Walking about and shopping in Punda and other Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles General Tips

Favorite Thing: Consider stopping at a hotel or rental car place and picking up a Curacao map. I have one from Avis Car Rental and it is excellent for planning out walking tours of Punda and Otrobanda. Let me give you a few suggestions.

You’ll be drawn to explore Punda because of the startling beauty of its crayon-colored buildings. So one of the first things to do is to find the Pontoon Bridge if you are on the Otrobanda side of the harbor.

Enjoy the uniqueness of walking across a floating bridge. There are a number of photo opportunities along both sides of the bridge. Don’t just look forwards as you walk, look behind you also.

Reaching Punda, you’ll have some decisions to make - namely which way to go?

My suggestion, walk down the main street, Breedestraat, to Columbusstraat. There are a number of nice shops to visit and shop, as well as photos to take, on both sides of the street. At Columbusstraat, turn left and walk and shop the street down to where De Ruyterkade comes in from the right and you can see the Queen Wilhemina Draw-Bridge on the left as well as the floating market along Caprileskade Street. Work you way over to Caprileskade Street back towards St. Anna Bay.

From here there are many ways to go. I’d suggest that you walk down past the major street of Keukenstraat to Heerenstraat Street. This is a pedestrianized street and if you turn left onto it, it will take you all the way back to Breedestraat Street where you started from.

Another option is to take Keukenstraat Street to the left, shopping along the way, until it takes a hard left bend. Past this turn is Da Costa Gomez Plein. If you turn right onto this street it will take you back to Breedestraat Street from where you started. You might also consider taking a street off of Da Costa Gomez Plein to the right and wander back down to the waterfront.

At some point you must walk along world famous Handelskade Street, along the waterfront, just to taste the ambience of the place if nothing else.

Enjoy.


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