmy southern reaches of the Caribbean Sea about 45 miles (70km) north of Venezuela. Curaçao is the politically dominant partner in the Netherlands Antilles (a federation comprising Bonaire, Saba, St Eustasius and the Dutch part of St Martin). It lies about 40 miles (65km) east of Aruba and about 30 miles (50km) west of Bonaire. The island is 37 miles (60km) from tip to toe and roughly 5 miles (8km) wide, just slightly smaller than Andorra. Its highest elevation is 1240ft (370m) Mt Christoffel.
Curaçao is scrubby, dusty, prickly and bumpy. The mahogany that was once plentiful on the island is now mostly doing duty as wardrobes and dining tables. Amongst the hardy plantlife that has taken its place is mata piská (fish killer), a conical evergreen; sabalpalm, which is unique to Curacaço and neighboring Bonaire; and brasilwood, which is so soft that donkey saddles were once crafted from it. Curaçao's thorny family includes climbing snake cactus, candle cactus, melocactus (which resembles barbed testicles) and the pull-no-punches french prickle, which has salmon colored flowers. The standout cactus on Curaçao is the kadushi, which can grow up to 30ft (10m) tall.
Animals on the island include the frisky white-tailed deer, a bug-eyed frog known as dori, a non-poisonous arm-length whipsnake and more lizards than is strictly necessary. Flying creatures include chirpy bananaquits, stalky herons, squawky parakeets, tuneful troupials, tooting owls and rare white-tailed hawks.
Curaçao's climate hovers around 82°F (28°C) all year and constant trade winds keep humidity low. Rainfall peaks in November or December but the island is below the hurricane belt and a Curaçaon deluge is unlikely to trouble much more than your cocktail umbrella.
 History
Caiquetios Indians were resident on Curaçao in 1498 when Spaniard Alonso de Ojeda barged in. The Caiquetios didn't last long. Slave-hunting raids devastated the population, and those Indians who escaped transportation to Hispaniola were decimated by disease and murder. When deportation stopped in 1526, there were only 400 Indians left on Curaçao. The Spaniards soon shipped back out, put off by the lack of fresh water and valuable minerals.
The island became a colony of the Netherlands in 1642, coming under control of the Dutch West India Company, which initiated agriculture and salt harvesting and made Curaçao's capital, Willemstad, a center of the slave trade. By 1795, the number of native Indians had been reduced to 5.
A steady stream of Jewish merchants migrated to Curaçao during the 18th century, and Willemstad's St Anna Bay became one of the busiest ports in the Caribbean. There, raw materials from South America were traded for finished goods from Europe and North America. The end of slavery in 1863 led to a downturn that lasted until Shell built an oil refinery on the island in 1915.
The new oil refining industry fueled a decades-long economic boom. Curaçao became the seat of government for the newly autonomous Netherlands Antilles in 1954. It was during this period that offshore finance became a major factor in the island's economy. The long boom went bust during the oil crisis of the 1970s, and a drop-off in international investment in the following decade led to further decline. The coup de grace was the closing of the Shell refinery in 1985. In recent years, though, the island's economy has turned around. The government took over the refinery in the 1990s and leased it to a Venezuelan company, giving the economy a much needed boost. Curaçao's large port, also a major ship repair center, is regaining some of its former glory.
 Economic Profile
GDP: US$1.6 billion
GDP per head: US$11,000
Inflation: 2%
Major industries: Oil refining and bunkering, tourism, offshore banking, phosphates
Major trading partners: USA, EU
 Culture
The cutesy houses are a dead giveaway that the Dutchies have been by, but Curaçao is much more of a grabbag than that. West Indian, Latin American, Jewish and African influences are evident in island flavors, sounds and sights.
Papiamento, a melange of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, English and Arawak Indian languages, is commonly spoken on Curaçao, as it is on neighboring islands. It's an evocative language (drumi is sleep, for example). More prosaically, bon bini means welcome, bon dia is good day and masha danki is thank you very much. Your Curaçaon hosts are adept linguists: Spanish, Dutch and English are also commonly spoken.
Caribbean musical styles like reggae and soca are popular, as is the cumbia of Colombia. The homegrown variety is called tambu and is played on a small drum brought to Curaçao by African slaves. In slave times, stories and histories were transmitted orally and through beat and vocal-based muzik di zumbi (slave music). These traditions are kept alive at folk events such as the Easter Great Seú March.
Europeans dominate Curaçaon visual and literary arts. Poet and artist Christiaan Engels was born in the Netherlands, but after his arrival in Curaçao in 1936 he became a big player in the island's cultural life. He founded Willemstad's Curaçao Museum in 1948, stocking it with some of his own expressionist paintings. A vibrant salon soon gathered around Engels and his wife, painter Lucille Engels-Boskaljon. John de Pool is another prominent figure. He's most famous for a satyrical lament, Del Curaçao Quese Va, which appeared in 1935 and catalogued the passing of the some of the island's old customs. And pretty groovy customs they were too: traditional country kitchens were painted red with white polka dots. The reasoning? It keeps flies away because the dots make them dizzy.
 Events
Carnival is Curaçao's biggest event, held every February before Lent. People dressed in wild outfits gather in the Otrobanda district of Willemstad and then shake their way through the streets for three leg-jellying days, stopping here and there to eat, drink and dance to the music of hundreds of competing bands. On Easter Monday the Great Seú March celebrates traditional culture in song, dance and costume. Curaçao's long-standing Caribbean Jazz Fest, held for two days every October, is a slightly mellower event that brings international jazz musicians to Willemstad.
Curaçaons do celebrate Christmas, but the big gift-giving day is Sint Nicolaas Day on 6 December. Sint Nicolaas is a Dutch Santa Claus figure who arrives in Willemstad's St Anna Bay in late November in a boat laden with candy and gifts for the kiddies. On the eve of Sint Nicolaas Day, children leave a bucket of water and a shoe plugged with hay and carrots for the horse-borne saint. Well-behaved littlies wake up to find their shoes filled with goodies.
In late December, there's a chaotic end of year regatta shmatta from St Barbara to St Anna Bay on Curaçao's southern coast. Competitors can enter with any sort of sailing craft, meaning wily windsurfers try to outgun sleek ocean-going sailboats.
Public Holidays
1 January - New Year's Day
Easter Holidays - Good Friday, Easter Monday
30 April - Queen's Birthday
1 May - Labor Day
2 July - Flag Day
24 December - Christmas Eve (half holiday)
25 December - Christmas Day
26 December - Boxing Day
31 December - New Year's Eve (half holiday)
 Facts for the Traveler
Visas: Visas are generally not required on Curaçao. US and Canadian citizens can visit with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate and picture ID. All other travelers need a valid passport. A roundtrip or onward ticket is required.
Health risks: Sunburn, fire coral, sea urchins, jellyfish, dehydration
Time: GMT/UTC minus 4 hours
Electricity: 110-130V, 50Hz
Weights & measures: Mostly metric (see conversion table)
Telephoning: Country code 599; area code 9
 Money & Costs
Currency: Antillean florin (NAf)
Relative costs:
Budget meal: US$5-15
Moderate restaurant meal: US$15-40
Top-end restaurant meal: US$40 and upwards
Budget room: US$30-75
Moderate hotel: US$75-175
Top-end hotel: US$175 and upwards
Curaçao is not a cheap getaway destination: things are expensive here and it's best to accept that. Lodging is the largest expense, especially since most rooms are in high-priced hotels. The good news is that landhuisen, former Dutch plantation houses, are increasingly being renovated into moderately priced guesthouses.
Travelers looking for a resort vacation should plan on spending at least US$200 a day. This budget will support king-size accommodations, three restaurant meals and car rental - you can blow the leftovers at the casino. Those willing to accept less luxurious accommodations, but who expect to whoop it up at night, should set aside a daily budget of US$150. If you hunt down an inexpensive guesthouse or inner city hostel and eat from food stands, you'll need around US$75 a day. Bear in mind that accommodations rates are slashed in the low season even at the most luxurious hotels.
Though the Antillean florin (commonly called a guilder) is the local currency, US dollars are accepted everywhere. Major credit cards are also widely accepted. There's a 7% room tax and 12% service charge added to every hotel bill, and porters expect a 10% tip. Restaurants add a 10% service charge; add 5% more if service has been exceptional.
 When to Go
Temperature is not an issue when planning a trip to sunny, dry Curaçao, since the average year-round daily high is 82°F (28°C) and constant trade winds keep humidity low. If rain falls, it's usually in November or December. The island lies below the hurricane belt, so there's usually no need to worry about being blown away while on vacation. If you're planning on diving, the most popular sites are at their calmest between September and December. If partying is more your scene, Carnival (February) is a great time to visit, but book early and expect higher prices.
As with most of the Caribbean, the peak tourist season is between December and April, but this has more to do with the weather in North America and Europe than it does with the weather on Curaçao. It's therefore best to visit outside this period, when tourists are thin on the ground and room rates tend to be 30-50% less than those charged during the busier months.
 Attractions
Willemstad
Forget the squat resorts muscling each other along the coast and don't be put off by the disjointed shambles of badly signed roads: Willemstad is gorgeous. The capital of the Netherlands Antilles and one of a select number of urban areas on UNESCO's World Heritage List, it's divided in two by capacious St Anna Bay, the largest harbor in the Caribbean. Punda, to the east, and Otrobanda, to the west are connected by a quaint pontoon bridge known as the Swinging Old Lady - she cocks a leg for boats.
Punda is the oldest part of the city, crowded with 17th and 18th century Dutch-style buildings. The 1732 Mikvé Emanuel Synagogue is the oldest in the Americas. Its interior, including the original pipe organ and brass chandeliers, has been carefully preserved, and the floor is covered in footstep muffling sand. There's an adjacent Jewish Cultural Museum.
Fort Amsterdam was once the center of town and now houses the main offices for the government of the Netherlands Antilles. You can see a cannonball lodged in the wall of the fort chapel, a memento of Captain Bligh's 26 day siege in 1804. Also in Punda is the wonderful floating market (mercado flotante). Vendors make the sea trip from Venezuela every morning with fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood - the stalls aren't actually floating, but they're close enough to the water to justify the name.
At the eastern end of Willemstad is the Sea Aquarium, where you can get a preview or a recap on the creatures of the deep. You can even dive or snorkel in this controlled environment if the sea seems a little frisky.
Head west and across the channel to Otrobanda ('other side'). Otrabanda became Willemstad's first suburb in the late 17th century, when lepers and convicts banished from Punda began moving here. The area's low-rise architecture is the result of an 18th century order not to obstruct Fort Amsterdam's line of fire. Most of the city's historic buildings are in Otrobanda, including the 1734 St Anna Basilica, the oldest in the Antilles. The Riffort, a defensive post on the entrance to the sea, has been used as a telegraph station, radio station, desalination plant, WWII officers' digs, scout hall and is now partly occupied by a ritzy restaurant.
Otrabanda's charm extends beyond its brochure-ready buildings. The maze of streets and lanes wiggling back from the waterfront are fun to wander - stores and houses run the gamut from pastel and spruce to crumbling and spooky. Also, much of the advertising and store signage is hand painted, giving the streets perky, individual characters.
The Curaçao Museum in western Otrobanda is housed in a 19th century sailors' hospital. Displays include paintings by early 20th century Dutch masters, a carillon and a menagerie of other musical instruments, and a hat-making diorama (hats were a source of income for many women up until WWI). There are also worthy exhibitions on the local Indian population and the geology of the ABC islands.
This large park at the northwestern end of the island was pieced together in the 1970s from several former plantations. You can drive through much of it (choose between a 6 mile (9km) coastal route or the 8 mile (12km) mountain drive), but the best way to see the park is via its short trails through rogue stands of mahogany and past limestone terraces and Amerindian petroglyphs.
Connoisseurs of Baroque architecture can admire the landhuisen (land houses) of the old plantations, one of which houses the Savonet Museum, with exhibits on the island's natural and human history. You can also hike to the top of 1240ft (370m) Mt Christoffel, which has a view of Bonaire on clear days.
Entry to the park is steep, so it's worth getting up early and making a day trip of it. All the park trails are accessible by 2WD except a rugged offshoot of the mountain routes. If you don't want to drive, the Westpunt bus from Otrabanda will drop you at the park entrance, where there's an information center and a number of trailheads.
The Underwater Park consists of over 12 miles (20km) of coral reef off the southeastern coast. Divers can explore pristine coral and several wrecks, including a small tugboat covered in orange tube coral. The tug lies in less than 20ft (6m) of water, so even snorkelers can get an eyeful. A number of good dives are accessible from the shore - revheads can check out the Car Pile sunk right in front of the Princess Beach Hotel. Those who want to get farther afield can hook up with one of numerous boat operators running daytrips to remote sites. All sites within the park are marked with buoys, and the park is at its calmest between fall and early winter.
 Off the Beaten Track
Playa Kalki
This gorgeous sheltered beach on the northwestern tip of Curaçao is the perfect place to get photos of yourself to make your friends jealous. How about one of you sitting contemplatively on dappled rocks, looking out into the turquoise haze of the Caribbean Sea? Or one of you on a deckchair under a palm tree, sipping a cool drink (available from the rustic snack-shack set back from the beach)? And if you can't tear yourself away, don't: there's a low-key resort on the Kadushi Cliffs overlooking the beach. Playa Kalki is a lazy 45 minute drive from Willemstad.
Hato Caves
Formed underwater several hundred million years ago, the Hato Caves are located on the northern coast near the airport. This underground complex features pools, waterfalls, Amerindian petroglyphs, and stalactites 'n' stalagmites galore. Fossilized crustaceans and coral stick out of the walls. More recent inhabitants included runaway slaves, who used to hide here in the 19th century. Near the entrance is a cage filled with parrots, toucans, turtles and iguanas. Entry to the caves is by guided tour only.
Kas di Pal'i Maishi
This original kunuku (country) house is open to all as a museum, bar and simple restaurant. The Papiamento name of the kas roughly translates as 'house of sticks of sorghum' - such dwellings were built West African fashion from branches and loam, topped by steep thatched roofs. Kas di Pal'i Maishi is about half an hour's drive west of Willemstad on the Westpunt road.
 Activities
Curaçao doesn't have the long beaches typical of other Caribbean islands: many are short of sand and have been beefed up with imported grains. But there are small natural beaches in the coves on the leeward (southern and western) coasts that are great for swimming and sunbathing. The best beach isn't on the island at all - it's on Klein Curaçao, an uninhabited cay a few miles off the southeastern coast.
Snorkelers and divers can choose among many sites on the leeward coast. In the north, Playa Kalki has a sheltered cove with calm, clear water and a gentle slope that's good for beginners. Also check out Playa Lagun and Knipbaai. In the south, a nearly intact tugboat lies just a few meters down off Caracas Bay. There's a wall with large sheet corals nearby.
For hikers, the place to start is Christoffel National Park, where trails lead through mahogany forests and past rock faces covered with Amerindian petroglyphs. The Hato Caves, on the northern side of the island, offer great spelunking. You can examine fossilized fish and feel the cool spray of underground waterfalls.
 Getting There & Away
Unless you're on a cruise or you've built yourself a raft, the only way to get to Curaçao is by airplane. From the US, Air Aruba, ALM, American Airlines, Guyana Airways and United have frequent flights to the island from Miami, Atlanta, Chicago and New York. From Europe, KLM offers daily service from Amsterdam while TAP Air Portugal has flights from Lisbon. Most other flights from Europe require a change in the Puerto Rican capital, San Juan. Air Aruba and ALM fly between Curaçao and Aruba and Bonaire, while Avensa has daily flights to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. There's an air departure tax of US$10 for international destinations, including Aruba; US$6 if flying to other islands in the Netherlands Antilles.
 Getting Around
Hato International Airport is 7 miles (12km) northwest of Willemstad. There are rental car agencies at the airport and taxis and buses waiting to take you into the city; several hotels provide their guests with free transport from the airport.
Most visitors to Curaçao rent a car or jeep to be able to get to the best beaches and dive spots. There are plenty of rental agencies at the airport and at several of the larger hotels. You'll need a valid driver's license from home. Drive on the right and keep an eye out for donkeys and goats, even in the capital. Traffic can be chaotic and unrelaxing, and it's easy to get lost - signage is patchy and the maps aren't great.
For getting around Willemstad you're better off using Konvoois, the reliable, if ambling, yellow public buses. Buses and minibuses depart from near the waterfront in Punda, right by the post office. Public minibuses follow eclectic routes but may still get where you're going. You'll know them by the 'BUS' on their licence plate. Taxis are plentiful in the capital - look for TX licence plates. City fares are set though taxis can also be hired for longer trips around the island at negotiated rates.
 Recommended Reading
- If you can find it, Christopher Isherwood's Condor and the Cows includes an evocative description of Willemstad just after WWII.
- John de Pool's 1935 satire, Del Curaçao Quese Va, laments the passing of some of the islands old customs.
 Lonely Planet Guides
 Travelers' Reports
 On-line Info
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