Curacao: Private Food Tour with Local Snacks & Distillery

4.99

(137 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect to start my day in Curacao with a pastechi in one hand and the sound of waves somewhere behind the city walls. Our guide, Djamila, waved us over by the Rif Fort — I was still trying to pronounce “Punda” right. She just smiled and pointed out the view: all those wild colors stacked along Sint Anna Bay. The breeze was warm but not heavy, kind of salty too. We wandered through side streets where someone was frying something that smelled sweet and sharp at the same time — maybe sate batata? I should’ve asked.

We stopped at a mural that looked like it had been painted yesterday — turns out Kaya Kaya brings artists from everywhere each year. Djamila told us about it while passing around little paper bags with snacks inside (I think I dropped half my filling on the ground, but nobody cared). The city center felt alive in a way that’s hard to explain — music from a window above, someone laughing in Papiamentu, sun bouncing off yellow walls. At Plasa Bieu we sat for lunch; the table wobbled and there was this tangy awa di lamunchi juice that cut right through the heat. Honestly, I still think about that first bite.

Later we drove out to Landhuis Chobolobo for the Curacao Liqueur Distillery tour. The place smelled like oranges and something else — maybe nostalgia? I tried Blue Curacao straight (stronger than I expected) while listening to stories about how they’ve made it since 1896. It’s funny how a drink you see everywhere suddenly feels different when you’re standing where it’s actually made. The tour ended before I was ready for it to be over — maybe because my hands were sticky from lunch or because there was more left to taste.