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Buffet of Beaches

By George Oxford Miller

With more than 35 named beaches, Curaçao offers a cornucopia of choices for your day or week of sun, sand and surf. Some are intimate pocket beaches in finger coves, while others are broad and expansive and often crowded. You can swim, snorkel and dive, plunge off sea cliffs, build sandcastles and enjoy a fresh-catch lunch or romantic sunset dinner. Regardless of your choice, you can count on pearl-white sand and crystalline, aquamarine waters.

Some beaches are free with few amenities, while those with changing facilities, picnic tables and concessions usually charge admission. Many resorts reserve beaches exclusively for their guests. Here's a rundown of the most popular and accessible public beaches going east to west along the western coastline.

Jan Thiel Beach
Children love the semi-enclosed wading area resembling a swimming pool, while adults can take advantage of the excellent diving and snorkeling. There are volleyball games on the weekends.

Sea Aquarium/Mambo/Kontiki Beach
The whole family will enjoy these kid-friendly beaches adjacent to the Sea Aquarium. Palm trees, snack bars, cafes, and shops line the broadly sloping beach and gentle waves lap the shoreline. For partygoers, Mambo Beach is lined with nightclubs, shops, beach bars, water sports vendors and even an outdoor massage tent.

Blue Bay Beach
A large, shady beach with facilities like lounge chairs, shade umbrellas, a bar and restaurant and a water sports center that's popular with local families and visitors because of the soft white sand. Children can enjoy the playground and a pool.

Daaibooibaai Beach
This small beach has good snorkeling along its rocky ledge and clear water. There is adequate shade and a snack bar.

Hook's Hut Beach
Trees line this small, full-service beach adjacent to the Hilton Hotel and its beaches on Piscadera Bay. Facilities include beach chairs, water sports, a dive operator, bar, restaurant with beachfront dining, and frequently, live music.

Porto Marie Beach
Families love this broad sandy beach set against in a hilly cove. You can spend the day sunning and reading on comfy beach chairs in the shade of umbrellas, shade arbors and native trees. A double coral reef just offshore attracts divers and snorkelers. Facilities include a bathhouse, bar-cafe and dive operator.

Cas Abao Beach
Located at the end of a dirt road, this beautiful sand and coral rock beach is lined with palms, sea grapes and shade umbrellas. A raft moored off the beach is ideal for swimming and snorkeling, and a dive shop with excursions makes reaching the offshore reef easy. A bar serves food and drinks, and changing facilities are available.

Lagun Beach
The shallow, tranquil waters and coral formations along the sides of this narrow cove create some of the best snorkeling on the island. A dive shop rents canoes and water sports equipment, and huts and large manchineel trees provide shade.

Jeremi Beach
Looking for an isolated, uncrowded beach? This narrow beach squeezed between rocky cliffs offers one of the most romantic sunset views on the island, but it offers no concessions or facilities. Swimmers love the sandy bottom, clear water and calm currents.

Kenepa Beach
Popular with locals on weekends but quiet during the week, the broad, sugary strands and gentle turquoise waves are perfect for beach and water games, sandcastles or just wiggling your toes in the sand. The adventurous jump from cliffs at the viewpoint and snorkel around the rocks bordering the cove. Manchineel trees provide some shade, and a snack bar with a restroom is open on weekends.

Kalki Beach
Located below the luxurious Kurá Hulanda Lodge, this premier beach on the north tip of the island offers a full day's worth of activities. You can play in the gentle surf, improve your tan or relax on a lounge chair in the shade. Then afterwards, grab a snack or delicious lunch, explore a snorkel trail among schools of coral fish, book a snorkel or diving excursion along the scenic limestone cliffs and enjoy gourmet cuisine at one of the hotel restaurants.

Get dive site and beaches locations in the Map section.