Klein Curaçao: a day trip to a desert island

Ask anyone who has been what the highlight of their Curaçao holiday was and Klein Curaçao comes up again and again. It is a flat, uninhabited island about 25 km south-east of Curaçao: a lighthouse, the rusting hull of a tanker, a few fishermen's huts and a kilometre of blinding white beach beside water so clear that the boat seems to float in air.

Getting there

You can only reach Klein Curaçao by boat, and the boats leave from our side of the island — from the marinas at Jan Thiel and Caracasbaai, five to ten minutes from the villa. That is a real advantage: departure is early, around seven in the morning, and guests staying in the west have a long drive first.

There are two kinds of trips. Large catamarans and motor yachts take 40 to 80 people, sail comfortably, and include breakfast, a barbecue lunch, drinks and snorkelling gear. Smaller speedboats get there faster and feel more exclusive, but the crossing is bumpier. Either way, expect to be back between four and five in the afternoon. Book a few days ahead in high season; trips are cancelled when the sea is too rough, which happens a few times a year.

The crossing

Be honest with yourself about seasickness. The trip out crosses open water against the trade wind and takes one and a half to two hours; the return, with the wind, is calmer and faster. Sit outside at the back of the boat, look at the horizon, and take a tablet the evening before and again on the morning if you are at all sensitive. Most people are fine; those who are not, wish they had prepared.

On the island

The day is unstructured, which is the charm. Snorkel along the reef edge in front of the beach, where sea turtles graze on the seagrass — you will almost certainly swim with several. Walk to the lighthouse (about 20 minutes each way over hot ground; wear shoes) and to the shipwreck on the rugged east coast, where the waves are dramatic and swimming is forbidden. Then do nothing at all under a palapa with a cold drink.

What to bring

• Reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and a shirt to swim in — there is almost no natural shade and the sun bounces off the sand and water.
• Water shoes for the walk to the wreck and for the coral rubble at the water's edge.
• Cash for tips and, on some boats, extra drinks.
• A dry bag for your phone; there is nowhere to buy anything on the island.
• A towel from the villa (we have beach towels) and a light sweater for the return crossing.

Leave the island as you found it: take your rubbish back, do not touch the turtles, and do not take shells or coral. Klein Curaçao is a protected area and a nesting site, which is exactly why it is still so beautiful.