Klein Curaçao Lighthouse: History, Walk & What You'll See
The walk from the beach to Klein Curaçao's faded pink lighthouse and the tanker wreck on the windward shore: route, time, shade, what to wear, and the history since 1850.
The faded pink lighthouse is Klein Curaçao’s most recognizable landmark after the beach, and you can walk to it from any day boat. Allow about forty minutes for the unshaded loop to the tanker wreck and back, and go early. The Mermaid full-day trip ($155, 4.8 from 361 reviews) includes a walking booklet.
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Typical walk
Beach → Lighthouse → Shipwrecks → Beach
The boats all anchor off the long white beach on the sheltered west side. The lighthouse stands in the middle of the island, deliberately placed so ships on either side could see it, and the track to it runs straight inland across low scrub. Most people reach it in about ten minutes. The island is flat, uninhabited and only about 1.7 square kilometres, so you cannot get lost, and nothing out there sells water or shade.
From the lighthouse the track carries on east to the windward shore, roughly five minutes more, where the rusting hull of the oil tanker Maria Bianca Guidesman lies on the rocks. From there you can walk a little way along the shore before cutting back across the island to the beach.
- Leg 1, beach to lighthouse: about ten minutes over packed coral rubble and scrub.
- Leg 2, lighthouse to the tanker: about five minutes more, ending on the rocky windward shore.
- Leg 3, back to the beach: the same way, or along the shore and back across the middle.
How long to allow
Allow about forty minutes there and back for the whole loop, including time at the lighthouse and the wreck. If you only want the lighthouse and its photos, twenty to twenty-five minutes is enough. Your boat gives you roughly six hours on the island, so the walk fits easily around lunch and snorkelling.
What you’ll see
The lighthouse and the keepers’ houses. The tower is about 20 metres high and stands between two identical two-storey dwellings built for the keepers. Curaçao’s monument register lists the complex, and its survey found several layers of red paint on the walls: decades of sun have faded that red to the pink in every photo. The woodwork was painted turquoise, and most of the doors and windows have gone. The light itself was reactivated in 2008 as a solar-powered LED that flashes twice every 15 seconds, so the tower still does its job at night.
The tanker wreck. The Maria Bianca Guidesman is the big one, a rust-red hull broken open by the surf and slowly coming apart, with pieces of it scattered along the shore. Accounts of when it ran aground range from the 1960s to the late 1980s, and the sources do not agree on the year. The remains of several smaller boats lie farther along the same coast, washed well up onto the rocks.
The windward shore. This side of the island takes the full force of the trade wind and the open sea. The waves are big and the rocks are sharp, so look from the shore and swim back on the beach side. The beach guide covers where the swimming is safe.
A short history of the lighthouse
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1850 | The first lighthouse is built on Klein Curaçao, to mark a low, flat island that ships could easily run onto. |
| 1877 | A hurricane destroys it. The design for the present lighthouse complex, tower and keepers’ houses together, dates from the same year. |
| 1879 | The lighthouse is rebuilt. |
| 1913 | The present tower is rebuilt again and lit; lighthouse lists date it from this year. |
| 2002–2003 | Curaçao designates the lighthouse complex a protected monument (registered 20 January 2003). |
| 2008 | The light is reactivated with a solar-powered LED beacon. |
The keepers left long ago and the houses have stood empty and open to the weather for years. What you walk up to is a protected ruin with a working light on top.
Best time
Go earlier in the day, because the interior is exposed and gets very hot. Set off soon after the boat lands and you walk while the morning breeze still has some cool in it; by early afternoon the coral rubble throws the heat back at you and there is nothing to stand under. A late-afternoon walk works too, if your boat leaves enough time before the return crossing.
What to bring
- hat
- sunscreen
- water
- sandals or water shoes
- camera
The path is not sand. The limestone is pitted and sharp a step off the track, so flip-flops are the minimum and water shoes are better. Carry a full bottle even for forty minutes, because there is no water anywhere on the island except what your boat brings. The full packing list is in what to bring to Klein Curaçao.
Can you go inside?
The lighthouse is a historic ruin, not a restored attraction, so do not assume the open areas are safe to climb. Some visitors have climbed the stairs inside the tower over the years, but the top floor has been locked, the doors and windows are gone and parts of the woodwork survive only in pieces. Nobody is on site to check the stairs, and the nearest help is a boat ride away, so the safe choice is to look from the ground and photograph the tower from outside.
Recommendation
Do the lighthouse and shipwreck walk early, then spend the hottest part of the day swimming and snorkeling. The walk is free on every boat. If the booklet and a beach house to come back to appeal, the Mermaid trip is the one that includes both; our Mermaid review covers the rest of the day. For how the walk fits around the crossing, lunch and the swim, see the Klein Curaçao day trip guide.
Pick Your Boat, Then Check the Date
Crossing time, group size, shade, toilets and what lunch actually looks like differ more between these boats than the price does. Compare them, then check availability for your date.
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