Did you know that besides beautiful beaches, Curaçao also has some stunning national parks? After coming back from our second trip to Curaçao, we took the chance to visit Shete Boka National Park, which we absolutely loved, and here I’ll tell you what the visit is like.
And I’ll start with this: visiting Shete Boka National park is one of the best things to do in Curacao if you love nature.
Shete Boka is a national park that runs along the coastline and consists mainly of seven (“shete”) bokas, or “mouths” in Papiamento. These bokas are places where the sea pushes inland through the rocks or cliffs, sometimes in a powerful and wild way, creating a really beautiful natural spectacle.
The visit takes around 1 to 2 hours, depending on how much time you want to spend at each boka. There are also tours that take you to one or two of the most impressive bokas and then continue on to explore the rest of the island.
Both visiting on your own or joining a tour—especially if you’re short on time and want to see more of Curaçao—are great options. There are several tours that include a stop at Shete Boka National Park, and I recommend them especially if you’re on a cruise and have only a day for Curacao.
Best tours that take you to Shete Boka National Park:
All West Beach Hopping Tour: Visit Shete Boka + swim with turtles, spot flamingos and enjoy Grote Knip and Cas Abao beaches.
Curacao Private Tour and Activity Experience: Visit Shete Boka + swim with turtles, spot flamingos, enjoy beaches, city center, Curacao distillirey, an old fort, etc.
Here’s everything you need to know for your visit, step by step, starting with basic information on how to get there and how to get around the park.
Getting to Shete Boka National Park
The park is located on the north side of the island, about a 50-minute drive from Willemstad, or just a few minutes from Westpunt if you’re staying in that area.
When you arrive, you’ll pass through a gate where you need to pay the entrance fee, which at the time of our visit was $15 USD per adult. The tickets for children 6-12 is approximately $2 and children under 6 enter for free.
There you can also buy a park map. That said, the map is quite simple, and if you decide to buy it, I’d recommend doing so more as a souvenir than out of necessity. The park is small, well signposted, and Google Maps works perfectly fine.
You can also just take a photo of the map.
A few meters past the gate is the parking area, where you can leave your car.
Next to the parking lot there’s a small stand selling snacks and drinks.
What Kind of Car Do You Need to Get Around the Park?
The road leading to the park is in perfect condition, but once you’re inside, since it’s a national park, the roads are dirt tracks and more rustic.
While researching the park, I noticed many people mentioning that you need a good car to visit—something big, maybe a 4×4.
Honestly, I think this really depends. We were a bit nervous about this because we visited the park on a motorbike. A small electric scooter with limited power (my boyfriend was driving).
And honestly, while the road is uneven, with potholes, and not the easiest drive, we had no problems at all getting around the park on the scooter. Which, in my opinion, means you don’t need a special car to visit Shete Boka.
Of course, it’s probably more comfortable and easier in a proper off-road vehicle, but it’s definitely not essential.
What I wouldn’t recommend is going on a motorbike if it has rained, as you could easily get stuck in the mud.
Do You Need to Walk Inside the Park?
Another important thing: you can drive everywhere inside the park. You don’t need to walk from one boka to another.
Once you arrive at each boka’s parking area, there’s a park ranger supervising the area. From there, in a couple of bokas you do need to walk a little bit to reach the viewpoint, but it’s only a few minutes. In others, you’re practically already there.
So don’t worry about getting tired. That said, I do recommend going early, because even if you’re not walking much, if you want to spend a good amount of time at each boka, the sun can be quite strong around midday. Bringing a hat is not a bad idea.
Visiting the “Bokas” of Curacao’s Shete Boka National Park
Now I’ll tell you about our visit to the park so you can get an idea of what the bokas are like.
Even though the park is called Shete Boka, in reality there are four bokas that are easily accessible to visitors: Boka Pistol, Boka Tabla, Boka Wandomi, and Boka Kalki.
You’ll see just how wild the water is in these bokas, and in fact, that’s what makes this national park so beautiful and unique.
This happens because this part of the island is more exposed to the open ocean and strong winds, while Curaçao’s west coast is more protected by coral reefs and has much calmer waters (and that’s also why on the other side you can find some of the best beaches in Curaçao).
Boka Pistol
We started our visit at Boka Pistol, which is one of the most remote ones, but still only a few minutes’ drive from the main parking area. The boka itself is just a few meters from where you park.
This was probably our favorite boka. It’s the wildest one, where the sea crashes in with the most force. Every time the waves hit the cliffs, you hear a loud “boom”, followed by a huge explosion of water—it’s an incredible spectacle. That’s where the name comes from.
There’s a covered viewpoint right next to the cliff where you can stay for a long time enjoying the place, watching how sometimes the sound and the water explosion are much stronger than at other times.
Something really beautiful you might notice if you pay attention is that some of these water explosions create tiny rainbows in the air, caused by the sunlight hitting all the droplets suspended in the air.
Boka Kalki
After Boka Pistol, we headed to Boka Kalki. Once you arrive at the parking lot, you need to walk a few minutes along a path surrounded by trees and bushes until you reach the boka. Along the way, you’ll see lizards and some birds.
When you arrive, you have two options. You can climb a few steps up to the cliffs to see the boka from above, or you can see it from the beach itself, because unlike the others, this boka has an accessible sandy beach.
The cliffs form a sort of corridor where the sea enters with force, but in a very different way from Boka Pistol. This one feels much calmer.
We stayed here for quite a while, sitting on the sand, surrounded by silence and crabs. We also took the opportunity to record a short video for work, which I’ll leave here as well so you can get a better idea of what the place looks like.
Sea turtles also nest at Boka Kalki Beach, and in fact, the park was created to protect their nesting areas (which also exist on other beaches within the park). Nesting season runs from May to December, and although we visited in November, unfortunately we didn’t see any.
Boka Tabla
Next, we went to Boka Tabla, which is the boka closest to the park entrance. The parking lot here is basically the main parking area of the park. From there, it’s just a few steps to reach the boka.
You can see this boka both from above, from the small cliff, and from below.
The best part—and what makes this boka special—is below. Once you arrive, there’s a narrow tunnel that leads down into a small cave. It’s just a few steps down, but it’s quite dark, so you’ll need your phone flashlight.
Once inside the cave, it’s not as dark, and through openings in the rocks you can see the sea crashing against them (and you might get a little wet too).
Outside the cave, there’s a small viewpoint where you can also enjoy the scenery.
Even though it’s special and different, this isn’t a boka to spend too much time at, since the cave is very small and fills up quickly when there are many visitors. Plus, it’s a small, dark, and wet space.
Boka Wandomi
Boka Wandomi has a very different landscape from the others. You arrive at the parking area and then walk toward the boka. Along the path, you’ll see bushes and small, very green trees with dark trunks, yellow flowers, and a landscape that somehow makes you think of a completely different place.
When we arrived, it was about to start raining lightly, which created a bit of mist in the area. It almost felt like a countryside landscape in Northern Europe.
The boka itself is quite spacious. Unlike the others, when you arrive you’re already standing at a higher point, with a great view looking down at the sea.
You can also climb down from the cliff and cross a small stretch of land that separates it from the opposite cliff, which you can climb to see the area from another angle.
And if you walk a bit further, you can go halfway down to a small wooden platform, where you’ll be surrounded by cliffs and can watch the sea push its way in. It’s a really beautiful spot to stay and take it all in.
More Things to Do in Curaçao
That’s the full visit to the national park. It’s absolutely worth it if you want to see a different side of Curaçao. If you’re visiting as part of a tour, you’ll probably stop at other beautiful places along the way as well.
Best tours that take you to Shete Boka National Park:
All West Beach Hopping Tour: Visit Shete Boka + swim with turtles, spot flamingos and enjoy Grote Knip and Cas Abao beaches.
Curacao Private Tour and Activity Experience: Visit Shete Boka + swim with turtles, spot flamingos, enjoy beaches, city center, Curacao distillirey, an old fort, etc.
They also do pick-ups at the cruise port.
If you’re still planning your trip to Curaçao or you’re already there and want more ideas of what to do, I invite you to check out my other posts:
