The 25 Best Things to Do in Curaçao

Curaçao packs more than 35 beaches, a UNESCO-listed capital, and reef that starts a few metres off the sand onto one small island. Do these five first: swim at Grote Knip, snorkel the Tugboat wreck, take the Klein Curaçao boat trip (about US$120-140), walk Handelskade in Willemstad, and catch a Pietermaai happy hour. Below are 25 things to do, grouped and priced.

Most of the island’s best beaches are free; the paid attractions are the national parks and the boat trips. Here are the headline prices, all confirmed for 2026:

Attraction	Adult entry	Hours	Good to know
Christoffel National Park	US$15	06:00-14:00	Climb the mountain before 10:00
Shete Boka National Park	US$15	09:00-17:00	Waves explode into limestone inlets
Hato Caves	US$10	Tours 09:00-15:00	Guided, leaves hourly
Curaçao Ostrich Farm	US$20	Safari hourly	Kids US$15
Klein Curaçao boat trip	~US$120-140	8-9 hrs	BBQ lunch + snorkel gear included

If you are still planning dates, read our best time to visit Curaçao guide first, and sort out a rental car before you arrive.

Beaches

1. Swim at Grote Knip (Kenepa Grandi). The postcard beach of the southwest: bright turquoise water, white sand, and a cliff you can jump from if the sea is calm. It is free, about a 50-minute drive from Willemstad, and busiest at weekends when locals arrive with coolers. Go on a weekday morning. See Grote Knip.

2. Cliff-jump at Klein Knip (Kenepa Chiki). Grote Knip’s smaller sister sits a few hundred metres up the road, quieter and framed by low cliffs. There is shade under the trees and a small snack truck at busy times. Details at Klein Knip.

3. Spend a day at Cas Abou. One of the few beaches with a proper entrance fee (a few dollars per car), which buys you sun loungers, a beach bar, and toilets. The water is exceptionally clear and good for a first snorkel. See Cas Abou.

4. Snorkel the double reef at Playa Porto Mari. Two coral reefs lie one behind the other straight off the beach, so you can drift over the first, cross a sand channel, and reach a second. There is a dive shop, loungers, and a resident group of wild pigs that wander down to the sand. See Playa Porto Mari.

5. Look for turtles at Playa Lagun. A small cove between limestone cliffs on the west coast, calm and shallow, where green turtles graze on the seagrass. Bring a mask; you can often see them from the surface. See Playa Lagun.

6. Watch the sunset from the far west. Playa Kalki and Playa Forti near Westpunt catch the last light and sit close to the island’s best snorkeling wall. Playa Forti has a cliff jump and a cheap local kitchen at the top. Browse all beaches to plan a west-coast loop.

On and under the water

7. Take the boat trip to Klein Curaçao. The uninhabited island an hour and a half offshore is the classic day out: white sand, a candy-striped lighthouse, a shipwreck on the reef, and no shade beyond rented umbrellas. Catamarans leave around 07:00-08:30 and return late afternoon; the roughly US$120-140 fare covers a BBQ lunch, drinks, and snorkel gear. The open-water crossing can be rough, so take a seasickness tablet an hour before if you are prone, and bring reef-safe sunscreen, a hat, and some cash. Book a trip to paradise, Klein Curaçao.

8. Snorkel the Tugboat wreck at Caracas Bay. A small sunken tugboat sits in about five metres of water, coral-crusted and swarming with fish, close enough to reach from shore. It is one of the island’s most photographed snorkel and freedive spots. Start from Caracas Bay.

9. Dive Curaçao’s reefs. The reef starts close to shore almost everywhere, which is why divers keep coming back. Try a guided night dive to see octopus and lobster, or the plane-wreck dive at Rediho and Elvin’s. More options on the things to do page.

10. Snorkel with sea turtles at Playa Grandi. A working fishermen’s beach on the west coast where the fish scraps draw turtles in daily. It is small and can get crowded, so arrive early. See Playa Grandi.

11. Go under without getting wet. The substation submarine tour drops to depths divers cannot reach, and the Curaçao Sea Aquarium lets you meet sea lions and sharks up close. Admission to the aquarium starts around US$21.

12. See the coast by powerboat. A powerboat tour or all-west beach-hopping trip reaches coves you cannot drive to and stops for snorkeling along the way. Half-day trips are the sweet spot.

Culture and Willemstad

13. Walk the Handelskade and cross the pontoon bridge. The row of ochre, blue, and pink Dutch colonial houses along the harbour is the image everyone knows from Curaçao. The Queen Emma “swinging old lady” pontoon bridge floats aside for ships several times a day; crossing it on foot is free. Across the water in Otrobanda, the Kurá Hulanda Museum tells the story of the transatlantic slave trade, and the restored Rif Fort holds shops and waterfront restaurants. A guided colourful history walking tour fills in the story.

14. Shop the Floating Market in Punda. Venezuelan boats tie up along the canal and sell tropical fruit, fish, and vegetables straight off the deck, as they have for generations. Go in the morning while it is busy and the catch is fresh.

15. See the Pietermaai murals and street art. The restored colonial quarter just east of Punda is covered in large-scale murals and doubles as the island’s best nightlife strip after dark. Our Pietermaai restaurants and nightlife guide has the full run-down.

16. Paint a Chichi doll. The curvy, brightly painted Chichi figures are Curaçao’s signature souvenir. A walk-in Chichi workshop lets you paint your own in about an hour, and it is a good rainy-hour activity for families.

17. Tour a landhuis (plantation house). The island’s old estate houses tell the harder side of its history. Landhuis Bloemhof pairs art with the grounds, while the Tula Museum at Landhuis Kenepa marks the 1795 slave uprising.

18. Have dinner inside a fort. Fort Nassau sits on a hilltop above the harbour with the best dinner view on the island, looking down on the container port and the lights of Willemstad. See more picks on the restaurants page.

Food and nightlife

19. Do a happy-hour hop. Nearly every bar runs a happy hour, usually 17:00-19:00. Rooftop Cascada is the see-and-be-seen option; tiny Netto Bar, pouring since 1954 and famous for its blue rum, is the local one. The nightlife hub lists who pours when.

20. Eat truk’i pan and street food. Curaçao’s food trucks (“truk’i pan”) serve grilled meat and local plates late into the night. Pasawa Box Eatery is a good, reliable modern take with cocktails to match.

21. Catch live music in Pietermaai. Mundo Bizarro does Cuban-style nights with a band, and Saint Tropez Ocean Club runs a pool-and-cocktails scene on the waterfront. Both sit a short walk apart in the same quarter.

With kids

22. Ride the Ostrich Farm safari. At the Curaçao Ostrich Farm a safari truck takes you among the birds every hour; you can feed them and, if you dare, stand on an egg. It costs US$20 for adults and US$15 for kids and pairs neatly with the Hato Caves nearby.

23. Make it an easy beach day at Kokomo. A family day at Kokomo Beach means calm shallow water, a beach bar, and a jetty the kids will not leave. It is one of the most relaxed spots for young children.

Nature and the west end

24. Hike Christoffel National Park. The island’s largest park protects Mount Christoffel, its 372-metre high point, with a steep two- to three-hour round-trip climb rewarded by a view across to Venezuela on clear days. Entry is US$15; the gate opens at 06:00 and you must start the climb before 10:00 for safety. The ticket also covers the Savonet Museum at the park entrance, which lays out the estate’s plantation history. Guided hiking trails run daily, or explore by private jeep tour.

25. Feel the waves at Shete Boka. On the rugged north coast, the Atlantic slams into a string of limestone inlets, and at Boka Pistol the swell shoots up through a blowhole. Entry is US$15, open 09:00-17:00, and it is an easy add-on to a Christoffel day or a west-coast jeep tour.

Getting around and good to know

• Rent a car. There is no reliable public transport to the best beaches, so a rental car is close to essential. Roads to the southwest are paved and easy, though a few dirt tracks lead to the wilder western bays.
• Pay in dollars or guilders. The local currency is the Antillean guilder, but US dollars are accepted almost everywhere; the money and currency guide has the details.
• Bring reef-safe sunscreen and water shoes. Several beaches are coral or pebble rather than sand, and the sun is strong all year.
• Start early. The popular beaches and Willemstad parking fill by late morning, especially at weekends, so front-load your day and save the bars for the evening.

Fit it into a trip

To string these into days rather than a checklist, start with our 3 days in Curaçao itinerary, then decide which beaches and boat trips to add. Pin the ones that catch your eye in the free Cura-App as you read, and check our best time to visit guide to line your dates up with the calmest, driest weather.