Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Willemstad Curacao Cruise Port Guide

curacao cruise ship port

Cas Abao provides various amenities to ensure a comfortable day by the shore. The beach offers secure parking, showers, restrooms, and the option to rent a locker for safeguarding your valuables. Mambo Beach, situated on the eastern coast of Curaçao, is a lively shore destination featuring numerous beach clubs, restaurants, and a vibrant shopping boulevard. Each of the dozens of beaches on the island have their own unique personality from powdery white sand beaches and rolling hills to seductive privacy and rocky shorelines. The island has a rich history, much of it focused on plantations and the slave trade. The Kura Hulanda museum explores the dark history of Curacao’s involvement in African slavery in the Caribbean.

Kokomo Beach

Public transportation service includes the ”Buki di Bus” and trolleys. The new Mega Pier has capacity to accommodate largest cruise ships entering Santa Anna Bay. The channel splits the town in two quarters - Otrobanda (west) and Punda (east). Mega Pier is within easy walking distance from downtown - through Renaisaance Mall and Rif Fort. This beach is another hidden gem located around 40 minutes’ drive from the cruise port, south of Kleine Knip.

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All of the piers are located in downtown Willemstad, close to a wide array of facilities and amenities. If you love your Instagram, Playa Lagun is known as one of the most picturesque beaches on the island. In addition to the above ground beauty, the beach is also well known for its snorkeling reefs and clear waters. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the walk from the ports to downtown is lined with cafes, fun museums, and shopping. There is plenty of parking and amenities for a smooth day at the beach.

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It is a very touristy place, so you should expect higher prices and a lot of crowds. Mathey Wharf is another docking location that consists of four piers. It is located in St Anna Bay and occupies the old wharves of Otrobanda and Punda next to the Queen Juliana Bridge. This terminal is usually used if the Mega Piers 1 and 2 are too busy, and this is where smaller cruise ships normally dock (those that can pass under Queen Juliana Bridge.

There, you will find information and links to all the cruise ships that come to the Curaçao Port, making your search quick and easy for a cruise to Curaçao. The Mega Cruise Terminal offers more amenities than the Mathey Wharf. The ships dock at Santa Anna Bay, a narrow and deep channel that provides safe entry into the port. Walking inland from Koningin Wilhelminapark, along Columbusstraat (Columbus Street), will take you to the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue - a unique Jewish Cultural Historical Museum. A bit farther, by the waterfront, the Floating Market is on the northern edge of this area - around 300 meters (900 feet) from the Koningin Wilhelminapark - and a sight not to be missed.

Tug Boat Beach

While it is possible to walk to a beach from the Curaçao Cruise Port, it is not recommended due to the infrastructure and tropical climate. The port is located in Willemstad, making it a convenient starting point for city exploration during your one-day visit from the cruise ship. Obviously, all cruise lines offer many and diverse shore excursions in Curaçao cruise port. Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean offer as many 26 shore excursions. Oceania Cruises organizes 7 shore excursions, and Princess has 24 excursions available. Learn about transportation, top shore excursions, and all you need for an unforgettable visit.

The colorful buildings of Willemstad are hard to miss and its unique characteristics has earned the UNESCO World Heritage Site as the Caribbean’s most colorful city. The unique pontoon bridge opens periodically when a boat or small ship needs to pass through and watching this happen is definitely a sight to see. The Queen Emma Bridge is an iconic landmark not only to the Curaçao cruise port, but to the country as well. Rif Fort is a former seaside fort that has been restored into a waterfront center with stores, bars and restaurants, and some cool views.

Ultimate Beach Day at Playa Cas Abao

It is simply decorated inside and also houses a Fort Church Museum where you can learn about the island’s culture and the history of the Protestant community of Curacao. Less than a 5-minute walk from there you’ll reach the Queen Emma Bridge and the Punda side, where you can explore the main Willemstad highlights and historical landmarks. There is the main bus station as well, however, the buses don’t run regularly and I wouldn’t recommend you use them. Kura Hulanda is a hotel and museum near the city centre that will show you a chapter of the african slave trade and Curacao and the centre of slave trade for the ABC islands.

Hundreds of species of fish can be found in the aquarium of Sea aquarium. Anything you can find in the waters around Curacao is what you will find here as well like crabs, sponges and corals. Nautical charts, ship models and navigation equipment tell the 500 years of maritime history of Curacao.

At the dock you will find an information booth, free wi-fi, taxi stand, tour operators and souvenir shops. You will also find a lot of facilities, cafe’s, restaurants and shops at the Riffort area close to the pier. While the island might not have the most beautiful forests or scenery of the Caribbean, it does have 28 beaches of which some are even in the world’s top 10. Find out which ones we recommend in the Curaçao cruise port guide.

curacao cruise ship port

Michelle is a freelance writer who has traveled to all seven continents and 60+ countries through various forms of employment. Over the last ten years, she’s worked as an ESL teacher in Japan, a youth counselor aboard cruise ships, and a hospitality manager in Antarctica. I am the creator of an e-book “Mediterranean Cruise Port Guide“, the most comprehensive guide to 45 Mediterranean cruise ports, & YouTube channel @AdventourBegins. It is a long sandy beach offering great snorkeling, watersport activities (snorkel, kayaks, banana boat ride rentals), beach chair and umbrella rentals, a bar, a restaurant, showers, and lockers. Cas Abao Beach is surrounded by lush nature, which makes it a perfect beach escape for those who seek the peace and silence of nature.

Afterward, you can have lunch at the restaurant on the premises or head over to the sea aquarium beach for a sunbathing, swimming, and snorkeling session. The aquarium charges $21 per adult and $11 per child ages 5-12 years old. It has a beautiful courtyard and an old church with an embedded cannon wall reminiscent of old wars.

Situated off the coast of Venezuela, Willemstad is the capital city and main entrance to Curaçao. This Dutch Caribbean island is well known in the Atlantic Ocean and welcomes many cruise visitors. Are you planning a Caribbean cruise vacation to Curaçao, but you are not sure what awaits you at the port?

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