Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Curaçao Willemstad Klein Curaçao

Klein Curaçao

Shipwrecks, ruins, and turtles are all that remain on this haunting Caribbean ghost island.

Willemstad, Curaçao

Added By
Luke Spencer
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The deserted lighthouse.   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Main entrance,   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Facing to the north of the island.   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Lower chambers of the lighthouse.   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the basement of the lighthouse.   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Stairs to the top of the lighthouse.   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Collapsed tile roof.   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Wreck of the Maria Bianca Guidesman.   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Wreck of the Maria Bianca Guidesman.   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Ruined yacht.   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Former stone dwellings.   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
The pink lighthouse of Klein Curacao  
  Auxburg / Atlas Obscura User
  Auxburg / Atlas Obscura User
WRECK OF THE TANKER MARIA BIANCA GUIDESMAN  
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

After two hours sailing, bearing southeast from the old Dutch Caribbean outpost of Curaçao, travelers can find an abandoned island.

Called Klein Curaçao (Dutch for "little"), it is a ghostly island that has been uninhabited for generations. Measuring just over half a square mile in size, the silent, flat coral atoll is home only to a deserted lighthouse, the shipwrecks of vessels it failed to save, several collapsed ancient stone buildings, and a burial site. Whilst many desert islands bring to mind tropical paradises, Klein Curaçao is a haunting, windswept place.

The lighthouse, once painted a vibrant coral pink, was built in 1850. Standing alone in the centre of the island, it is now abandoned. The wooden stairs to the top of the lighthouse are still intact, as are the two stories of rooms that housed the lighthouse keepers; with no natural source of running water, it must have been a desolate place to live and work. In 1888 the German Navy attempted to build a base here as part of the hoped for Imperial colonization of the Deutsche Karibik, but were driven off by the windswept conditions of the remote outpost when a tropical storm swept away the first foundations of a wharf.

Klein Curaçao neatly highlights the effects of the nature on the island. The northern side is a tropical paradise of palm trees, white beaches, and crystal waters. The southern, windward side, more exposed to the elements, is an unforgiving shoreline of pounding surf, and ragged coral reefs. Here lie the shipwrecks of Klein Curaçao. Looming on the southern beach is the hulking rusted remains of the oil tanker Maria Bianca Guidesman, which ran aground here in the 1960s. Gradually being eroded away by the merciless waters of the Caribbean sea, already half of the tanker has sheared off and washed away. Next to the Maria Bianca is the remnants of a once glorious 30 foot luxury boat cruelly smashed against the sharp coral reefs. 

Dotting much of the island are crumbling stone structures that looked like simple dwellings, perhaps once home to passing fishermen. On the northeastern end there is also a simple burial site, marked by a bleached plain wooden cross without a name.

Today, day trips are offered by several companies operating out of neighboring Curaçao that sail to the island by catamaran. A visit to Klein Curaçao is a visit to a remote, ghostly island, surrounded by waters where for many years the principal profession was piracy. And where all you will have for company are shipwrecks, turtles, lizards, and a beautifully faded pink lighthouse, gradually falling into ruin.

Related Tags

Islands Abandoned Lighthouses Ship Graveyards Shipwrecks

Know Before You Go

Two hours sail south east from Curacao. Day trips offered by http://www.bountyadventures.com/Curacao_Klein_Curacao.html

Community Contributors

Added By

Luke J Spencer

Edited By

Martin, MagnumPI, Auxburg

  • Martin
  • MagnumPI
  • Auxburg

Published

January 28, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_Cura%C3%A7ao
  • http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/2011/08/abandoned-lighthouses-6-klein-curacao/#sthash.HuuBOkUG.dpbs
Klein Curaçao
Kaminda pa Fuik
Willemstad
Curaçao
11.984466, -68.644181
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Cathedral of Thorns

Willemstad, Curaçao

miles away

Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue

Willemstad, Curaçao

miles away

The Abandoned Pietermaai Mansions

Willemstad, Curaçao

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Willemstad

Willemstad

Curaçao

Places 5

Nearby Places

Cathedral of Thorns

Willemstad, Curaçao

miles away

Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue

Willemstad, Curaçao

miles away

The Abandoned Pietermaai Mansions

Willemstad, Curaçao

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Willemstad

Willemstad

Curaçao

Places 5

Related Stories and Lists

It's Barbie's World in These Perfectly Pink Places

List

By Michelle Cassidy

31 of the World's Most Alluring Lighthouses

lighthouses

By Eric Grundhauser

33 Deserted Places Around the World

List

By Meg Neal

When the Lights Go Out: 8 of the World's Loneliest Lighthouses

ruins

By Eric Grundhauser

Related Places

  • An aerial view of Inishtrahull lighthouse on Inishtrahull Island.

    County Donegal, Ireland

    Inishtrahull

    Ireland's most northerly island is hauntingly beautiful. Its lighthouse was the last glimpse of home for many Irish emigrants bound for the U.S.

  • Farol dos Rosais

    São Jorge, Portugal

    Farol da Ponta dos Rosais

    On the cliffs of São Jorge in the Azores stand the remains of a lighthouse that was struck by a series of earthquakes.

  • Roche Caiman, Seychelles

    Isle of Farquhar

    A schooner, nicknamed "The Unsinkable," with a long history of survival in the Indian Ocean.

  • Cemitério de navios - The Ship Cemetery

    Panguila, Angola

    Cemitério de Navios (The Ship Cemetery)

    Abandoned ships along a deserted beach feel like the set of a post-apocalyptic thriller.

  • D.T. Sheridan Shipwreck

    Monhegan, Maine

    D.T. Sheridan Shipwreck

    The steel hull of a wrecked tug rests on Lobster Cove on Monhegan Island’s rocky southeastern shore.

  • Macuti Lighthouse and Shipwreck

    Beira, Mozambique

    Macuti Lighthouse and Shipwreck

    This rusted shipwreck directly in front of a century-old abandoned lighthouse looks almost surreal.

  • Barra Head Lighthouse.

    Outer Hebrides, Scotland

    Barra Head Lighthouse

    The highest lighthouse in Scotland shines from an abandoned island.

  • St. Flannan’s Cell and Flannan Isles Lighthouse.

    Outer Hebrides, Scotland

    Flannan Isle Lighthouse

    What happened to the three lighthouse keepers who vanished from this place remains a mystery over a century later.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.