Curacao is located in the Caribbean Sea 80 km from the coast of Venezuela and belongs to the Leeward Islands subgroup of the Lesser Antilles . Length of the island is 64 km, width is 16 km . This island attracts tourists with its picturesque white sand beaches , located in small, secluded coves, and is also considered one of the best diving sites in the entire Caribbean. . Advise your tourists to combine Curacao with nearby islands, for example Aruba or Bonaire . Otherwise, spend on this small Russian, of course, measures) island for more than 10-12 days, they may also get bored .

Capital - Willemstad.

How to get

Direct flights to Kyu Asao not. The most convenient variant of the flight is with the connection in Amsterdam (the airline KLM). Depending on the chosen flight, you can spend the night in Amsterdam. The duration of the flight without taking into account the docking is about 13, 5 hours. Rates for departure: international flights - 22 EUR, flights to the neighboring islands of Bonaire and Aruba - EUR 7.

• Is it possible to go to Aruba with Curaçao

Visa to Curacao

Russian tourists need a visa to visit the country, which is issued at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Customs

The import and export of local and foreign currency is not limited, amounts over 20 000 AGN in any currency must be declared. Allowed duty-free import of 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco, a liter of strong alcoholic beverages, 2, 25 liters of wine or 3 liters of beer. There are no restrictions on the importation of perfumes and perfumes.

It is prohibited to import leather goods from Haiti, weapons and explosives, drugs and narcotic preparations, as well as silver coins and products from Holland and Suriname. It is forbidden to export objects and things of historical and artistic value, especially those found on the seabed, without special permission.

Useful telephone numbers

Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Moscow: Kalashny lane 6, phone: (495) 797-29- 00, 797-29-04; Web site:

First aid: 912, police and fire department: 911

Tourist safety

In general, the island is very safe, but it's still not worth losing watchfulness there. Things better not to leave unattended, and the values ​​should be stored in a safe. In addition, tourists should not walk late at night in the desert areas of the island.

Climate Curaçao

Subequatorial, hot and sunny throughout the year. The average annual temperature is +28 ° C. The rainy season is from September to early December: short rainstorms are mostly at night and the sunny weather is during the day

See the current weather forecast for the main resorts of Curacao for the next few days

Beaches

Beaches - white sand. Despite the fact that the corals are located very close to the shore, the bottom at the entrance to the sea is sandy. True, sometimes there may be small fragments of dead corals. Special shoes for swimming are not required. The peculiarity of the beaches of some hotels is that you can go diving right from the shore.

Curaçao

All the island hotels are located on the west coast of Curaçao . On the island there are hotels of different categories, mostly good "four" and "treshki" . "Five-star" hotels on the island are few - Kurá Hulanda Spa & Casino and Avilla Beach . Kurá Hulanda Spa & Casino is located in Willemstad, beach guests will have to go - on the shuttle for about 8-10 minutes, but it is in this hotel you can feel Vova entire colonial charm . It is true that in recent years began to appear special offers, which combine accommodation in this hotel with leisure Hotel Lodge Kurá Hulanda & Beach Club 4 *, which is located directly on the banks .

"All inclusive" in the country is almost not represented, most hotels are based on breakfast. This is not surprising: in the tourist areas - a lot of cafes and restaurants. The best option for an all-inclusive hotel is Breezes Curasao - 4 *.

The level of service in all hotels is good. Many hotels have SPA-centers, and this applies even to "treshki."

The voltage in the network is 127/120 V, 50 Hz. Outlets of the American type: you need an adapter.

Shopping and shopping

Curacao is a duty-free zone, therefore, besides souvenir shops, you can visit Duty free. Most shops accept tourist checks and credit cards of major banking systems

Cuisine and restaurants of Curaçao

The local cuisine is based on fried fish, stewed goat meat, poultry meat and beef served with peas, rice or potatoes. Traditional for Curacao are soup made of plantain with beef, onions, potatoes and spices and "kesi-yen" - cheese cake, in which tomatoes, chicken and original sauce are added.

Entertainment, excursions and attractions

Museum of Curacao - one from the largest museums on the island, there are works of local and foreign artists, a collection of antique furniture, old maps, samples of Indian art.

Segnor Winery. It is here that the liqueur "Curacao" is produced - the alcoholic symbol of the island. The winery is located in the old mansion of Chobolobo, built in the early 19th century. During the excursion, you can learn a lot about the harvesting of oranges (of which this yummy is produced), about the ways of preparing the drink, and try different types of liqueurs.

The caves of Hato north of Willemstad are giant stalactites, beautiful underground reservoirs, waterfalls and a colony of rare bats

Christoffel Park is in the western part of the island, where the same mountain with the height of 377 m, the highest point of the island rises. Under his protection are iguanas, rabbits, donkeys, exotic birds and white-tailed deer, also there live lizards and sea turtles. To observe the natural behavior of animals in the park was built a special tower. Excursions to the park, depending on the preferences of tourists, can be done on foot, on horseback, on mountain bikes or in the old fashioned way - in jeeps.

Curacao is suitable not only for passive beach recreation. On the island there are enough opportunities for different kinds of sports - tennis, volleyball, golf, diving, snorkeling and windsurfing. Both for children and adults it will be interesting to visit the Marine Aquarium. There you can watch sea animals, feed flamingos, rays and sea turtles - and even touch non-dangerous animals. For certified divers there will be an opportunity to swim with sharks!

Diving in Curaçao

Diving in Curaçao is very popular: about 60 dive sites are equipped here. In the coastal waters of the island you can see playing dolphins, sunning turtles and even migrating whales

Popular dive sites

Playa Kalki is a small convenient bay off the coast of the resort town of Westpunt, one of the most popular places for diving. To the coral wall (depth 18 m) from here to swim about three minutes. At visibility of 30 m here you can see green eels, lobsters and a variety of reef fish. By the way, a trip to this bay will be interesting not only to divers and adherents of snorkeling, but also to fans of sunbathing.

Mushroom forest is a very spectacular sight. Corals in the form of multi-pointed stars vertically grow on each other on a sandy plateau in the San Nicolas area. "Mushroom forests" form a set of tunnels and small caves in which tropical fish hide. Often here you can see sharks, "blooming" corals, turtles, porcupine fish, fish with proboscis, lobsters and other marine life. Before the bay, especially in rainy weather, it is most convenient to travel by jeep. Because of the high reefs, it is recommended to dive in these places from the boat.

Porto-Marie Valley - two parallel reefs (one with a depth of 15 m, the other starts at a depth of 18 m), form a tunnel with a sandy bottom - one of the most impressive dives -site off the coast of Curacao, where you can meet rare marine life. It is convenient to get to the reefs from the popular Porto-Marie beach.

Рэки

The ship "Superior Producer" once crashed near the western coast of the island . Now it lies, or rather - is worth it, because it sank in a vertical position, at a depth of 30 m . Because of the great depth and rather poor visibility it is recommended to dive at the ship in the early morning accompanied by a professional guide . In the southeastern part of the Gulf of Caracas there is another wreck at a depth of only 5 m . The place of this crash can be reached only by boat . Despite the fact, that the ship is entirely covered with corals, arohod fairly well preserved . Photo Curacao (38)