Curaçao

Curaçao lies in the southern Caribbean, off South America; with Aruba and Bonaire it forms the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles. It is dry, sunny and warm all year, cooled by trade winds. The drier season runs roughly February to September, with short showers roughly October to January. Papiamentu is the everyday language, with Dutch and English.

The capital, Willemstad, is a UNESCO World Heritage city: pastel Dutch gables line the Handelskade in Punda, Otrobanda faces it across the bay, and the Queen Emma pontoon bridge swings aside for ships. Pietermaai and Scharloo mix restored mansions, street art and cafés. Over 35 clear-water coves – Grote Knip, Cas Abao, Playa Lagun – line the western and southern shores, with reefs to snorkel and dive from the beach, a sunken tugboat in the south-east shallows and boats to Klein Curaçao. The arid north-west holds Christoffel National Park, crowned by Christoffelberg, the island’s highest point, and Shete Boka’s surf-pounded sea caves.

Old country houses, the landhuizen, still dot the countryside. Try keshi yena – baked cheese stuffed with spiced meat – and fresh fish, and see blue Curaçao liqueur made from local laraha orange peel. The island suits divers and snorkellers, couples, architecture and food lovers, and anyone after an easy, sunny Caribbean with a European city at its heart.