🇨🇼 Curaçao

Solo travel

Solo travel is usually manageable if you keep plans visible to someone you trust and avoid isolated beaches or poorly lit areas after dark.

Women travellers

Women travelling alone may face harassment or verbal abuse. Choose secure accommodation, registered taxis and well-populated nightlife areas.

LGBTIQ+ travellers

Curaçao does not criminalise same-sex activity, the age of consent is the same regardless of orientation, and discrimination based on sexual orientation is against the law under Curaçao's own Criminal Code. Since a 2024 Dutch Supreme Court ruling, same-sex couples can marry. There is currently no legal process to change your legal gender in Curaçao, which transgender travellers should be aware of. Public attitudes are generally accepting in and around the main tourist areas, so use ordinary discretion elsewhere.

Night movement

Use registered taxis, avoid leaving drinks unattended, and do not walk alone on isolated beaches or unlit roads.

Tourist areas

Willemstad's tourist core, the resort strip and cruise-ship areas are generally safe, but they are also where most theft happens: pickpocketing, bag snatching and vehicle break-ins concentrate around beaches, hotel lobbies and parked cars. Never leave luggage unattended at the airport, and never agree to carry a package for anyone when departing.

Willemstad and other built-up areas

Willemstad is the only real city on the island, and its security situation is best compared to a larger international city rather than a small town. Crime here is rarely aimed specifically at tourists, but stay alert around transport hubs and in quieter side streets after dark.

Away from the main tourist areas

No source treats the quieter parts of the island as materially riskier, but police response to non-emergency calls can be slower the further you are from Willemstad because of local staffing shortages, so keep a way to reach help and let someone know your plans if you head off on your own.

Driving off the main roads

Main roads are generally in good condition, but secondary and unpaved routes, especially toward Christoffel Park and the north coast, are narrower, less lit and shared with roaming goats and donkeys. Drive defensively and avoid unfamiliar back roads after dark.

Curaçao is south of the main hurricane track, but tropical storms and heavy rain can still disrupt flights, roads and coastal activity between June and November. The island is also in an active seismic zone shared with the rest of the Dutch Caribbean, and Germany's foreign ministry separately singles out Aruba as the most seismically active of the group. Monitor local weather and official storm information during hurricane season.

Curaçao has generally good medical care, including hospitals with intensive care in Willemstad, but treatment may require payment up front and serious cases or medical evacuation can be expensive, so travel health insurance matters. Food and water illness, hepatitis A, typhoid, rabies exposure, dengue, chikungunya and Zika are the main travel-health considerations.

Dengue circulates at a sporadic level in Curaçao year-round rather than as a large ongoing outbreak, and recent regional data through 2026 shows case numbers well below 2025's elevated Caribbean total. Chikungunya is present at a similar background level, without Curaçao or the wider Dutch Caribbean currently being named among the Americas countries seeing a 2026 upswing. Zika has circulated on the island in the past; current regional assessments describe transmission across the Caribbean as interrupted, though the virus could resurface, so precautions still matter, especially if you are pregnant or planning pregnancy.

Prevent mosquito bites during the day and evening. Make sure your routine vaccines, including measles, are up to date before you travel, and be aware that mpox continues to circulate at a low level across the wider Caribbean.

Check routine vaccines, including measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), before travel; New Zealand's SafeTravel specifically flags measles immunisation for anyone travelling overseas. Hepatitis A and typhoid are itinerary-based discussions, and rabies is mainly for animal or bat exposure.

A dengue vaccine now exists, but the Netherlands' own Health Council advises against offering it as a general programme to Curaçao residents for now, since it does not protect equally against every dengue strain and may raise the risk of severe illness for people who have never had dengue before. If you are considering it, discuss your individual situation and dengue history with a travel health provider rather than assuming it is routinely advised.

Yellow fever vaccination is not recommended for local disease risk, and Curaçao does not appear on the World Health Organization's list of countries with yellow fever transmission risk, but proof of vaccination is required if you arrive from, or transit through, a yellow-fever-risk country under the stated conditions.

The US and Canada use normal-precautions language, while the UK gives more practical detail on theft, beaches after dark, taxis, luggage security and storm season. Germany's foreign ministry adds that Curaçao's security situation is best compared to a larger international city rather than a small town, though crime rarely targets tourists specifically. Neither Australia nor New Zealand publish a country-specific advisory for Curaçao: Australia has no dedicated Curaçao page, and New Zealand's coverage still sits under a pre-2010 'Netherlands Antilles' grouping, and in both cases nothing points to any elevated concern. A separate US-affiliated security report corroborates the theft pattern and rates the whole Dutch Caribbean a low threat for terrorism. Sources agree that Curaçao is generally manageable for visitors who control valuables, transport and weather exposure.