Sea turtles are known to return to their place of birth to lay eggs again, indicating the importance to protect the beaches of the Shete Boka national park. Your email address will not be published. The road distance is 23.8 miles. It's very pretty and great that you didn't give up on trying to visit the four! Willemstad to Shete Boka Park bus services, operated by Autobusbedrijf Curacao, depart from Willemstad - Otrabanda Bus station. I think you know whats coming next I would have loved to sit at Boka Wandomi all day and take in the views, either at the beach or by the land bridge. Before we talk about the big poison sign, can we just appreciate for a moment how colorful that trashcan is? This post is linked up with Faraway Files. Visiting Shete Boka National Park in Curaao. The cost-effective way to get from Willemstad to Shete Boka Park is to bus, which costs $2 and takes 1h 20m. In this post I will cover our experiences and give you an idea of what to expect at Boka Pistol, Boka Kalki, Boka Tabla, and Boka Wandomi. Official Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information for Curacao. I was concerned about walking so much with Baby Meena so I kept researching and found that there are in fact driving trails to some of the bokas. But better to see it quickly than not at all. Rome2rio also offers online bookings for selected operators, making reservations easy and straightforward. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); About JustGo.Travel Disclaimer Privacy policy Contact. The path heads to the coast and kind of curves around until you reach stairs that are carved into the rock. We have received no reports of travel restrictions in Curacao. And definitely order some fries! Please check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. How the German Restaurant Experience Is Different Compared to the US. Wow these are both fascinating and beautiful! A travel blog full of inspiration, itineraries, travel tips, travel photography and insider tips & tricks directly from the travel- and aviation industry. Which of the bokas from this post did you like the most? 10 Things I Didn't Realize Would Happen After I Was Diagnosed with Lupus. The park has approximately 10 pocket bays where 3 species of sea turtles are known to lay eggs. We actually only had enough small change to order one side of fries, oops! Another draw for visiting Shete Boka is that sea turtles habitually lay eggs in this area, but we didnt see any during out visit. For the latest travel status, please check the official page for Curacao. Boka Tabla is the most popular boka of the park, because its the first one you see after entering and theres an expansive underground cave where water rushes in. It was a nice beach shielded by rocky walls on each side. The open landscape provides beautiful long Very impressive. OpenStreetMap data is available under the Open Database License (details). Find all the transport options for your trip from Willemstad to Shete Boka Park right here. Currently, we are unable to provide domestic travel restriction information for travelling within Curacao. There are 55+ hotels available in Shete Boka Park. The bus from Willemstad - Otrabanda Bus to Shete Boka Park takes 1h 20m including transfers and departs every three hours. My 2018 Healthcare Costs with a Chronic Illness in the USA. There were large waves coming in large enough that I wouldnt feel comfortable swimming there and it was another place I could have sat and enjoyed all day long. Plus use our free tools to find new customers. Admittedly, it isnt the best place to take a six month old, but it is doable, and honestly I dont think most people would be able to stand the heat for very long after 12pm even without a baby to consider. We took a lunch break after enjoying Boka Tabla since theres a little restaurant next to it. There is widespread community transmission globally. All the essential information to make your stay on Curacao pleasurable. Thanks for signing up! The waves were coming in batches; there would be three or four big waves in a row and then smaller waves for a while. A detailed map of the pocket bays is available for purchase at the entrance of the park.Click here for the digital map. The inlets in the park are protected turtle breeding areas. Find all the transport options for your trip from Willemstad to Shete Boka Park right here. Supplemented with extensive practical information to prepare your next trip to perfection to anywhere in the world. Rome2rio displays up to date schedules, route maps, journey times and estimated fares from relevant transport operators, ensuring you can make an informed decision about which option will suit you best. If you love Come before 9am: No entry fee and very few, 17.5 Fl 10 USD. 5 delightfully under-the-radar French towns you need to visit, Willemstad to Schottegatweg West Weg naar Westpunt, Willemstad to Unnamed Road Near Quirino Highway City of San Jose del Monte Manila, Willemstad to Archipilago Los Roques Island. For the latest Coronavirus (COVID-19) travel status in Curacao, please check government recommendations. Make sure your information is up to date. Curaco in general sounds like a fascinating place to visit I honestly didn't know much about it until reading your post. Currently, we are unable to provide international travel restriction information for Curacao relating to Coronavirus (COVID-19). . But periodically a big wave will rush into the narrow rock at the interior and create an intense explosion of water. 2017-2021 Just Go Travel. Yes, the driving distance between Willemstad to Shete Boka Park is 24 miles. I could have pulled up a chair and happily sat there all day long. Most visitors head to Boka Tabla first, as it is located at the entrance, but we decided to start at the far right with Boka Pistol. For the latest Coronavirus (COVID-19) travel status within Curacao, please check government recommendations. It takes approximately 41 min to drive from Willemstad to Shete Boka Park. As I started along the path to Boka Wandomi I saw a fierce iguana. It was yet again a place I would have stayed and enjoyed for a long time. Good for you guys for doing it with a baby and I especially love your cave photos. Rome2rio makes travelling from Willemstad to Shete Boka Park easy. Be ware of the sea! These are one of the most poisonous trees in the world; they are so dangerous that they are called death trees in Central America and having their sap or post-rain milk-like secretions drip onto your skin can leave you with burns and blisters. Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2rio's travel planner. All rights reserved. Their attractive fruit can be fatal; you can get more info and study the tree in order to best avoid it while visiting Curaao here. But we made it. Boka National Park is an area adjoining the Christoffel Park covering almost 10 There was actually a ton of trash at this boka (not pictured, of course), and I was a little disappointed to see it. (1,015 576 pixels, file size: 49 KB, MIME type: http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1.0/, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0, User:Chumwa/OgreBot/Potential transport maps/2019 November 11-20, User:Chumwa/OgreBot/Transport Maps/2019 November 11-20, User:Chumwa/OgreBot/Travel and communication maps/2019 November 11-20, Liste der Nationalparks im Knigreich der Niederlande, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:NP_Shete_Boka_Map.jpg&oldid=574198690, Maps of national parks of the Netherlands, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. #FeetDoTravel, Thanks so much Lori! As I headed back, the path descended into a rocky valley near the cave entrance. Different activities and projects are organized in these parks to support sustainable development. Yes, there is a direct bus departing from Willemstad - Otrabanda Bus and arriving at Shete Boka Park. Services depart every three hours, and operate every day. Find out more! We were staying at the Blue View Apartments in Westpunt at this point on our trip and were less than 10 minutes away by car. Young or old, adventurous or reserved the stunning sights at Shete Boka National Park shouldnt be missed by anyone. It was absolutely fascinating and Im so glad I could share it with you on #FarawayFiles! All structured data from the file namespace is available under the. First you hike down to Boka Wandomi, passed the limestone terraces to a natural bridge and then back to Boca Tabla and its cave. Prices start at $100USD per night. We then worked our way across the park in the other direction here you can see the four main bokas on the map. Its crazy to be underground, in a cave, with an opening to the ocean beyond, watching waves crash against the sides, ceiling, and even the metal platform youre squatting on. There was more space here, and a lot of people, including the kids doing cleanup. I love it when we come across little creatures on our adventures, like the lizards and iguana you have pictured here. A few visitors were leaving as we arrived and we had Boka Pistol all to ourselves for a time. The cave would actually be quite easy to miss if you didnt know about it, theres just a small sign and a dark hole that does not look even slightly inviting. The journey takes approximately 1h 20m. Theres a path that goes from the parking lot to the cave and coast; I chose to see the coast first. But we ordered fries instead and watched the woman behind the counter cut up the potatoes and fry them. I expect that walking the coastal trail is probably pretty neat (but we were unable to find out with baby in tow). There are a lot of security concerns online about the common car theft problems in Curaao, so we were happy to see the guards even if we were surprised they were needed inside the park. In fact, by the time I returned to our car 15 minutes later Mr. Meena was concerned about the engine overheating, so we decided to head back to our hotel at that point. Required fields are marked *. Map tiles are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license (CC-BY-SA 2.0). But please do pack sunscreen, hats, and water, and pace yourself. You will be amazed by the waves crashing on the limestone cliffs and the I loved that in Curaao we could experience the fun, vibrant city of Willemstad, the many tropical beaches, fort ruins, the jungle-like hike to Santu Pretu Beach, and the otherworldly feel of the bokas at Shete Boka National Park all within 170 square miles of island. I was a sweaty (but happy) mess. We ordered the iguana soup but they were out, unfortunately this was actually our second failed attempt at trying the islands iconic iguana soup. Thank you! beautiful pocket bays, or boka's. The distance between Willemstad and Shete Boka Park is 22 miles. It was not quite noon and it was so hot in this area that someone could easily have a heat stroke without proper hydration and rest. After you peek inside the cavern you can walk along the limestone bluffs above for a spectacular view of Curacaos rugged north coast. Theres not a lot of room in any direction, youll likely have to squat down upon entering, but you probably wont care once you catch the view. CARMABI manages different natural reserves on the island like the well known Christoffel Park and Shete Boka National Park. Rome2rio also offers online bookings for selected operators, making reservations easy and straightforward. Maps produced by other people may be subject to other licences.Open Database LicenseODbLhttp://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1.0/true. It only took a few minutes to drive from the park entrance to Boka Pistol, although the dirt road was very bumpy and it would have been better to have a jeep or truck instead of our rented sedan. Autobusbedrijf Curacao operates a bus from Willemstad - Otrabanda Bus to Shete Boka Park every 3 hours. After acquiring our map (pictured above), we were easily able to drive directly to Boka Pistol and Boka Tabla as well as drive and then have a short walk to reach Boka Kalki and Boka Wandomi. As you can see, this feeling was a trend throughout Shete Boka National Park. The park has Sea Turtle ConservationThe Shete Boka national park was established in 1994 to protect important nesting areas for sea turtles. There were beautiful birds as well, but they were far too fast for me to capture. HighlightsThe park begins at Boka Tabla, where huge waves thunder into an underground cavern. Download Foursquare for your smart phone and start exploring the world around you! Thanks for enlightening me, and for linking up with #farawayfiles, Thanks! Willemstad to Shete Boka Park bus services, operated by Autobusbedrijf Curacao, arrive at Shete Boka Park station. views and picture moments of the rugged Curacao's North coast. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong. I almost felt bad that I was going so fast through such a beautiful landscape until I noticed most of the other visitors that Id seen at the previous bokas were going at the same pace as me. Curacao To Go provides the latest and most accurate overview of all island activities and places to see. Read our range of informative guides on popular transport routes and companies - including Travelling to the US: What do I need to know?, Train travel in France: A guide to SNCF and 5 delightfully under-the-radar French towns you need to visit - to help you get the most out of your next trip. Visiting Shete Boka National Park was absolutely thrilling and it was so different from other parts of the island. Would you like to support ? It seemed like perhaps they were school kids out doing community service because they were picking up all the trash and having a lot of fun together doing it. They stretched way out into the distance and reminded me of being in Asian garden, except for the rocky, desert wasteland vibe along the coast in this area. There are actually 10 inlets spread out over 10 kilometers (six miles) along the limestone coast. Feel free to share any thoughts in the comments. The ODbL does not require any particular license for maps produced from ODbL data. There are two hiking trails: Boka Pistol Trail, an one hour hike past Boca Brown to Boka Pistol. They are steep and rather impressive, but also narrow making it difficult to pass others. Some of the original tours in the area took people to seven of the inlets, which is how the name took hold. I would love to return and walk to the less popular areas of the park and along the coast to see more bokas, I can only imagine all the cool things that must be out there to discover! The distances between the main bokas are all short drives and Curaao can get so hot that I really emphasize bringing a suitable car to drive to them unless you just want to sweat it out. The park is on the western part of the island, about 45 minutes from Willemstad by car. It was our last full day on the island and wed already spent most of our Guilders. , We visited a similar water phenomenon in Oregon last summer, and it's so cool when the water shoots up into the air. Rome2rio's Travel Guide series provide vital information for the global traveller. Where good shoes and be very carefull if you go in the cave. At Boca Brown sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. After a few rounds we started to get a feel for when the big waves are about to crash in. Original file (1,015 576 pixels, file size: 49 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg). As I was waiting, I noticed there were a ton of rocks spelling out words in the area below. Its simply spectacular and I would rave endlessly to anyone visiting Curaao about how important it is to visit the park. Rome2rio displays up to date schedules, route maps, journey times and estimated fares from relevant transport operators, ensuring you can make an informed decision about which option will suit you best. There are activities and hiking trails you can choose from! The other hiking trail is called Boka Wandomi Trail, which also takes an hour. Sights includes Boca Tabla Cave, a Natural Bridge, a Blow Hole and Boca Pistol. (Thankfully Mr. Meena went first and told me about the spray so I chose not to bring my DSLR into the cave.) Its incredible that there are so many natural phenomena this close together (and it doesnt stop at the park theres also the Blue Room Cave, the Hato Caves, Watamula Hole, and so many more amazing natural sites in Curaao). The Shete This page was last edited on 9 July 2021, at 14:45. Find out more about our sea turtle conservation program and see how you can help us! For travel planning advice, please refer to our Rome2rio Coronavirus information page . We did this mainly because so many locals had told us it was their favorite boka and we wanted to enjoy it before the crowds arrived. Rome2rio is a door-to-door travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. Steps cut into the rocks lead you directly into the mouth of the cavern; you can sit on the very edge and watch the surf roll in. We spent almost three hours at the park, from 9am to 12pm, and Im so glad we got to see the four main bokas even though it felt like we were rushing through them a bit. There was also a little hut with colorfully painted words because just about everything in Curaao is colorful and beautiful mountains behind it in the distance. As we drove to the next boka we saw people walking along the road, perhaps because they thought you had to walk or their car couldnt make it, and they looked downright miserable. But then as we were about to head back down the path a ton of kids arrived. On the opposite side of the beach was another set of stairs going up (with more traffic jams); these led to a natural land bridge which is absolutely worth climbing the stairs for. approximately 10 pocket bays where 3 species of sea turtles are known to lay I believe that seeing the other bokas do require taking walking trails, but I didnt look too deeply into those as I knew we would only have time for the main ones with Baby Meena. I didnt recognize all the words, some of them were probably Dutch or Papiamento, but I did see the beginning of Curaao. Foursquare 2022 Lovingly made in NYC, CHI, SEA & LA, Weg naar Westpunt (shete boka natural park), "Taste the salt christals that gather on the top, and go and see it when its windy. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. Although, the cave was dark and damp enough that I might not have stayed all day. It was far too hot and sunny at this point to reasonably take Baby Meena to this boka, which was more exposed than the others, so Mr. Meena graciously stayed behind in the car while I explored quickly. the outdoors and our beautiful nature, you must visit the Shete Boka Park. kilometers of the rocky wave-exposed north coast of the island. By the time we reached Boka Tabla our baby was hungry and overheated so we took turns visiting it while one of us stayed behind in the car with him. Even watching the smaller waves was wonderful the water would flow over the smaller rocks and ledges, creating white foamy patches on top of the beautiful blue water. Special activities:Occasionally it is possible to join us during our special activities or guided tours. I would love to hear the sound of the waves crashing on the bokas, especially the occassional boom! Prior to 1 August 2020, map tiles produced by the OpenStreetMap Foundation were licensed under the CC-BY-SA-2.0 license. You can see a video of Boka Pistol on my Instagram here. Tickets cost $2 and the journey takes 1h 20m. Rome2rio uses cookies to help personalize content and show you personalised ads. Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. By proceeding, you accept the use of cookies in accordance with our, Take the bus from Willemstad - Otrabanda Bus to Shete Boka Park. Thank you for sharing on #farwayfiles, Its definitely one of the more unusual and fun things to see! Shete Boka means seven inlets, although there are more than seven inlets (or bokas). Its one of the coolest things Ive ever seen. It turns out the gunshot sound isnt that loud at least not loud enough to wake six month old Baby Meena and it doesnt happen with every wave. Color is everywhere onCuraao! Go towww.carmabi.org. It is slippery. National Park located on the rough north side of the island. For the latest travel status in Curacao, please check government recommendations. Most have signs on or near them, but not all of them do, so it helps to know what they look like. It was heartening to observe; we saw them at the next two bokas as well. We arrived at the park minutes after it opened and paid the entrance free (which worked out to $5.50USD per adult) and the extra one Guilders (the local currently is The Netherlands Antillean Guilder) for a map of the park. ", Created by Evert Harmeling28 items 1 follower. The quickest way to get from Willemstad to Shete Boka Park is to bus which costs $2 and takes 1h 20m. We were only able to spend a few hours there and see the four main bokas, thanks to having Baby Meena with us, but it was more than worth it. Last updated: July 28 | Data sourced from: ACAPS, OXFORD. Currently, we are unable to provide travel restriction information for leaving Curacao. Also, at each parking lot there were security guards watching the vehicles (and occasionally pointing us in the right direction). We visited Shete Boka National Park on our last full day on the island (see our 10 day itinerary for Curaao) and it was one of the most amazing experiences in nature that weve ever had. Once you make it down the stairs, youre on a beach area much like the one at Boka Kalki. The research that is conducted by Carmabi is vital to understand the behavior of the sea turtles nesting at the Shete Boka national park. The best way to get from Willemstad to Shete Boka Park without a car is to bus which takes 1h 20m and costs $2. They didnt take credit or even large bills of local currency, so come prepared with small bills and change if you want to lunch here between bokas. All around the short trail to the parking lot were piles of rocks. My Third Trimester: Hobbling Along and Delivering Early. I expect this was because of the heat. This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. Some people were very polite while others were pushy (and the pushy ones happened to be speaking German, which gave me flashbacks to my time living in Germany and getting shoved around a lot, so I just let them go first). We walked down to the viewing platform and waited to hear the gunshot sound that Boka Pistol is named after. We use the latest and greatest technology available to provide the best possible web experience.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings to continue. Visiting Shete Boka National Park is hopefully near the top of your list of things to do in Curaao. From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository, Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents. Its mostly shady and flat, but there are rocks, tree roots, bushes with huge thorns (Im talking two plus inches), lizards running like madmen across the path, and poisonous trees. Travelling to the US: What do I need to know? , shete boka national park sabana westpunt , shete boka national park sabana westpunt photos , shete boka national park sabana westpunt location , shete boka national park sabana westpunt address . The map for this boka had a crab on its marker, and we started to see lots of little crabs as we reached the beach area. Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity (CARMABI) is a non-profit foundation on the island of Curaao, Dutch Caribbean, established in 1955 as a marine research institute. (Or, 26 Things About Lupus.). There were a few traffic jams while I waited to go down it was such an interesting mix of tourists at the park. The path to Boka Kalki took us less than five minutes to traverse from the parking lot. There are Manchineel (also called Manzanilla) trees throughout Curaao and its very important to stay away from them. Once I saw Boka Tabla I was rather glad Baby Meena was in the car because the cave entrance was slippery and there was no reason to risk taking him in. , Sounds like an incredible experience! It was hard to tear ourselves away from it, but as a busload of people pulled up we realized we wanted to head on to other bokas before the crowds, if possible. We were a little surprised when they turned out to be the best fries weve ever had no joke. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Its kind of a crazy spot to stand and watch the waves rush in while the walls tower above you on each side. eggs. But once you carefully go down the slick steps youll find a small metal platform its more like a grate and allows water through. Your email address will not be published. For the latest travel status, we recommend checking the official page for Curacao. A note about driving and security at the park: When I was researching our trip to Shete Boka National park I kept reading that you would need to park near the entrance and walk along hour long trails to reach the bokas.
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