Most people who visit Curaçao come on either cruise ships or they live there part of the year. Every Caribbean island is different and Curaçao is a Dutch Colony. That being said, everyone speaks English and Dutch while locals also speak Papiamento which is a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese.
We stayed at a resort on the island, . Airbnbs are also popular but the one we wanted fell through and the resort wasn't that much more expensive. Sometimes you have to treat yourself. Surprisingly there aren't many nice hotels or resorts on the island, unlike neighbouring Aruba. Most people stay in private luxury homes or condo complexes while visiting Curaçao.
Our resort was done in Kon-Tiki style, which is a rip off of polynesian culture. They had small natural looking pools and lush greenery. Curaçao is quite arid, there are cacti all over the island so it felt like we were in a little oasis.
It's so hot having a shaded pool is essential in Curaçao. We don't do heat and I stay out of the sun in the middle of the day but floating under the trees was nice.
Iguana's are all over the island, they're harmless but rather large. They would clean the pools regularly but they were still the type that required a shower after. I prefer this to harsh chemicals.
Curaçao is known for its flamingos. They hang out in the lagoons around the island. Much of Curaçao is built up and it has a very large oil refinery, there are oil derricks off the coast and to be honest we didn't really like it.
Our hotel was on Mambo beach which hosts fairly large parties a few nights a week. Dutch DJs are world class and the crowd was hip. There is an aquarium here for more family friendly activities.
A car is recommended on Curaçao because the touristy areas are far apart. It's too hot to walk and the bus seems like a complicated waste of time. The restaurants and food scene is great but it does get expensive.
This is a view towards Mambo beach just before the party gets started. Everyone starts in beach bars before the open air clubs get fired up. They have big stages and it reminds me a little of what you would find in Cancun.
Curaçao is close to Venezuela, Zulia was available all over the island and there were quite a few Venezuelans. At one point the island was Spanish before it was Dutch. They have a couple of breweries on the island, but I preferred drinking the easy stuff like Amstel, Heineken or Polar. Heavy drinks don't sit well in 30 plus degrees.
This was at Brisa Do Mar, there's the luxury expat town of Jan Thiel behind those bluffs and to the left there is a giant oil derrick. Like I said, it's just not that nice here. While there are a few cute beaches on the other side of the island, they take a while to get to, they are small and crowded.
Nothing beats Christmas in the Caribbean. We like to travel here from mid Nov to early December, before things get crowded and expensive. We were in Curaçao for 5 days until we flew off to Aruba.
The ABCs, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao are all close together so you can fly between them in 30 minutes on divi air. As you can see, Curaçao is mostly a giant subdivision of Willemstad which deserves a post of its own. I can understand why people like it but Curaçao isn't for us.
Thanks for reading.
All Photos taken with an S22 or iPhone 15pro