Curaçao Sunset Cruises: Best Catamaran & Sailing Trips

Irie Tours: the Spanish Water sunset cruise

The Irie Tours sunset cruise leaves from the Irie Tours dock at Caracas Bay, near Jan Thiel. The catamaran sails through Spanish Water Bay first, with Table Mountain on the skyline and waterfront houses along the inlets, then heads out to the open sea for the sunset. When the sea allows, it runs on towards St Anna Bay so you see Willemstad from the water.

The $75 fare includes an open bar with rum, vodka, blue Curaçao, white and rosé wine and beer, and the crew bring round three kinds of finger food. It is snacks, not dinner, so book a table for afterwards. Hotel pickup is an optional $15 round trip. It has 4.7/5 from 118 reviews. Our breakdown of the Irie sunset cruise has the full itinerary.

Book it if you want the cheapest sunset cruise with drinks included, or if you are already doing the Klein Curaçao day with Irie and liked the crew.

BlueFinn sunset catamaran

BlueFinn Charters runs its sunset trip on a sailing catamaran on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It leaves Mood Beach, next to Mambo Beach, at 5:30 p.m. and is back at 8:00 p.m., cruising towards Spanish Water and Fuik Bay. The operator charges $79 for adults and $40 for children aged 4 to 12.

The open bar comes with more food than on the Irie boat: the listing names pineapple, pulled-pork sandwiches and chicken skewers with peanut sauce. There is a toilet on board. BlueFinn is not sold on our usual booking partner, so we link to its listing on Viator, where it has 4.7/5 from 196 reviews.

BlueFinn suits a calmer evening and a more filling snack. Check the days first, because it does not sail on Sunday, Monday or Wednesday.

The Gold Seahorse sunset party

The Gold Seahorse sunset party is the loud one. It runs for three hours on the large catamaran yacht that also runs the Klein Curaçao catamaran yacht tour, leaving from Caracas Bay. Drinks and savoury bites are included, with live music once the sun has set and a DJ later in the evening.

It costs $130 and has 4.5/5 from 76 reviews. You pay $55 more than on the Irie cruise for an extra half-hour, the music and a bigger boat. It suits a group night out; for conversation and the view, the Irie cruise costs less.

Private sunset yacht

GetYourGuide has no private sunset sail in Curaçao with a solid review record, so we link to two on Viator. Each has 5.0/5 from only five reviews, which is too few to judge the boat by.

• The private sunset and Champagne cruise is two hours on a 48-foot sailing yacht for up to 10 guests, hosted by the owners. It leaves Seru Boca Marina in Spanish Water and includes a Champagne sundowner, wine, beer and a tapas platter, but no spirits. It starts at $399, priced per person with a minimum of two.
• The romantic private sunset cruise for two from the same owners lasts three hours and adds snorkelling gear and a food platter, from $479.

A private boat makes sense for a proposal, an anniversary or a small family group that wants the deck to itself.

Best for couples

Book the BlueFinn sailing catamaran for a quiet evening at a shared-boat price, or the private Champagne sail if the evening is a celebration and the budget allows. Couples who would rather have music and a crowd will enjoy the Irie cruise.

Best for groups

The Irie cruise is the easy group booking: one fare covers the drinks and snacks, and the $15 pickup saves arranging taxis for everyone. For a group that wants a boat to itself, a private charter such as the private boat tour with Captain Dirk costs $517 for the whole group for three hours, including a sunset drink on deck. That listing has 4.9/5 from only 9 reviews. For a party, book the Gold Seahorse.

What time the sun sets in Curaçao

Curaçao keeps the same clock all year (UTC−4, no daylight saving), and the sunset moves by about an hour over the year. Times below are for Willemstad on the 15th of each month.

On a BlueFinn sailing at 5:30 p.m., that puts the sunset about 40 minutes into the trip in November and about an hour and a half in during June and July. The light is gone about 20 minutes after sunset, so in the darker months the second half of the cruise is after dark. For the weather month by month, see the best time to visit Curaçao.

Sunset cruise vs Klein Curaçao

A sunset cruise is short and easy: two to three hours, mostly in sheltered water, a drink in your hand and the evening free afterwards. Klein Curaçao is a full destination day. The boats leave in the morning, cross about 15 miles of open sea and spend several hours at an uninhabited island with a white beach, turtles and the old lighthouse, for $140 to $160.

The two do not compete. If you have time for only one boat trip, choose Klein Curaçao for the snorkelling and the island, and the sunset cruise if you get seasick or do not want to give up a whole day. Which Klein Curaçao boat trip is right for you compares the four Klein boats.

Verdict: which sunset cruise to book

Choose a sunset cruise when you want time on the water without the logistics of a full-day trip. The Irie Tours cruise is the default: the lowest price with drinks included and the longest review record. Swap it for BlueFinn if your dates fall on one of its four sailing days and you want a quieter boat, and for the Gold Seahorse if you want a party. Check the departure time against the sunset table before you book, because the boats keep the same timetable while the sunset moves through the year.