Come along with me for a walk around Willemstad on our ABC Islands cruise. We’ll head from the ship through the little market at the pier, walk through Rif Fort, cross the Queen Emma Bridge and spend some time wandering the streets of Punda, the old craft market, the fresh market and the waterfront. You can easily spend hours here without ever booking a shore excursion.
Willemstad, Curaçao Cruise Port and Punda Walk Around
Willemstad, Curaçao walk from the ship through the pier market and Rif Fort, across the Queen Emma Bridge and into Punda's shops, markets and waterfront.
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Key Takeaways
- Right off the ship you walk through a little covered market with kiosks and a bar. Some of the taxi drivers and tour sellers here can get a little aggressive.
- Once you’re out of the shopping gauntlet you reach the resort area with the Wind Creek Casino, the same one that’s in Aruba, and a 5 O’Clock Somewhere bar that’s a quick and easy spot for lunch.
- You have to walk through Rif Fort to get out into town. It’s a historic fort that’s been turned into a shopping and dining spot with restaurants, bars, Diamonds International, a candy store, Delft ware and a bank of ATMs.
- There’s free WiFi out at Rif Fort if you just want to come out and catch up.
- The Queen Emma Bridge, the Swinging Old Lady, swings open for ship traffic using outboard motors on each side. When it’s open, water shuttles take you back and forth.
- Punda is where everything is happening: street after street of shops, restaurants and bars, plus the Curaçao sign and Dushi sign photo op.
- The old craft market has been closed for renovation for a long time, and some of the vendors have been set up nearby selling spices, coconuts, veggies and $1 cigars.
- Along the Punda waterfront you’ll find more restaurants, the fresh fruit and vegetable market, the fish market and the colorful buildings you see in every Curaçao travel brochure.
Good to Know
Willemstad is one of the easiest ports to explore on your own. You can walk from the ship to Rif Fort and then across the bridge into Punda, and just wander for hours. One day here I clocked a little over eight miles walking around town. On this visit we had an early all aboard at 3:30, so keep an eye on your time if you plan to go deep into the city.
Be ready for the sellers. Taxi drivers and tour sellers line the walk from the ship, and I even had a guy right on the waterfront offering me weed. I just said no thanks and kept walking.
If you pick up fruit or vegetables at the fresh market, remember you can’t take them back onto the ship, so eat them before you get back. And if you don’t love the smell of fish, give the fish market a wide berth. I nearly gagged walking through it.
It was hot and windy the day I filmed, and honestly the sea spray was kind of cooling. If the bridge is open when you get there, just wait a few minutes for it to swing back or hop on the water shuttle.