What Is Included in a Klein Curaçao Tour?

What every boat includes

These come with any of the four tickets, so don’t pick a boat on them:

• Return transport across the roughly 15 miles of open water from the marinas on the south-east coast.
• Breakfast or a snack. Mermaid serves breakfast on the island, Irie hands out sandwiches on the way out, and Miss Ann and the Gold Seahorse both list a breakfast.
• A barbecue lunch. The Gold Seahorse goes furthest, with filet mignon, ribs, salmon and chicken. Irie offers vegetarian, vegan and pescatarian versions if you ask ahead, and Miss Ann takes dietary requests in advance.
• Water and soft drinks. Every listing covers non-alcoholic drinks in some form; Mermaid’s GYG listing names only coffee and tea, so take a bottle of water if that matters to you.
• Snorkel gear. Turtles feed in the seagrass shallows off the west beach, so you will use the mask.
• Island time. Three of the four list a nine-hour day; the Gold Seahorse lists eight.

What only some boats include

This is where the four tickets stop looking alike.

• Open bar. Irie Tours alone has alcohol in the fare, from 12:30: rum, vodka, blue Curaçao, wine and beer. Miss Ann includes its premium open bar only on the Weekend Supreme option; on weekdays it is a $35 add-on.
• Beach beds and chairs. Mermaid sets out palapas and beach chairs before you land, and Irie brings beach chairs. The Gold Seahorse has cushioned sun beds on deck, not on the sand.
• A private beach house. Mermaid and Miss Ann each run one, for their own guests only. The two catamarans do not, and Klein Curaçao has almost no natural shade.
• Showers. Miss Ann’s beach house has a freshwater shower. No other listing names one, which matters after a day in salt water and sunscreen.
• Changing rooms. None of the four listings names one. Mermaid and Miss Ann have restrooms at their beach houses and the Gold Seahorse has one on board; wear your swimwear under your clothes on Irie.
• Guided snorkeling. Miss Ann runs a guided snorkel safari. On the other three you borrow the gear and find the turtles yourself, which is easy in the shallows.

What you pay for on the day

• Hotel transfer. Only Irie Tours includes one, and only inside Jan Thiel; elsewhere it costs $15 per person round trip. Mermaid boards at 06:45 at the Fishermen’s Pier in Jan Thiel, so budget a taxi on the other three.
• Towels. Every operator asks you to bring your own.
• Tips. Excluded on all four. Carry some cash for the crew.
• Alcohol and premium drinks. On Mermaid, about $5 for a beer, wine or mixed drink and about $10 for a cocktail. On the Gold Seahorse, cocktails are $10 and mocktails $8, card only. On Miss Ann, the $35 weekday open bar.
• Scuba diving. Bookable on the island with Mermaid and Miss Ann, priced by certification level; not in any fare.
• Photos. No listing includes them. Bring a waterproof phone pouch for the snorkeling.
• Island extras. Miss Ann sells massages and dive-gear rental at its beach house.

What a day costs once the extras are in

The $20 spread between the cheapest and dearest ticket narrows or flips once you add what you would actually buy:

• Irie Tours, staying outside Jan Thiel: $140 plus $15 transfer is $155, with every drink paid for.
• Mermaid, three beers through the afternoon: $155 plus about $15 is around $170, before the taxi to Jan Thiel.
• Miss Ann on a weekday with the open bar: $155 plus $35 is $190, plus a taxi to Marina Santa Barbara.
• Gold Seahorse, two cocktails: $160 plus $20 is $180, plus a taxi to Spanish Water.

If you do not drink alcohol, Mermaid and Miss Ann stay at $155 and give you a beach house for it. For the price of each ticket on its own, see Klein Curaçao boat trip prices.

Choosing on what you will use

Do not choose on the words “all-inclusive”. Every boat uses some version of it, and it means something different on each. Pick the two inclusions you would miss most and book the boat that has both:

• Shade, a toilet and a shower ashore: Miss Ann, or Mermaid if you would rather have the most-reviewed boat on the route (4.8/5 from 361 reviews) and can do without the shower.
• Drinks and a lift to the pier: Irie Tours, if a catamaran with beach chairs and no beach house suits you.
• The best lunch and a toilet at sea: the Gold Seahorse, after checking its exclusion list for pregnancy, back and heart conditions.

How the boats compare on the crossing itself is on catamaran, motor yacht or speedboat, and what to bring covers the rest of the bag. Check availability for your date before you settle, because the Mermaid does not sail on Saturdays.