Curacao: Island Tour with Blue Curacao Tasting & Knip Beach

4.72

(396 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I was still chewing on a bit of fried plantain when our guide, Franklin, waved us over to the edge of the Queen Juliana Bridge. “Look down,” he said, grinning like he had a secret. The city—Willemstad—looked like a paintbox spilled across the water. You could hear music drifting up from Otrobanda, and honestly, I didn’t expect the breeze to smell so much like sea salt and diesel mixed together. It’s busy here, but not in a bad way—more like everyone’s just living their lives around you.

We stopped at the Curacao Liqueur Distillery next. The air inside was sticky-sweet and sharp at the same time; I tried the blue stuff (the real deal), and it burned just enough to make me laugh. Franklin told us how they use local laraha oranges—he made us say it out loud (I definitely butchered it). After that we rolled through Scharloo, past houses painted every color you can think of—some peeling, some perfect. There was an old man on his porch who nodded as we passed; I still wonder what stories he’d tell if we’d stopped.

The west side felt like another planet. Flamingos stood in these shallow pink ponds at Jan Kok—just standing there being all elegant while we snapped photos and tried not to spook them. Lunch was at this roadside spot with plastic chairs; no cards accepted, so bring cash unless you want to beg fries off your neighbor (kidding…sort of). Later we hit Knip Beach for that famous turquoise water shot—the sand gritty underfoot—and ended up at Shete Boca where waves slammed into black rock caves so hard you could feel it in your chest. I kind of lost track of time out there.