Curaçao is an island you understand by moving through it. In Willemstad, commuters cross the floating Queen Emma Bridge while water taxis cut across the harbor below. Conversations switch between Papiamentu, Dutch, Spanish and English in the space of a few blocks. Fishing boats still dock near the city center, and neighborhood restaurants fill with locals long before visitors arrive. This is a Caribbean island where daily life and travel life overlap, and where the experience is shaped as much by routine as by scenery.
A New Way To Get There
American Airlines just launched new nonstop service from Chicago (the flights are about $557 roundtrip on Google’s flight booking engine), adding another direct U.S. gateway to the island. The Saturday flight expands American’s Curaçao network, which already includes service from Miami and Charlotte, and strengthens access from one of the airline’s most important hub cities.
Why Chicago Changes The Map
Chicago’s reach extends far beyond the city itself. As a major American Airlines hub, it connects travelers from across the Midwest and much of the central United States, opening Curaçao to a broader group of visitors. The route makes it easier to choose Curaçao for a weeklong trip or a return visit, particularly during winter months when travelers are looking for warm weather paired with culture and walkable urban spaces.
Willemstad And The Working Waterfront
Willemstad is not a museum district or a resort enclave. The Handelskade waterfront frames a harbor still shaped by ferries, shipping traffic and daily commerce. Just beyond it, streets lead into neighborhoods where music venues, galleries and small bars operate on local schedules. This working city gives Curaçao a sense of scale and continuity that sets it apart from islands built primarily around resort corridors.
Culture And Cuisine On The Ground
Food is one of the clearest expressions of Curaçao’s layered identity. Menus draw from Afro-Caribbean cooking, Dutch influence and Latin flavors, often in the same dish. Markets, snack bars and neighborhood restaurants sit alongside polished dining rooms, creating a food scene that feels integrated into everyday life rather than separated from it. Visitors encounter the island’s culture not as an attraction, but as part of how the island functions.
Where To Stay
Curaçao’s accommodations reflect the different ways travelers move through the island. Brion City Hotel offers a budget-friendly base in Willemstad for visitors who want to explore on foot and stay close to the island’s cultural core. Along the coast, Dreams Curaçao includes a defined adults-only area with modular beach bungalows that place guests closer to the water while offering a quieter alternative within the resort. At the top end, the all-inclusive Sandals Royal Curaçao provides a full-scale, adults-only, expanding Curaçao’s appeal while keeping its setting grounded in the island’s landscape.
What American’s New Flight Unlocks
American Airlines’ new Chicago service strengthens Curaçao’s U.S. airlift without altering the island’s character. It reduces the distance between the Midwest and one of the Caribbean’s most distinctive urban-island environments. It makes Curaçao easier to reach and easier to revisit. For the island, it supports growth built on access rather than scale, inviting more visitors into a place that’s been one of the buzziest islands in the Caribbean over the last few years.
