Hato International Airport is located in Willemstad, Curacao and serves the Caribbean region, Europe and South and North America. It is fairly a large facility and has the second longest commercial runway in the Caribbean region. It serves as the main base for Insel Air. It is convenient to lease a car at this airport because after you land, you do not have to struggle to find your way through the public system of an unfamiliar city.
With a leased vehicle, you can get to many attractive locations in Willemstad such as historical sites, museums and forts among many others.
Attractions in Willemstad
- Floating market – This market is located on the Punda side of Willemstad and numerous kinds of tropical vegetables and fruits such as papayas and mangoes are sold on it. Freshly caught fish, spices and herbs are also sold here. The best time to buy products, here is 6am, but many visitors find this to be too early. If this is the case for you, you can choose to shop at this market in the afternoon.
- Fort Amsterdam – When you enter through the archway of this fort, you will feel as though you are in another century. The structure was built in the 1700s and it was the most important fortification on the Island. Fort Amsterdam now houses the residence of the governor, a church that has a small museum and government offices.
- Maritime Museum – This museum is designed to look like the interior of a ship and it provides visitors with a sense of Curacao’s maritime history through historic maps, model ships, audio visual displays and navigational equipment. Some of the topics that are explored in the exhibits are how Willemstad was developed to be a trading city, the remains of De Alphen, the role of Curacao as a contraband hub and the role played by the Dutch navy on the island. At this museum, you can also enjoy a guided tour of two hours through the harbor of Curacao.
- Old market – At Old market, Antillean lunches are prepared by local cooks in coal pots. This market is located close to the post office. You can drive to this market in our car hire and enjoy Curacoan specialties like goat stew, polenta, stewed okra and fried fish.
- Kula Hulanda museum – This is a fascinating anthropological museum that reveals the diverse roots of the island. It is housed in a restored eighteenth century village and built around a former mercantile square, where slaves were sold by the Dutch.
You can spend less money on a car hire if you negotiate with the car hire firm to get an auto rental package that suits your budget.
