Caribbean Hotels and Resorts - Caribbean Islands

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On a clear day in Curaçao - and that means most days - you can see Venezeula a few miles across the sea in South America. But don't spend too much time looking. There's more than enough to see and do in this large, lively island that has for centuries been a major cultural and trading crossroads.
The Dutch merchants who colonised the island and built the capital, Willemstad, had the brightly-coloured houses and warehouses designed to remind them of their homes in Amsterdam.

CAPITAL	Willemstad
POPULATION	152,700
CURRENCY	Netherlands Antilles guilder; US$1=Nag1.78; US$ widely accepted
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES	Dutch and Papiamentu. Spanish and English also widely spoken
POLITICAL STATUS	member of the Netherlands Antilles
AREA	171 square miles (443 square kilometres)
RELIGION	Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and many other denominations are represented
BUSINESS	Banks are open Monday to Friday, 8am-3.30pm. The airport bank is open Monday to Saturday 8am-8pm, and on Sunday 9am-4pm. The airport also has a 24-hour cash dispenser. Selected bank branches have ATMs that disburse US dollars. The main banks are ABN-AMRO, Banco de Venezuela, Banco di Caribe, Banco industrial de Venezuela, Banco Mercantil Venezuela, Giro Curacao, Maduro and Curiel's Bank, McLaughlin Bank and SFT Bank. Shops open from 8am-noon and 2-6pm or later if a cruise ship is in port. Payment cards accepted,