A little more
Curaçao.
A lot less roaming.

Travelling to Curaçao: what to know before you go

Curaçao is a dry, sunny island off the coast of Venezuela and a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its capital, Willemstad, has a waterfront of pastel Dutch-style buildings, and the rest of the island offers small coves, reefs close to shore and cactus-covered hills. It suits snorkellers and divers, food lovers and travellers who enjoy a multilingual, multicultural island.

Where to go

• Willemstad's Handelskade. The row of colourful, gabled buildings along the harbour in the Punda district is the island's most famous view.
• Queen Emma Bridge. A floating pontoon bridge for pedestrians that links Punda with Otrobanda across St Anna Bay.
• Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue. Dating from 1732, it is the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the Americas.
• Beaches of Westpunt. The north-west has small coves set between cliffs, such as Grote Knip (Playa Kenepa), Playa Lagun and Playa Piskado, where fishermen clean their catch and turtles often swim close to snorkellers.

Best time to visit

Curaçao is warm, dry and sunny year-round, with constant trade winds that keep the heat bearable. The short rainy season, roughly from October to January, brings brief showers rather than days of rain.

Staying online in Curaçao

Mobile coverage is good across most of the island, including Willemstad and the main beaches, though signal can weaken in parts of the national parks and in some coves below cliffs. Hotels, apartments, beach bars and cafés usually offer Wi-Fi. Roaming on a home plan can be expensive in the Caribbean, even for EU plans, as Curaçao is outside the EU's roaming area. Install an eSIM before you fly and switch it on when you land.