Curacao
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
430km²
Area
268km
Coastline
303m
Highest point
152,849
People
29°C
Warmest sea
September
57km
To the mainland
When to go to Curaçao
Best for the beach from February to June.
The sea is warmest in September (29 °C) and coolest in February (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Main island in the country of Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in Curacao. It belongs to Caribbean. It covers 430 km², with 268 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 303 m. About 152,849 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 57 km away.
Getting there
- Hato International Airport (CUR)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at CUR airport (Willemstad)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesOtrobanda - Punda, Bounty to Klein Curacao and boat dives, Veerpont Isla Kiniw
- 57 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From February to Junebest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Curaçao.
- 58beachesInca's Place, Public Beach, Beach, formerly Sonesta Beach and 55 more
- 97viewpointsView on Santa Martha Baai, View on Schottegat, Berg Altena and 94 more
- 3lighthousesVuurtoren Noordpunt, Kaap St. Marie Lighthouse, Riffort Lighthouse
- 6ferry terminalsPunda Ferry Dock, Mega Pier, Pelican Boat Trips and 3 more
- 11marinasAsiento Marina, Royal Marine Services, Kleine werf and 8 more
- 39named peaksMount Saint Christoffel, Seru Gracia, Seru Bientu and 36 more
- 2castles and fortsWater Fort, Fort Amsterdam
- 90ruins and archaeological sitesRif Fort, Cave Drawings, Fort Waakzaamheid and 87 more
- 20dive centresDive Center Scuba Do, Atlantis Diving, Go West Diving and 17 more
- 2campsitesKampeer Centrum Brakkeput, Kampeer Centrum Ronde Klip
- 553hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 642restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Curaçao in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Curaçao, each with its own numbers.
51beaches and covesCoastya
34mountainsPeakyas
4lakesLakeyas
Highest point
375m
prominence 372 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
1.2km²
Salina Sint Marie
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
29.5°C
Lagún Jan Thiel
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
28.8°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
51 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Playa Lagún28.8°C
- Mambo Beach28.8°C
- Barbara Strand28.8°C
- Blue Bay Beach28.8°C
- Baai van Valentijncove28.8°C
- Blauwbaaicove28.8°C
- Playa Zjeremicove28.8°C
- Watamulacove28.8°C
43 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
34 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Christoffelbergprominence 372 m375m
- Tafelberg
- Sint Michielsberg
- Knipberg
- Ser'i Baha Hund
- Ser'i Bient
- Ser'i Kueba
- Ser'i Pal'i Bandera
26 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
4 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Salina Sint Marie1.2km²
- Lagún Jan Thiel1.0km²
- Saliña Sint Michiel0.47km²
- Awa Blank0.24km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 33 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 80 %0–50 m
- 20 %50–200 m
- <1 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Willemstad125,000 people
- Bandariba20,838 people
- Bandabou13,125 people
- St. Michiel5,732 people
- Santa Rosa5,198 people
- Sint Michiel Liber5,138 people
- Brievengat4,695 people
- Tera Kora4,388 people
- Saliña2,538 people
- Barber2,424 people
- Dorp Soto2,233 people
- Otrabanda1,369 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
| Sea (°C) | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 41 | 22 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 26 | 45 | 82 | 117 | 64 |
| Wet days | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 12 |
| Sun h/day | 8.2 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 8.6 | 8.8 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 30 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 29 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.6 |
| 2021 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.2 | −0.1 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +0.9 |
| 2024 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +1.5 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +1.6 | +1.4 | +1.2 |
| 2025 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.3 | +0.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Aruba
VenezuelaAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q54622776) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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