Jan Thiel beach: beach clubs, snorkelling and a ten-minute walk from the villa

Jan Thiel is the beach our guests use most, simply because it is the one you can walk to. Ten minutes downhill from Villa Martini and you are on the sand, with a swim, a lunch and a sunset drink all within a few hundred metres of each other.

What the beach is like

Jan Thiel beach sits in a sheltered bay on the south-east coast, so the water is calm, clear and shallow near the shore — ideal for children and for a lazy morning float. The beach is partly man-made, with imported white sand, palm trees and a long boulevard of beach clubs behind it. It is not a wild, empty beach; it is a lively, comfortable one, with sun loungers, showers, toilets and food never more than a minute away.

Most of the beach is run by the clubs. You rent a lounger or a bed for the day (prices vary by club and season) and can use their facilities; there is also a small free stretch. In return you get service at your chair and a choice of kitchens without leaving the sand.

Eating and drinking

The row of restaurants and bars behind the beach covers breakfast to late night: beach clubs with lunch menus and cocktails, an Italian, a few grills, ice cream and a supermarket a short walk up the road. Sunset is the busiest and prettiest moment, when the beach clubs light their torches and the day guests are replaced by diners. Book a table for dinner in high season; at lunch you can usually walk in.

Snorkelling and diving

Snorkelling is best at the edges of the bay, along the rocks, where you will see parrotfish, sergeant majors and the occasional squid. Serious snorkelling — turtles, coral gardens, a shipwreck — is a short drive away at Caracasbaai and Directors Bay (see our snorkelling guide). The dive centre at the beach offers try-dives, courses and guided boat dives to the reefs along the coast, and this is also where boat trips to Klein Curaçao depart from the nearby marina.

Practical tips from the villa

• Walking: ten minutes downhill, fifteen back up. Go in the morning or late afternoon; midday sun on the way back is fierce. Take water.
• Parking: there is a car park behind the beach clubs; it fills up on Sundays around midday.
• Quiet hours: weekday mornings are calm. Sundays are busy with locals and cruise visitors — great atmosphere, fewer free loungers.
• Bring: reef-safe sunscreen, water shoes for the rocky edges if you plan to snorkel, and cash or card — the clubs take both.
• Tennis and padel: courts next to the beach can be booked by the hour; early morning is the time to play.

Our tip: walk down for a swim before breakfast, when the water is glassy and the beach is almost empty, then come back for a slow breakfast by the pool. That, more than anything, is what Jan Thiel from Villa Martini feels like.