Do You Need a Car in Curaçao? Yes, for the West Coast

For most visitors, yes, at least for the beach days. If you're based in Willemstad and mostly want the old town plus a beach or two, buses, taxis and a tour can cover it. But the best coves are spread along the west coast, buses there leave about every two hours, and an airport taxi to Westpunt costs $100.

Who can skip the car

You can skip a rental if you're staying in Willemstad or at a southeast resort and are happy to give the far west one or two days by bus or tour.

Based in Willemstad. Punda, Otrobanda and Pietermaai are within walking distance of each other, both bus terminals are in town, and Punda and Otrobanda have paid parking anyway. The catch is the heat, which the tourist board calls "very taxing" for walking or cycling.

At a southeast resort. Bus 6A links Punda with Mambo Beach, Caracasbaai and Jan Thiel, and the tourist board notes that some hotels run their own scheduled shuttle to downtown, so ask yours before you book a car.

Out west near Lagun or Westpunt. Rent for the whole stay. Restaurants and nightlife are mostly back in Willemstad, up to an hour's drive away, and the buses into town leave roughly every two hours. The where-to-stay section of our Curaçao guide covers that trade-off.

Not driving at all. A guided beach-hopping bus tour covers several western coves in one day. Irie Tours' version runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9am, takes seven hours, stops at Playa Piskado, Cas Abao and Shete Boka National Park, and was listed at $85 per adult with hotel pickup in October 2026.

The bus: cheap, but it runs on a timetable

The big ABC buses cost 2.50 Caribbean guilders (Cg 2.50, about US$1.40) to the west coast and Cg 2.00 on every other route, but the west-coast routes leave town only every couple of hours, so they suit one planned beach day rather than cove-hopping.

To Lagun and Knip. Route 3C leaves the Otrobanda terminal Monday to Saturday at 06:30, 08:30, 10:30, 13:00, 15:15, 17:00, 19:00 and 21:00, according to the bus company's September 2026 timetable. Only the 08:30, 10:30, 15:15 and 17:00 continue to Playa Kenepa. On Sundays and holidays there are seven departures, from 06:30 to 19:00.

To Westpunt. Route 9A takes the northern road past Christoffel Park, leaving Otrobanda roughly every two hours from 07:00 to 21:15 Monday to Saturday, and seven times on Sundays.

To Mambo Beach and Jan Thiel. Route 6A leaves the Punda terminal 11 times a day between 06:00 and 20:00 Monday to Saturday, but only five times on Sundays.

Getting back. The printed timetable shows times leaving town, not return times from the beaches, so check your return bus in the ABC Curaçao app before you set off; miss one and the next may be two hours later. The Relaxed Curaçao blog adds that stops can be hard to spot and drivers may stop elsewhere if you signal. You can pay in guilders or US dollars, and children pay from age two.

Taxis: fixed fares, no meters and no legal Uber

Taxis work for short hops, but fixed fares make the far west expensive: one airport-to-Westpunt ride costs more than two days of an average small rental car.

How fares work. Registered taxis have number plates starting with TX, and most have no meter, so the UK government advises agreeing the price before you get in. Fares were fixed by an island decree in 2008: one base fare covers one to four passengers, each extra passenger adds 25 percent, and a night surcharge applies from 11pm to 6am. In February 2026 the union SINUSTA complained of confusion over what taxis may charge tourists, one more reason to settle the fare first.

What it costs. The 2026 rate table published by the Dutch site Naar Curaçao lists, for up to four people with luggage, $40 from the airport to Otrobanda, $50 to Punda or Pietermaai, $65 to Jan Thiel and $100 to Westpunt, plus 25 percent at night. For comparison, Kayak's lowest small-car rate for late-October 2026 dates was about $30 a day, and small cars averaged $44.

Finding one. Taxi ranks are scarce. The Relaxed Curaçao blog knows of only two, at the airport and at the Queen Emma Bridge, so ask your hotel or restaurant to call a cab.

Uber isn't an option. In July 2026 the government warned that paid rides booked through Uber are illegal, because drivers need a government permit to carry paying passengers.

Renting for just the beach days

You don't have to rent for the whole trip: two or three days in a row cover the west coast, and the tourist board says most of the island is within a 30 to 45 minute drive of wherever you start.

Group the driving days. In the guide's three-day plan, day one works by bus and days two and three need a car, so rent for those two days back to back. Short hires cost more per day: Dushi Cars, a local firm that rents by the day and delivers to hotels, says most island agencies set a three-day minimum, and its calculator charges 2.25 times the daily rate for one day and 1.45 times for two (October 2026). Travel blogger Sarah of In Search of Sarah noted a $10 single-day surcharge at her rental firm.

Take the full insurance. Sarah's advice is to take full cover: on her rental, written up in 2023, it added about $5 a day and removed a $500 deductible. Break-ins at beach car parks are the most common complaint, so leave the car empty, as the common mistakes section of the guide explains.

Driving in Curaçao: what catches visitors out

Driving is on the right and traffic is mostly light, but priority rules, potholes and dark roads catch visitors out.

Limits and priority. The Dutch motoring club ANWB lists 40 km/h in built-up areas, 60 km/h outside them and 80 km/h on the ring road where signed. On paper, traffic from the right has priority at unmarked junctions, but ANWB says that isn't followed in practice, so don't count on it. At T-junctions the through road has priority, and at larger signed roundabouts cars already on the roundabout go first. Holding a phone while driving is banned.

Local habits. Plenty of visitors find it easy; Sarah called Curaçao one of the easiest places she has driven. But a local road-safety group said in a 2022 Curaçao Chronicle report that tourists are involved in accidents remarkably often, and a rental owner said drivers overtake on both sides. Naar Curaçao warns that some drivers keep going just after a light turns red, so don't pull away the instant yours turns green, and that the Westpunt road sees fast overtaking and fatal crashes every year. Puddles can hide deep potholes and lighting is patchy, so drive the long stretches in daylight.

Fuel and parking. Pay at the counter before you fill up; the tourist board says stations take debit cards and cash in guilders or dollars, not credit cards, and thin out away from Willemstad, so fill up before heading west. Parking is free almost everywhere except Punda and much of Otrobanda: Cg 1 an hour, 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, paid with coins, a prepaid card or the Flowbird app, with a Cg 25 fee to release a clamped car.

If something goes wrong. After a collision, leave the car where it is and call the Road Service on 9233; Naar Curaçao warns that moving it can affect your insurance. UK visitors can drive on a photocard licence, but hire firms often set stricter rules, so check yours before you book.

Once the transport is sorted, our Curaçao travel guide has the coves, food stops and cruise-day timing to plan around.