5 REASONS WHY CURAÇAO IS THE IDEAL DESTINATION TO ESCAPE THE WINTER
By: Joyce Meursing
When living in a colder climate, like Europe, you know when summer ends it means it’s the start of a season full of rain, hard wind, lack of sun and temperatures that can go below zero. For a lot of people this means they can fall into a winter dip or depression. This is a feeling of depression or deep unhappiness associated with experiencing the cold and darkness of winter. You can cure this by going more into nature, stay active, get enough of vitamins and keep up on your mental state. But in the end the best remedy is escaping the cold and hop on a plane to a warmer and tropical destination, like Curaçao. During the winter Curaçao has a more wetter season but this doesn’t mean it has to influence your holiday on this island. Even though rain is more present the sun is still in full swing during these months. So you can enjoy the beach, beautiful nature and even work remotely if you want. During the current pandemic it’s even possible to escape the crowd on this Caribbean island by booking your accommodation more into nature and secluded. Just like always, there’s enough for everybody to be found here.
1. Tropical Climate Boost
Curaçao has a tropical savannah climate - according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification to be exact. This means that the difference between the lowest and highest temperature within one day recorded in a year is only 3 degrees. Further it’s mostly dry from February till June. This results in a monthly average of 30 millimeters in January, while around July, August and September are slightly wetter with an average monthly figures of 40-50 millimeters. The last three months of the year are the wettest months and during this period around 100 millimeters of rain can be recorded per month. Actually you can’t call this officially a rain season because this tropical island has still lots of sun hours.
What this all means is that three quarters of a year the weather of Curaçao is very sunny with more than 8 hours of sunshine per day on average. The daytime temperatures are always between 30-32 degrees Celsius so Curaçao is an ideal winter destination for all the sun lovers. A lot of people living in colder climates are suffering from a winter depression and lack of vitamin D. Did you know that vitamin D helps control the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body? These nutrients are needed to keep elements healthy in your body; like your bones, teeth, muscles and your mind. More sun hours, higher temperatures and living a more outdoor life give that much needed positive boost to concur that dip in your mood during the winter days. So instead of booking your holiday during spring or summer go start booking for your next trip during fall or winter.
2. Ride the waves
As a tropical island surrounded by water it’s obvious that sports that involve water is a big thing on the island Curaçao. Up and under the water. One of the highlights of the island is the underwater world with all the coral reefs, walls, sunken ships and of course it’s own sea life. So it won’t surprise you that this Caribbean island has got many diving schools to choose from - from going for an introduction dive, getting your PADI or taking your diving skills to the next level. Everything is possible on Curaçao. If you think that diving is not for you, or you don't feel like going diving, then snorkeling is the perfect alternative on Curaçao. There are many excellent snorkeling locations on Curaçao itself and they are mostly all easy accessible from the beach. So you can perfectly enjoy life below sea level during your beach day. Personally my favorite snorkeling spot around Curaçao can be found at the beautiful beach of Klein Curaçao. The waters here are clear and a lot of marine life comes close to you there.
On the water you have a lot of sports to choose from because of the climate around the island. A lot of water sports are not practiced on the sea but in secluded bays - like the Sint Joris Baai. On this Bay waves are high and there are enough instructors that can teach you the basics of all the water sports. Traditional surfing is also possible and the wave surfing season runs from May to January. During this period the waves are at their best and sometimes you can cover distances of 100 to 150 meters on one wave. Isn’t that incredible?
Kite and windsurfing are becoming quite popular on the island too. The strong wind on Curaçao is also excellent for these sports which result in a revival of schools who can teach you to ride the waves. When you’re staying for a longer period on the island this is the perfect way to stay active and clear your mind and only think about becoming one with the water.
3. Nature’s Therapy
Curaçao is also well known for the rougher, green and nature side of the island. Banda Abou, which is located at the west side of the island, is where you can experience the Curaçao landscape in all its green beauty. It is an area you definitely need to visit and it has many fun and impressive activities for nature lovers. Hiking is one of the activities that can be done all over the island and is suitable for all ages and from beginners to advanced hikers. Especially during and after the rain season Banda Abou is a paradise for hikers because the nature is an amazing green oase.
The most popular and largest nature park on the island is definitely Christoffel Park and its corresponding mountain. This biodiverse park has lots of hiking trails, stunning nature and is home to incredible animals and insects that only can be seen here on the island. It’s also possible to book a (guided) jeep safari to get to know the park in an ultimate way.
Besides this part there are many other areas where you can explore nature and get active. You can hike by yourself with the help of a map or GPS system but you can also join a guided hike with a group of people. And to make it even better there are several themed hikes. Like a ‘Moon Walk’ hiking tour at the Tafelberg during full moon when you use the moon as a light source, night walks, halloween walks and many more.
New to hiking you can also take a bike and enjoy the rougher nature area with a mountainbike. The Salt Pans of Jan Thiel is one of them and it’s an area of untouched nature that connects Jan Thiel to Mambo Beach Boulevard. When entering these nature and vegetation sides you always must respect the area you’re in and stay on the trails. So I would really advice to plan a day and explore the rugged side by taking a day trip through Banda Abou. You will admire all the amazing flora and fauna living on the island.
4. Remote working paradise
Nowadays a lot of people are struggling with keeping a good balance between their working and private life. Because of the current pandemic close to 70% of full-time workers are working from home. And after this 92% of people expect to work from home at least 1 day per week and 80% expected to work at least 3 days from home per week. This all means that finding balance between your work and your daily life is getting harder and harder.
And that’s where remote working comes in. But what does remote working mean exactly? Remote work is the practice of employees doing their jobs from a location other than a central office. Such locations could include an employee's home, a co-working space, a private office, or any other place outside of the traditional corporate office building. But instead of staying in the same city, country or continent you can also go for a drastic change of scene. This change will bring up new insights, ideas and inspiration. And Curaçao is the perfect location for this. Just like the website of the government of Curaçao says: “When you are flexible in working wherever you want, why not swap that cold, gray and rainy background for the vibrant colors and warmth of Curaçao?”.
The government of Curaçao now allows remote workers special access to work and live in Curaçao for a longer period. They want to make the island more accessible and create a unique work and life balance. Because one moment you’re working hard on your deadlines and only 5 minutes away you can enjoy the ultimate holiday feeling at the beach. When you feel the current situation is limiting you in your normal life you’ve got to look for freedom in other places - like Curaçao.
5. Have a Safe Holiday
Since two years it’s becoming more important for travelers to have the possibility to hold onto the current social distancing rules. They keep in mind that their destination has the possibility to enjoy their holiday more secluded, including the accommodation itself. Curaçao can give you all these options. Because you can book a hotel in a more crowded and touristic area or choose to book a villa that’s situated more in a nature area. Curaçao has also a full range of small boutique hotels that aren’t crowded and on the other hand (all inclusive) hotels with strict hygiene rules. You can definitely say that this amazing tropical destination can offer the perfect holiday according to your requirements. Besides that, the island is set up to transport yourself mostly by car. This also means that you’ll be less in contact with other people (if that’s something you find important). Count this up to all the positive points that this island has to offer and you’ve found the perfect winter destination. When will we see you enjoy our beautiful island in the Caribbean?
