Curaçao is the Caribbean's most surprising island — a destination that combines world-class diving with a UNESCO-listed capital city of extraordinary colorful Dutch colonial architecture, a vibrant Afro-Caribbean culture and a food scene shaped by influences from across the Atlantic world. It sits outside the hurricane belt, receives less rain than most Caribbean islands and offers a consistency of experience that rewards visitors who come seeking more than a beach vacation.
Willemstad, the capital, is one of the most photogenic cities in the Caribbean — the Handelskade waterfront of pastel Dutch colonial buildings reflected in Sint Anna Bay is the most iconic image in the southern Caribbean. The city is divided by the bay into Punda and Otrobanda, connected by the famous Queen Emma Bridge — a pontoon bridge that swings open for ships, requiring pedestrians to cross by ferry.
Below the water, Curaçao reveals its greatest secret — a wall diving destination of the first order, where the reef drops dramatically within swimming distance of shore, offering some of the most accessible and spectacular diving in the Caribbean without the crowds of more famous destinations.