Curacao

Introduction:

Curaçao was a calming and slow-paced island I visited about a year ago. I loved this island because of the interesting history that it has, such as it being a former Dutch colony. I thought was very interesting primarily since I am Dutch. Another interesting component of this island's relation to the Netherlands is that since it is a Dutch island it means that the citizens of Curaçao can live in the Netherlands and vice versa since they’re considered citizens there as well.

Activities and outings:

This island is very small which means that all the trips that you do are normally planned out as a day of seeing most of the island. It is so small that to drive from one end to the other it would take you about 50 minutes. 

Since it is an island it means that the locals are very much so into fishing. So while you are there I would make sure that you do some fishing. I mean personally, I don’t enjoy fishing for hours but a quick hour of fishing is great. This way you get to catch a few pretty fish and you get nice photos too this way. Another great activity to throw in that day would be to go to a beach nearby a great beach that I would recommend to go for an afternoon to snorkel with turtles and pretty fish would be Playa Piskado. This was a touristy but also local beach since you could buy fish from the fishers there and go up to the restaurant and have them cook it for you. If you are lucky the fishers might even give you some of their homemade soup consisting of different types of fish that were caught that day and even maybe some shark. A tip for any beach that you go to in Curaçao would be to have money on you since if you want a seat at the beach you need to pay for it. Another beach that I quickly visited that was nice was famously known as the pig beach, Playa Porto Marie, sadly when I went there were no pigs but still the views from the beach were magnificent! Another activity that you should do is go scuba diving if you are up for it because I did it and it was truly magical. The place I went to do scuba diving was Ocean Encounters at Lionsdive. The other important thing that you should do when visiting is to go into the city since it is very local and this way you can see the colorful houses. To conclude this portion I want to say that if you want to see the island I would try to get a driver that can drive you around for the day showing you the important landmarks and the hiding gems.

Food:

For food, I didn’t eat locally but while I was there I did go to grocery stores and such but did not eat locally because the risk of food poisoning wasn’t something I was going to risk. Because of this I mainly ate at my hotels and bought food from grocery stores that looked familiar to me such as Albert Heighn which is a grocery store chain that is in the Netherlands. But my suggestion would be to eat at your hotels especially if you have serious allergies or don’t want to risk food poisoning.

Hotels:

While I was visiting I stayed in two different hotels called Lionsdive and Baoase. Both hotels were lovely and in two very different price ranges. Lionsdive was where I started. I enjoyed this resort since it offered a lot of different activities and the small beach they had was great for snorkeling. Another enjoyable feature of this place was that it was located on a boardwalk that had a variety of restaurants bars and areas to hang out in for the day. Now for Baoase, this hotel was much more fancy and secluded which was a nice change of pace compared to the loud and busy Lionsdive. Baoase was lovely and I would love to go back from the butter shaped as a Buhda to the logo printed on the buns. Sadly though all hotels have downsides for Lionsdive it was that it was busy and loud but in some ways that was nice. For Baoase it was that the other guests that were there were a bit snarky and unwelcoming since I was not the typical guest. But overall both hotels were amazing and accommodating and I would love to go back to both of them! When choosing a hotel it is based on the cost and location so these are the two best options I believe are the best for your price range and location preference.

Why Curacao?:

This island is a safe, welcoming, relaxing, and enjoyable island to escape the winter cold for a little while. Curacao is a wonderful island to experience and is safe enough that it is not an island where you can only stay at your resort. It is great because of this you can go on outings and experience the wonders of the island and a little bit of their history.

When to visit:

Curacao is always a sunny and bright island and so because of that, it is always the right time to visit Curacao. Now I went at the end of winter for March break and it was great. Something to keep in mind when booking is since you do have to travel far to get to Curacao I recommend staying for around two weeks to be able to truly see the island and to get the worthwhile of your long flight(for me it was 5-6 hours).

Safety:

This island felt very safe and I don’t believe at any moment I was scared or worried about where I was or if something bad would happen. But always, even if you do feel safe, make sure of your surroundings and stay safe! But as a young woman, I truly did not have any worries.

Environment:

In regards to the environment since we only have one, make sure when you're traveling to be conscious about the environment since we still need it to last us many more decades so think green.