Can a British Driver Drive in Curaçao? — Yes, but You Switch to the Right

For British holidaymakers, Curaçao is an easy island to fall for — Dutch-Caribbean colour in Willemstad, quiet coves on the south coast, rugged country in the west — and a hire car reaches all of it. The one thing to take seriously is that almost everything about being a UK driver here is reversed.

Can a UK licence holder drive in Curaçao?

Yes. Your British licence works for a tourist stay, and an IDP is recommended as a translated supporting document — Curaçao is officially Dutch-speaking, and a rental clerk or police officer will find the permit easier to read than your photocard. Carry the licence, the IDP and your passport as a set. Get the IDP from a UK Post Office before you travel.

Why the side of the road is the headline

The UK drives on the left; Curaçao drives on the right — the full mirror image. For a British driver this is the most consistent source of trouble abroad, and it concentrates in the first day: the wrong-way roundabout, the reflexive glance to the wrong side, the drift toward the kerb you no longer belong against. Pick a quiet stretch for your first half hour rather than learning it in Willemstad’s one-way maze, and stay deliberate at every turn until it settles.

A tighter alcohol limit than home

Here the difference runs against you. Curaçao enforces 0.05 BAC, lower than the 0.08 limit in most of the UK, so a drink that would be within the law at home can put you over here. On a small island with night-time scooters and tourist traffic, the simplest rule is none at all before driving. Posted speed limits are inconsistent once you leave the main roads, so drive to the surface — the western tracks toward the beaches can be rough and unsigned.

Before you collect the car, confirm what you need with the Driving Permit Checker, and the Curaçao driving guide carries the rest of the detail. The emergency number is 911.