Westpunt

Westpunt is the far north-west tip of Curaçao, the wild and beautiful end of the leeward coast and home to the island's finest beaches and dive sites. It is a long, glorious sail up the coast from the base — past Porto Mari and the leeward coves — to a corner of the island that feels remote: dramatic cliffs, hidden coves of perfect sand, and clear deep water that ranks among the best snorkelling and diving in the Caribbean.

The beaches are the headline. Playa Knip — Grote Knip — is a broad arc of white sand and astonishing turquoise water set in a cliff-rimmed bay, the most photographed beach on the island, with its smaller twin Kleine Knip alongside. Further round is Playa Kalki, a cliff-backed cove that is the gateway to the area's diving. Just offshore lies the Blue Room, a half-submerged sea cave you swim into where the sunlight filtering through the underwater entrance lights the whole chamber an electric blue. And along the coast is Mushroom Forest, a celebrated dive site named for its mushroom-shaped coral heads.

Above the coast rises Christoffel National Park and Mt Christoffel — Christoffelberg — the island's highest point, an arid wilderness of cactus, divi-divi trees, and wildlife. Westpunt is the big day on a charter: the best beaches, the Blue Room cave, the diving, and the long, fast sail back down the leeward coast on the afternoon trades.