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Curacao Hotels All Inclusive
(All meals, beverages and more included)
Breezes Curacao Casino
Hotel All inclusive
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Curacao Hotels European Plan
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Introduction to Curacao
Curacao (Coo-ra-sow), together with
Bonaire, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, and Saba, is in the Kingdom of
the Netherlands as part of the Netherlands Antilles. Just 56km (35
miles) north of the coast of Venezuela, Curacao, the "C" of the
Caribbean's Dutch ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) islands, is the
most populous of the Netherlands Antilles. Visitors come for its
distinctive culture, warm people, duty-free shopping, lively
casinos, and watersports. Fleets of tankers head out from its harbor
to bring refined oil to all parts of the world. If you want grand
high-rise resorts on spectacular beaches, head for Aruba. Curacao
has a few middle-bracket resorts on the beach, mostly along the
island's southern coast, but we've always found the shopping and
cultural experiences here more appealing than the beaches.
Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci spotted Curacao
in 1499. The Spaniards exterminated all but 75 members of a branch of the
peaceful Arawaks. However, they in turn were ousted by the Dutch in 1634, who
also had to fight off French and English invasions.
The Dutch made the island a tropical Holland in
miniature. Pieter Stuyvesant ruled Curacao in 1644. The island was turned into a
Dutch Gibraltar, bristling with forts. Thick ramparts guarded the harbor's
narrow entrance; the hilltop forts (many now converted into restaurants)
protected the coastal approaches.
In the 20th century, Curacao remained sleepy until
1915, when the Royal Dutch/Shell Company built one of the world's largest oil
refineries here to process crude oil from Venezuela. Workers from some 50
countries poured onto the island, turning Curacao into a multicultural,
cosmopolitan community of about 171,000. Curacao has its own governmental
authority, relying on the Netherlands only for defense and foreign affairs.
The largest of the Netherlands Antilles, Curacao is
60km long (37 miles) and 11km (6 3/4 miles) across at its widest point. Because
of all that early Dutch building, Curacao is the most important island
architecturally in the entire West Indies, with more European flavor than
anywhere else. After leaving the capital, Willemstad, you plunge into a strange,
desertlike countryside evocative of the U.S. Southwest. The relatively arid
landscape is studded with three-pronged cactus, spiny-leafed aloe, and divi-divi
trees, with their windblown foliage. classic Dutch-style windmills are scattered
in and around Willemstad and in parts of the countryside.
Additional Information about travel to Curacao
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