A Day At Klein Curacao with Breeze Boat Trips

When we were planning our trip to Curacao, the one excursion I heard about most often was a charter to Klein Curacao which is an uninhabited island off the coast of Curacao.   Of course, I never book any type of excursion without doing my due diligence and researching various options and costs which is how we came across Breeze Boat Trips.

Breeze Boat Trips has several excursions to choose from including SCUBA diving, sunset cruises, and snorkeling adventures but our day was reserved strictly for a trip to Klein Curacao.

Contacting the team at Breeze was actually easier than I expected.  Their website has a convenient contact section to send messages to Steven, the owner, with any questions you may have or to reserve your space.  They even have the option to pay in advance online which I highly recommend as the charters to the island book quickly and space is limited to 30 people per charter.

The 46-foot yacht is spacious enough for 30 people and has several areas to ride including the flying bridge and bow area as well as 2 restrooms.  The cushioned seats make the ride nice and comfortable so all we had to worry about was watching for the island on the horizon and the beautiful blue ocean all around us.

We were scheduled to depart at 8:30 a.m. so we arrived at the harbor a bit early which gave us time to wander around and check things out.  While the marina is not necessarily a tourist stop, there are some interesting things to see like the mural depicting the island and the ocean.

I was really hoping that this wasn’t the closest I was going to get to a turtle on the trip.  I had heard that there were several turtles around the island and I was really looking forward to swimming with them.

I do recommend taking motion sickness pills before the trip just in case the seas are a bit rough.  A few people, including me, got seasick on the way out simply because the winds were blowing and the seas were a little rough.  No fear though, Pablo our captain, and Zariff our deck hand made sure everyone was safe and taken care of.

One thing about taking a charter like this, is you meet some of the most interesting people from all over the world. On our trip, we had a family from Connecticut, two young ladies from Holland, and several people from Germany.  It was so fun to talk with everyone on the way out and learn about their lives and families.

Once we arrived at the island, the Captain was quick to give everyone the rules of the island. That included under the waves, no touching sea life or coral, and leaving no marks or trash. We were so happy to hear him say those words, they care about the environment as much as we do.

There were 2 ways to get from the boat to the beach. We could either swim, or the crew would take us ashore in the dingy. Being divers, and me having been a bit seasick, we jumped into the 10-foot deep emerald green water and started swimming. I immediately started to feel better once I was in the water, go figure.

The team quickly got everyone’s beach bags to shore as well as tarps to create shaded areas for us to sit when the sun got to be a bit much.  They also provided snorkel gear for those who wanted as well as floating mats for us to relax on in the water.

The island itself is not very big which means you can walk the entire thing well within the day you spend there. There is also quite a bit to see even though it’s uninhabited.  One regret I have is not having my water shoes with me.

While the sand itself is soft and comfortable, there are areas that are rocky, and the terrain on the island is mostly petrified coral and hard to manage in flip flops and nearly impossible barefooted.

Once the crew brought our backpacks to the beach, we grabbed our cameras and headed out on our adventure.

Walking along the beach, we encountered various types of sea life including small Spiny Sea Urchins living in the tidal pools close to shore.  We had our eyes peeled the entire time for turtles and actually spotted a small turtle swimming along the top of a coral reef.

Klein Curacao is home to a few interesting sites.  One of them is an old abandoned lighthouse.  Despite the fact that is has been vandalized over the years, it’s still an interesting site to visit.  I could imagine decades ago, the lighthouse keeper living there and making sure the light was always on for passing boats.  Of course now, with the aid of GPS and modern technology, it’s not as necessary.

Another interesting site on the island is the shipwrecked freighter.  It too has sat for decades and the sea has taken its toll on it.  Rusting and falling apart, it still stands tall on the beach as if it’s refusing to fall over and give up.  While it’s not easily accessible, it’s still an amazing sight to see and a reminder of just how powerful the sea can be.

While we strolled around, we heard the boat horn sound which meant it was time to head back for lunch.  While we were busy walking the island and enjoying the sites, Pablo our captain, and Zariff were busy grilling beef, chicken, and sausage, and getting everything ready for us to eat.   There was more than enough food to eat and the cold pasta salad and coleslaw were welcome additions on a hot day.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the drink options.  From water to beer to rum, there is something for everyone available and the crew was ready to mix up whatever adult beverage we desired.  Charlie and I opted for a beer since we were planning on hitting the water and had the return trip still ahead of us.

After we ate and let everything settle a bit, we jumped back into the water and headed to shore to grab our snorkeling gear.  They do allow diving at the island but we decided to stick with snorkeling and with the water offshore a bit “sporty”, it was safer to stay in the shallows.

While there is not a large amount of reef near the island where we were, we still managed to see a bit of sea life.  Since the shallows are so well protected, there are many juvenile fish species that hang out to grow up before venturing into the depths of the Caribbean Sea.

Of course, the one thing that everyone wanted to see was turtles and we were not disappointed.  Sitting on the beach taking a break we saw the seagulls in a tizzy about something.  Watching the birds we noticed a turtle poke its head up from the surf, that’s all I needed.  I grabbed my snorkel gear and headed into the water.  In no time at all, I was within 4 feet of the turtle and swimming behind it as it glided through the water.  My trip was complete, I didn’t need to see anything else after that.

It wasn’t long after the turtle encounter that the Captain sounded the horn which meant it was time to head back to the boat for the trip back.

Heading back, we all knew the ride would be smoother as we were headed away from the winds.  Some folks fell fast asleep and slept the entire ride back to the harbor, exhausted from a full day of fun and sun, and others talked about their day on the island.

Me, I gazed out at the ocean and thought about everything I saw, what a great day it was, and how I will never forget it thanks to Steven, Pablo, Zariff, and Breeze Boat Trips.

This post was written in collaboration with Breeze Boat Trips. While we were compensated in part or in full with either goods or services the views and opinions are our own.