Curacao Hotels
Hotels in the island of Curacao are often required for tourists who want short term accommodation on the island. Some may want to see the landscapes, culture, sports and entertainment of the island. Some may want to see the scenery of the island. Some may want to tour the island by boat or ship. Some may want to see the cities and towns of the island. Some may want a hotel that has good views and good access to tourist attractions. Some may want a hotel that has good access to entertainment and parking. Some visitors to the island may want a hotel that has good luxury or is cheap. Some may want a large hotel or a small hotel.
Curaçao is the largest and most populous of the three so-called ABC islands (for Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) of the Lesser Antilles, specifically the Leeward Antilles.
Like
Aruba and Bonaire, Curaçao is a transcontinental island that is geographically
part of South America but is also considered to be part of West Indies and one
of the Leeward Antilles. Curaçao and the other ABC Islands are in terms
of climate, geology, flora and fauna more akin to nearby Paraguaná Peninsula,
Isla Margarita and the nearby Venezuelan areas of the Coro region and Falcón
State. The flora of Curaçao differs from the typical tropical island vegetation.
Xeric scrublands are common, with various forms of cacti, thorny shrubs, evergreens,
and the island's symbolic divi-divis. Curaçao's highest point is the 375
metre Christoffelberg (Mount Christoffel) in the northwestern part of the island.
This lies in the reserved wildlife park, Curaçao Christoffelpark, and can
be explored by car, bike or horse or on foot. Several trails have been laid out.
Curaçao has many places where one can hike. There are Saliñas, salt
marshes where flamingos fly out to rest and feed. 15 miles off the coast of Curaçao,
to the southeast, lies the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao (Little
Curaçao).
Curaçao is renowned for its coral reefs which makes it an excellent spot for scuba diving. The beaches on the south side contain many popular diving spots. An unusual feature of Curaçao diving is that the sea floor drops off steeply within a few hundred feet of the shore, and the reef can easily be reached without a boat. This drop-off is locally known as the "blue edge." Strong currents and lack of beaches make the rocky northern coast dangerous for swimming and diving, but experienced divers sometimes dive there from boats when conditions permit. The southern coast is very different and offers remarkably calm waters. The coastline of Curaçao features many bays and inlets, many of them suitable for mooring.
Some of the coral reefs have been affected by tourism. Porto Marie beach is experimenting with artificial coral reefs in order to improve the reef's condition. Hundreds of artificial coral blocks that have been placed are now home to a large array of tropical fish.
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The island area of Curaçao (Dutch: Eilandgebied Curaçao, Papiamentu: Teritorio Insular di Kòrsou), which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao"), is one of five island areas of the Netherlands Antilles, and as such, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its capital is Willemstad.
The island of Curaçao was first settled by the Arawaks, an Amerindian people native to the area. They are believed to have inhabited the island for many hundreds of years before the arrival of Europeans.
curacao hotels
The original
inhabitants of Curaçao were Arawak Amerindians. The first Europeans to
see the island were members of a Spanish expedition under the leadership of Alonso
de Ojeda in 1499. The Spaniards exported most of the indigenous population to
other colonies where workers were needed. The island was occupied by the Dutch
in 1634. The Dutch West India Company founded the capital of Willemstad on the
banks of an inlet called the 'Schottegat'. Curaçao had been previously
ignored by colonists because it lacked many things that colonists were interested
in, such as gold deposits. However, the natural harbour of Willemstad proved quickly
to be an ideal spot for trade. Commerce and shipping, but also piracy, became
Curaçao's most important economic activities. In addition, Curaçao
came to play a pivotal role in one of the most intricate international trade networks
in history: the Atlantic slave trade. The Dutch West India Company made Curaçao
a center for slave trade in 1662. Dutch merchants brought slaves from Africa under
a trading agreement with Spain called Asiento. Under this agreement, slaves were
sold and shipped to various destinations in South America and the Caribbean. At
the height of the trade, large numbers of slaves were traded here.
The
slave trade made the island affluent, and led to the construction of impressive
colonial buildings that still stand today. Curaçao features architecture
that blends various Dutch and Spanish colonial styles. The wide range of other
historic buildings in and around Willemstad earned the capital a place on UNESCO's
world heritage list. Landhouses (former plantation estates) and West African style
'kas di pal'i maishi' (former slave dwellings) are scattered all over the island
and some of them have been restored and can be visited.
Curaçao's proximity to South America translated into a long-standing influence from the nearby Latin American coast. This is reflected in the architectural similarities between the 19th century parts of Willemstad and the nearby Venezuelan city of Coro in Falcón State, the latter also being a UNESCO world heritage site. In the 19th century, Curaçaoans such as Manuel Piar and Luis Brión were prominently engaged in the wars of independence of Venezuela and Colombia. Political refugees from the mainland (like Bolivar himself) regrouped in Curaçao and children from affluent Venezuelan families were educated in the island.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the island changed hands among the British, the French, and the Dutch several times. Stable Dutch rule returned in 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars. The Dutch abolished slavery in 1863. The end of slavery caused economic hardship, prompting many inhabitants of Curaçao to emigrate to other islands, such as to Cuba to work in sugarcane plantations.
When in 1914 oil was discovered in the Maracaibo Basin town of Mene Grande, the fortunes of the island were dramatically altered. Royal Dutch Shell and the Dutch Government had built an extensive oil refinery installation on the former site of the slave-trade market at Asiento, thereby establishing an abundant source of employment for the local population and fueling a wave of immigration from surrounding nations. Curaçao was an ideal site for the refinery as it was away from the social and civil unrest of the South American mainland, but near enough to the Maracaibo Basin oil fields. It also had an excellent natural harbor that could accommodate large oil tankers. The company brought a degree of affluence to the island.
Despite the island's relatively small population, the diversity of languages and cultural influences on Curaçao have generated a remarkable literary tradition, primarily in Dutch and Papiamento. Local food is called Krioyo (pronounced the same as criollo, the Spanish word for "Creole") and boasts a blend of flavours and techniques best compared to Caribbean cuisine and Latin American cuisine. Dishes common in Curaçao are found in Aruba and Bonaire as well.
Hato International Airport or Curaçao International Airport (Originally named Dr. Albert Plesman International Airport) is the airport of Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles.
Willemstad is the territorial capital of the Netherlands Antilles. The historic centre of the city consists of two quarters: Punda and Otrobanda. They are separated by the St. Anna bay, an inlet that leads into the large natural harbour called the 'Schottegat'.
Punda
was established in 1634, when the Dutch captured the island from Spain. The original
name of Punda originally was de punt in Dutch. Otrobanda, which was founded in
1707, is the newer section of the city and is considered to be the cultural center
of Willemstad. Its name originated from the Papiamentu otro banda, which means
"the other side." Punda and Otrobanda are connected by Queen Emma Bridge,
a long pontoon bridge. The city center of Willemstad boasts an array of colonial
architecture that is influenced by Dutch styles. The city center, with its peculiar
architecture and beautiful harbour entry, has been made a UNESCO world heritage
site.
Queen Emma bridge.
Due to its location near the South American oilfields, its political stability and its natural deep water harbor, Willemstad became the site of an important seaport and refinery. Willemstad harbor is one of the largest oil handling ports in the Caribbean.
The city also is a tourist destination and contains several casinos. Willemstad is served by Hato International Airport, which is the home base of Insel Air, Curaçao's airline.
Baseball has a strong presence in Willemstad. The Snoga Synagogue in Willemstad, Curaçao was built by Sephardic Portuguese Jews from Amsterdam and Recife, Brazil. It is modeled after the Esnoga in Amsterdam. Congregation Mikvé Israel (now Mikvé Israel-Emanuel) built this synagogue in 1692; it was reconstructed in 1732 and is the oldest surviving synagogue building in the western hemisphere.
Klein Curaçao (Dutch for little Curaçao) is a small uninhabited island south-east of Curaçao. The only things on the island are an old lighthouse, beach house, and several huts. Klein Curaçao is well known as a beautiful diving-spot because of its coral and underwater caves.
Playa Kalki is a beach on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, also curiously known as "Alice in Wonderland". The name Kalki is unrelated to the avatar Kalki, but comes from the local Papiamentu word for the white coral rock and limestone, which is abundant on the beach and surrounding cliffs.
Westpunt is the name of the westernmost point of the island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles, and is also the name of a nearby small town, the island's northernmost settlement. The island's northernmost point, Watamula lies only two kilometres to the northeast.
Sint Anna Bay or Santa Anna Bay (Dutch: Sint Anna Baai), is a deep channel approximately one mile long and up to 1,000 feet deep located between the two parts of Willemstad, the capital of Netherland Antilles. The bay opens into the Caribbean Sea at the south end, and into the Schottegat lagoon to the north.
The Netherlands Antilles previously known as the Netherlands West Indies or Dutch Antilles/West Indies, is part of the Lesser Antilles and consists of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea: Curaçao and Bonaire, just off the Venezuelan coast, and Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten, located southeast of the Virgin Islands. The islands form an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The islands' economy depends mostly upon tourism, international financial services, international commerce and shipping and petroleum.
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