Where Does Horizon Dock in Curacao?

[estrawn]

Instead of an excursion I may walk around the area.  Where does the ship tie up and what has anyone found to be within walking distance.  We are in port from 1:30PM to 10:30 PM so I'm looking for daytime and nighttime things to do and see without going to a beach.

 

Thanks

 

Eric

[dbrucern]

1 hour ago, estrawn said:

Instead of an excursion I may walk around the area.  Where does the ship tie up and what has anyone found to be within walking distance.  We are in port from 1:30PM to 10:30 PM so I'm looking for daytime and nighttime things to do and see without going to a beach.

 

Thanks

 

Eric

The ship docks in Otrobanda, when you get off the ship go through the gate and walk to your right (sorry don’t know a better way to describe) it is the newer part of the city lots of shops, bars and casino. But we highly recommend that you walk through and take the people bridge across to the old city. It does open up to let freighters through but no big deal. There is also a free ferry that goes back and fourth. The old city has the Beautiful colorful shops and the homes that you see in all the advertisements. Very walkable. However ever time we take someone new we put them in a taxi so they can go over the bridge (you will see it when you arrive) to the old city so they can see the sights. Remember to bring $1.00 needed for the bathrooms. We are headed there in January again, love this cruise. Enjoy

[estrawn]

1 hour ago, dbrucern said:

The ship docks in Otrobanda, when you get off the ship go through the gate and walk to your right (sorry don’t know a better way to describe) it is the newer part of the city lots of shops, bars and casino. But we highly recommend that you walk through and take the people bridge across to the old city. It does open up to let freighters through but no big deal. There is also a free ferry that goes back and fourth. The old city has the Beautiful colorful shops and the homes that you see in all the advertisements. Very walkable. However ever time we take someone new we put them in a taxi so they can go over the bridge (you will see it when you arrive) to the old city so they can see the sights. Remember to bring $1.00 needed for the bathrooms. We are headed there in January again, love this cruise. Enjoy

It looks like an easy walk to the old city with lots to see when I get there.  Thank you for the info.

[Djptcp]

DH and I have walked from the ship, over the bridge into downtown. Easy walk. 

[N7786W Flyer]

18 minutes ago, Djptcp said:

DH and I have walked from the ship, over the bridge into downtown. Easy walk. 

 

I agree with the above. 

 

On our last visit, my wife and some of her relatives piled into a van for a city sight-seeing tour, but I passed as I felt like I had spent enough time already in vans on our previous ports of call.  Bottom line, I think I got just as good a "tour" walking from the ship as they did in the back of their van.

 

From what I remember, I exited the port area to the right, going down a semi-long walkway to the Rif Fort.  Once inside the fort, there are some shopping areas and restaurants if you're looking for that type of thing.  If you choose to exit the fort on the opposite end you entered, the floating bridge that crosses over into old Curacao is about another 1/4 of a mile...or thereabouts.

 

Garnett

[Theo1429]

Are all the restrooms 1 dollar to use

[Theo1429]

About how long is the walk

[coevan]

not restaurant or bar restrooms, public toilets charge, just like Europe. The walk is maybe 5 minutes

[Stick93]

This is where I saw her 

[Essiesmom]

She docks at the mega pier.  There are two, the Carnival ship in the pic above is at the nearest one.  This is the walk ashore, then head to the right to the Rif Fort:

 

 

 

It's a bit of a walk, bit if I remember correctly, there are occasional benches to stop and rest.  And take pictures of your ship.  In the next one you can see the swinging pontoon bridge to the older part of town.  

 

 

EM

[Organized Chaos]

We'll be here in March for the first time. I've read about the colorful shops and whatnot, so figured we'd just walk around at this port. What are the vendors like in the old city area? Are they pretty aggressive with trying to get you into their shops? We definitely aren't into the aggressive sales tactics and much prefer a calm shopping experience. We did Cozumel & Progreso earlier this month and those vendors were a nightmare. Especially in Progreso. I didn't think it could get any worse than in Nassau, but the ones in Progreso were relentless.

[Essiesmom]

I didn't find any of the vendors in Curacao, or even Aruba to be aggressive.  Certainly not like the Mexican ports.  EM

[lensonlife]

We did the walking tour in Curaçao and loved it- they meet you right at the ship. It might be too much for some (especially in the heat which was wicked in July), but we are not in the best shape of our lives and survived just fine! Bring water! We walked back ourselves, which was nice because you can spend a bit more time in the areas you fancied. We learned a lot about the history of Curaçao! I quite enjoyed this port- a lot of art, and I didn’t feel the pressure of sales at all. 

[Shipcats6]

We always enjoy walking to a restaurant on either side of the bridge, having a soda or beer and watching the bridge and the people.