How to Spend a Port Day in Curaçao: Kura Hulanda Village

My dad decided that he wanted to celebrate his 60th birthday on an 8 day Carnival Cruise with ~40 of his closest friends and family members. I’m not a fan of cruises generally – I don’t like feeling trapped on a ship and don’t like large crowds of people – but I was super excited to celebrate with my dad. In true *me* fashion, I made sure that my brother, aunt, and I would have fun during the port days.

My favorite day was spent in Curaçao. Curaçao is one of the ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) Islands that are autonomous countries of The Netherlands; all citizens have Dutch passports. My family and I decided to spend our port day in the Kura Hulanda Village – a neighborhood that has been revitalized over the past 25 years and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Museum Kura Hulanda

Our first stop was to the Museum Kura Hulanda. The museum was opened by a Dutch man who somehow obtained a variety of artifacts from various African countries. The story on how he obtained/ was reportedly gifted these artifacts is unknown per the museum, but the collection was impressive. Unfortunately, the story and meaning behind a lot the items in the museum are unknown, but our tour guide was a great storyteller and provided what information he could

Snack: RustiQ Curaçao

After our 90 minute tour, we walked across the street to RustiQ Curaçao for a snack and drinks. The restaurant’s menu changes often, but we ate fried polenta and sweet plantains as well as had a variety of local juices that were freshly made. The restaurant was reasonably priced and prepped us for some shopping. We kept walking down the village and found a cute boutique called Devi Clothing and More where I found a dress to wear to a Labor Day party and my aunt found some cute jewelry. 

Art Gallery

We then stumbled upon one of my favorite art galleries of the year: The Gallery by Bagira. Bagira is a young artist who moved to Curaçao at the age of 21 and has since become a well-known muralist and artist on the island and internationally. While I am not an artist by any means, I was impressed by the detail and feeling in each piece we saw, especially since she states that her paintings are imagined. The gallery is free to enter and she has paintings and prints for sale inside – I highly recommend that you check it out! 

Dinner: Caleo

Now onto what I was most looking forward to – dinner. While I keep a vegetarian diet about 90% of the time, I am always going to eat fish while in Latin America and the Caribbean. We went to Caleo which focuses on crudos (raw fish) and dishes made a la parrilla (grilled). We shared the bread that came with a fancy herb and lime infused butter, and I had the oysters with aji blanco as well as the ceviche. If I could order again, I’d probably get the oysters with the mignonette since I prefer an acid to cut the texture of the oyster. However, I would order the ceviche time and time again. I loved the pureed sweet potato as a play on the traditional Peruvian ceviche as well as the sharpness of the tomatillos to contrast the leche de tigre. Highly recommend. I ordered a mezcal drink with a roasted poblano base and my aunt had a moscow mule; both were delicious. 

Whether you are stopping in Curaçao for a port day or staying for a longer period of time, I’d recommend spending a day in the Kura Hulanda Village for a day of shopping, art, and delicious foods.