🧭 Curaçao: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Curaçao feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 43 written places.
Easygoing and multilingual - Papiamentu, Dutch, English and Spanish flow through a single chat.
Cost level: High Costs run at western European levels - planning and a few local tricks keep it sane. Estimate a daily budget →
✓ Considered polite
- Greet with Bon dia before noon and Bon tardi after - Papiamentu greetings are warmly received
- Say Danki - thank you is the most appreciated word you can learn
- Check the bill before tipping - a 10-15% service charge is often already added
- Eat a local lunch at the old market hall in Punda - stewed dishes served Monday to Saturday
✗ Better avoided
- Wear swimwear away from the beach and pool
- Assume the service charge is the tip - it often covers costs, so a small extra is welcome
- Expect downtown Punda and Otrobanda shops to open on Sunday
- Rush - unhurried service is the island's pace, not neglect
💡 Worth knowing
- The Caribbean guilder replaced the old Antillean guilder in 2025, pegged at 1.79 to the US dollar - dollars are accepted nearly everywhere
- The Queen Emma pontoon bridge swings open for ships - a free ferry crosses while it is open
- Papiamentu is the street language, Dutch is official, and English works fine in tourist areas
- Supermarkets outside the centre open Sunday mornings only, closing around 13:00
Plugs and voltage
Type A, B · 127 V travel adapter →
CurrencyCaribbean guilder (XCG)
LanguagesDutch, Papiamentu, English
Driving sideright
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.