the Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort on Piscadera Bay works for families, couples and solo travellers alike. Book an ocean-view room.

What does Bonvoy status get you?

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite and up choose between breakfast and the M Club lounge.

the hotel's dive centre is right on the beach, for shore dives and boat trips.

rent a car for anything beyond the hotel; driving is on the right.

Where to learn to kite?

take lessons with NIX Kiteboarding at Sint Joris Baai.

Bistro 91 in Pietermaai, Peruvian with a French accent.

What is the weather like?

trade winds all year, and the island lies south of the hurricane belt.

Curaçao: dive from the beach, drive for the rest

At the end of April 2026 we spent a week on Curaçao, based at the Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort on Piscadera Bay, just outside Willemstad. The island sits south of the hurricane belt, the trade winds cool it all day, and the languages on the street are Papiamentu, Dutch and English, often in the same sentence.

A hotel you can dive from

The Marriott is a hotel I'd recommend to almost anyone: families, couples, and people travelling on their own. It sits right on the ocean with direct beach access, and the big plus is the water. The hotel has its own dive centre and water sports right on the beach, so the first dive needs no planning at all.

Curaçao is one of the best shore-diving islands in the Caribbean. The reef runs along the whole sheltered south coast, more than 70 dive sites are marked along it, and many of them start from a beach rather than a boat. The dive centre on the hotel's beach does both: shore dives straight from the resort, and boat trips to the sites further along the coast. The picture shows what is waiting a few minutes from the sand: hard coral heads on white sand in clear blue water.

Coral formations on a sandy seabed in clear blue water — On the reef · 25 April

Book an ocean-view room; it's worth it. Every room has a balcony, and the whole resort was renovated before it reopened in 2019. The beach is a string of small half-moon coves of white sand, each with its own loungers. There are two pools, one for families and an adults-only one with an infinity edge, and the drinks by the pool are excellent.

With Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status or higher, it gets even better: when we stayed, Platinum members could choose between breakfast and the M Club lounge.

A single palm tree on a patch of green at the edge of a wide sandy beach, under a grey sky — The beach on Piscadera Bay · 26 April

A long lap pool lined with palm trees and white umbrellas, the beach and the sea behind it — Pool, beach and the Caribbean at the Curaçao Marriott · 1 May

You'll want a car

Willemstad is a 5–10 minute taxi ride from the hotel. For almost everything else, you need a car, so book one together with your flights. Driving is on the right, and the island is long and thin, so a car turns it into day trips: the beaches at the west end around Westpunt, Christoffel Park and the wild north coast of Shete Boka, and the flamingos in the salt flats on the way there.

Learn to kite

If kitesurfing has been on your list, this is the place to start: NIX Kiteboarding is a great school for lessons. It works out of Sint Joris Baai on the north-east coast, a shallow flat-water lagoon ringed by mangroves, where the trade wind blows at 17 to 22 knots on about 300 days a year. The best months are December to August.

Dinner in Pietermaai

Our restaurant tip for the island is Bistro 91 on Nieuwestraat in Pietermaai: a Peruvian kitchen with a French accent. We went twice.

It calls itself a modern bistro, and that is what it is: an air-conditioned bar and dining room inside, a terrace under the trees outside, a serious wine list, and a menu that moves between Lima and Paris. The second visit ended with grilled octopus on mashed potato with crispy onions, and a pink cocktail. It opens for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday, and for dinner on Sundays.

The lit sign of Bistro 91, Peruano Francés, beside a table for two under a flowering tree — Bistro 91 on Nieuwestraat · 30 April

Grilled octopus on mashed potato with crispy onions, a pink cocktail behind it — Octopus and a cocktail on the second visit · 30 April

A plated dish with a creamy sauce, microgreens and dots of sauce around it — Dinner at Bistro 91 · 25 April

Braised meat with roasted vegetables and crispy onions in a dark bowl, a tiki mug behind it — Dinner at Bistro 91 · 25 April

Willemstad after dark

Pietermaai is worth an evening walk on its own. The quarter was laid out in 1675 just outside the city walls, and its merchant houses were run down for decades until a renovation programme this century turned them into boutique hotels, small bars and restaurants, with street art on the walls in between. Together with Punda, Otrobanda and Scharloo it is part of the historic centre of Willemstad that UNESCO put on the World Heritage list in 1997.

End the evening at the harbour. At night the Handelskade, the row of colourful merchant houses on the Punda waterfront, lights up in neon and throws every colour onto the water. Across the mouth of the bay, the Queen Emma pontoon bridge swings aside whenever a ship comes through.

A large mural reading Busy designing, you'll be surprised, Historic Pietermaai District, with palm trees, a vintage car and a flamingo — Street art in the Historic Pietermaai District · 30 April

The colourful buildings of Willemstad's Handelskade lit in neon at night, reflected in the water — The Handelskade in Punda, Willemstad, at night

If you go

Where to stay? the Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort on Piscadera Bay works for families, couples and solo travellers alike. Book an ocean-view room.
What does Bonvoy status get you? Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite and up choose between breakfast and the M Club lounge.
Where to dive? the hotel's dive centre is right on the beach, for shore dives and boat trips.
Do you need a car? rent a car for anything beyond the hotel; driving is on the right.
Where to learn to kite? take lessons with NIX Kiteboarding at Sint Joris Baai.
Where to eat? Bistro 91 in Pietermaai, Peruvian with a French accent.
What is the weather like? trade winds all year, and the island lies south of the hurricane belt.