City overview
Curaçao is a Dutch Caribbean island 40 miles off the Venezuelan coast, where pastel-coloured colonial waterfronts, a UNESCO-listed capital and more than 35 named beaches sit inside a dry, cactus-studded landscape that stays warm and largely rainless all year. Willemstad is the centre of everything — the floating Queen Emma Bridge, the Handelskade merchant houses and the island's museums — while the western half of the island holds the cliff-backed coves, national parks and reef diving. Jewish life on Curaçao goes back to the 1650s and the community today numbers under 350. Orthodox life on the island runs through Shaarei Tsedek in the Mahaai district, an Ashkenazi congregation founded in 1959 and led since 2017 by Rabbi Refoel and Chani Silver as Chabad of Curaçao, which also supplies the island's only kosher food.
Getting Around
Public transit
Public buses run in two forms: large buses known as Konvoi and smaller passenger vans marked BUS.
Both operate mainly from the terminals in front of the post offices at the Waaigat in Punda and in Otrobanda, and routes reach most of the island, though service to the far west is infrequent. Fares are paid in cash or with a smartpass.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft do not operate in Curaçao.
The island's app-based alternative is Kumbai, which shows a fixed price before booking and accepts card payment in-app. Local dispatch services including Taxi 2 Go Curaçao and 24-7 Taxi Curaçao also take bookings by phone or app. Taxis are not metered. Fares are set by government-regulated rates and should be agreed with the driver before setting off. A 25 percent surcharge applies between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM, and on Sundays and public holidays. Licensed taxis carry a TX marking on the number plate.
Car rental
Renting a car is the most practical way to reach the western beaches and national parks, and all the major international companies plus local operators have desks at the airport.
Driving is on the right, and road signage is in Dutch and Papiamentu.
Airport
Curaçao International Airport (Hato) (CUR) is about 7.5 miles northwest of Willemstad, roughly a 15 to 20 minute drive. It handles direct service from the United States, the Netherlands, South America and across the Caribbean, and is compact enough that arrivals move through quickly. Taxis wait outside arrivals at government-set rates, private transfers can be pre-booked, and every major car rental company has a desk in the terminal. There are no domestic flights within Curaçao — the island is small enough to drive end to end in about an hour.
Good to know
Best time to visit
Curaçao sits below the hurricane belt and is warm and dry year-round, with the most comfortable conditions from December through April.
Insider tips
Rent a car for at least part of the stay: the best beaches are on the western half of the island and public transport there is thin. Beach entry is often charged per car rather than per person, so travelling together is cheaper. Many of the island's museums and the liqueur distillery close at weekends, so plan those for weekdays. Kosher travellers should note that the island has no kosher restaurant — food is arranged in advance through Chabad of Curaçao, which also koshers kitchens in rented villas and apartments before arrival if contacted ahead of time. Prices are quoted in both Caribbean guilders and US dollars, and US dollars are accepted almost everywhere.
Safety & emergency
Curaçao is generally safe for visitors, with most trouble limited to opportunistic theft from parked cars and unattended belongings on beaches. Keep valuables out of sight in rental cars, use hotel safes, and stick to well-lit areas of Willemstad after dark, particularly around Otrobanda. Tap water is produced by desalination and is safe to drink. Medical care on the island is good by regional standards, centred on Curacao Medical Center. Police and Fire Brigade: 911. Ambulance: 912. Hospital: 910. Police departments: 917. Rescue Coordination Centre: 913. Coast Guard: +5999 839-3700. Tourist assistance (Citro): +5999 747-1600. Roadside assistance: 199.
Local time
1:46 AM
+4 hrs from NYC
Plug
Type A/B/F
127V/220V, 50Hz
Currency
Caribbean Guilder
Kosher map of Curacao
Pick a place on the map or search an address or hotel to see what is kosher around it.