Curaçao on a US Licence 2026: No Right Turn on Red

Curaçao drives on the right, just like the US, and you can rent and drive on your valid US driver’s license alone; the State Department lists no permit requirement. So is it easy to drive in Curaçao? Mostly, yes. The trouble spots are a few local rules that look like home but are not, and an accident procedure that runs opposite to what American drivers are taught.

Familiar side, unfamiliar rules

Four rules from the State Department’s Curaçao page deserve a place on a sticky note on the dashboard:

1. No right turn on red. Ever. Wait for green.
2. Priority from the right. At junctions and traffic circles without signs, yield to traffic coming from your right, even if you are on what looks like the bigger road.
3. Through traffic wins at T-junctions. If you are on the stem of the T, you wait.
4. Prohibition signs have no slash. A red circle around a symbol is already a ban. The diagonal line Americans look for is missing.

U-turns are often restricted, too. Everyone in the car must wear a seat belt, children ride in the back, and those under 5 need a child seat. Riders on scooters and motorbikes must wear helmets.

If you crash, the car stays where it is

At home you would move a fender-bender to the shoulder. In Curaçao the instruction is the opposite: do not move the vehicle or pull over. Call your rental agency, then Curaçao Road Services on 199. You may need to file a police report. Leave the cars in place until you are told otherwise, even if other drivers honk.

For a breakdown that is not a crash, Roadside Assistance 24/7 Curaçao answers on 9-24-7. Save both numbers before leaving the rental lot.

What the roads are like

The State Department asks for extra caution. Signs at intersections are often hidden or missing, so slow down at every junction rather than assuming you have priority. Roads become extremely slippery in rain. Scooters, motorcycles and ATVs do not always follow the rules, and you should be alert for speeding cars and drunk drivers. In the countryside, goats and other animals cross without warning.

Night driving is described as reasonably safe for drivers who know the route. Lighting is weaker than in the US, though, so on a first visit drive unfamiliar roads, such as the run to a far-off beach, in daylight and save the evening runs for routes you have already done once.

Alcohol

The State Department warns that driving while intoxicated can bring loss of your license, a fine and imprisonment. Neither the State Department nor the UK advice gives a numeric limit for Curaçao, so the advice is simple: if you are driving, skip the drink at the beach bar.

Your first hour

Show your license and passport at the rental desk and read the contract’s age and insurance terms. Walk round the car with your phone camera running. Set the map before you move, because junction signs are unreliable. Then take the first few lights slowly; the right-on-red reflex is strongest when you are tired from the flight.

Three numbers to save

• Police and fire: 911
• Ambulance: 912
• Road Services after an accident: 199

The ambulance number is the one that differs from home.

If you would rather not drive

Public transport is limited but cheap. Large buses called Konvooi run longer routes, typically once an hour, from the two terminals in Punda and Otrobanda. Minivans and minibuses with “BUS” on the registration plate cover shorter routes on main roads during the day, without a timetable, with the route shown on the windshield. Taxis are safe and regulated but have no meters, so agree the price before you get in.

For the rest of the island’s rules, see the Curaçao driving guide; for Aruba or Bonaire on the same trip, the Driving Permit Checker has them.

Sources

• U.S. Department of State, Curaçao country information, Travel and Transportation (valid US licence; right-hand traffic; no right turn on red; signs; priority; accident procedure and 199; 9-24-7; road conditions; buses and taxis), last updated September 10, 2026: travel.state.gov
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Curaçao: getting help (ambulance 912, fire 911, police 911): gov.uk