Question 1

Willemstad on Your Own

Accepted Answer

You can see Willemstad on foot, because both cruise berths are in Otrobanda and the old center of Punda is one bridge away. Spend the morning at a museum in Otrobanda, then cross the Queen Emma Bridge to Punda's streets, the synagogue and the waterfront market. Otrobanda: The Kura Hulanda Museum, at Klipstraat 9, tells the story of the Atlantic slave trade on the quayside where enslaved Africans were once brought to be sold. Across to Punda: The Queen Emma Bridge is a 167-meter pontoon bridge. Stay off it when it is about to swing open, because there is no quick way off, and use the free ferries instead. The synagogue: Mikvé Israel-Emanuel, consecrated in 1732, has a sand floor. Visitors must show valid ID to enter. Lunch: On weekdays, Plasa Bieu in Punda, a hall of small restaurants where people who work in Punda eat lunch, serves local food such as cabritu stoba, stewed goat. Sundays: Most businesses other than restaurants close on Sundays. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Carry ID: You must always carry a copy of the photo page of your passport.

Question 2

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

Punda and Otrobanda are easy to walk, but the beaches and the west of the island need a taxi, a hired car or a bus. Taxis do not use meters, so agree the fare before you get in. Registered taxis carry number plates that begin with TX. Click Curaçao is the island's own ride-hailing app. Buses leave from two stations, one in Otrobanda across from the Rif Fort and one in Punda by the post office. Fares are paid in cash, so carry small notes. The currency is the Caribbean guilder, but US dollars and euros are readily accepted, and Visa and Mastercard are taken almost everywhere.

Question 3

What to Eat

Accepted Answer

Curaçao's cooking mixes European, West Indian and Indonesian flavors, so satay with peanut sauce is as easy to find as Caribbean dishes. Keshi yena, a large round of cheese stuffed with spiced meat and then baked or steamed, is a dish the island shares with Aruba. Indonesian food came by way of Suriname, another former Dutch colony. Plasa Bieu in Punda serves Chinese, Jamaican and Krioyo, or local, food, including cabritu stoba. Small bar-restaurants called snacks, found all over the island, serve inexpensive Chinese food and stay open later than most. Blue Curaçao, the island's most famous product, is a liqueur made from the peel of oranges that grew poorly when the Spanish brought them; the blue is food coloring.

Question 4

Culture & Local Life

Accepted Answer

Papiamentu, spoken only on Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba, is the island's native language, and most people also speak Dutch, English and Spanish. Willemstad grew quarter by quarter, from Punda inside the old walls to Otrobanda across the bay from 1707, and then Scharloo. Otrobanda, whose name means the other side in Papiamentu, became the cultural center of Willemstad. Scharlooweg was the main avenue of the Jewish merchants at the end of the 19th century. After cruise passengers, divers are the largest group of visitors to the island, and many dive schools offer courses. The Curaçao Maritime Museum covers more than 500 years of the island's seafaring history with charts, ship models and navigation instruments.

Question 5

Dutch West India Company and the Slave Trade

Accepted Answer

Willemstad was founded by the Dutch West India Company in 1634, became one of the main centers of the Atlantic slave trade, and grew as a trading port. Slavery ended in 1863, and oil refining reshaped the island in the 20th century. First peoples: The Arawak and Caquetío, whose ancestors came from what is now Venezuela, were the island's first inhabitants. Spain, 1499: A Spanish expedition under Alonso de Ojeda sighted the island in 1499, and Spain settled it in 1527. Poor harvests and the lack of precious metals led the Spanish to call it the useless island. The Dutch, 1634: The Dutch West India Company took the island in 1634 and founded Willemstad on its natural harbor. Punda began as a walled town. Slave trade, from 1662: The company made Curaçao a center of the Atlantic slave trade, bringing enslaved Africans here to be sold elsewhere in the Caribbean. Jewish merchants: Sephardic Jews from Amsterdam and Brazil settled here as traders, and the island became a free port in 1674. Revolt, 1795: Up to 4,000 enslaved people in the northwest of the island rose under Tula Rigaud and other leaders, and the revolt was put down after a month. Abolition, 1863: The Netherlands abolished slavery in 1863. The bridge and the refinery: The Queen Emma Bridge opened in 1888. After oil was found in Venezuela in 1914, refineries on Curaçao and Aruba processed its crude. 1969: A strike at the oil refinery on May 30, 1969, turned into a riot that killed two people and burned part of the historic center. World Heritage and self-rule: UNESCO listed the historic center in 1997, and Curaçao became a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on October 10, 2010. To learn more ashore: The Kura Hulanda Museum, at Klipstraat 9 in Otrobanda, opened in 1999 and is devoted to the Atlantic slave trade and African history in the Caribbean.

Question 6

Traveling with Family

Accepted Answer

With children, Willemstad works as a walking day built around the Queen Emma Bridge, which swings open for passing ships, and a museum or two. Dive schools across the island offer courses and certifications. Younger children: When the bridge opens, the free ferries make a short boat ride across the bay. Keep children off the bridge when it is about to swing. School age: The Curaçao Maritime Museum shows ship models, charts and navigation instruments from more than 500 years of the island's seafaring. After dark: Avoid isolated areas, including beaches, after dark.

Question 7

Shopping & Local Markets

Accepted Answer

Punda is Willemstad's shopping district, with a duty-free area selling European goods such as jewelry, watches and linens alongside souvenir shops. Compare prices, because they are not always lower than at home. The waterfront market on the north side of the shopping area sells fresh food and flowers and is busiest in the morning. Venezuelan merchants sell hammocks at the floating market and in stalls along St. Anna Bay in Otrobanda. Breedestraat in Otrobanda has shops aimed at local customers, including electronics. Most shops close on Sundays.

Question 8

Beaches

Accepted Answer

Curaçao's public beaches are mostly on the south coast, especially toward the west of the island between Rif St. Marie and Westpunt, so they mean a taxi or a hired car from Willemstad. Much of the east coast is private land. Playa Grote Knip, also called Grote Kenapa, is a large sand beach west of the town of Lagun, and Playa Kleine Knip nearby is smaller and shaded by trees. Westpunt, at the western tip of the island, has small beaches and restaurants. Mambo Beach, on the east side, is reached by bus from the Punda station, and buses to Mambo and Salina run later in the evening than most. Avoid isolated beaches after dark.

Willemstad, Curacao

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