Did you know hiking in Curacao is possible, in the stunning Christoffel National Park?
In this blog you’ll find:
- How to get to Christoffel National Park?
- When to visit Christoffel National Park?
- How to spend a day at Christoffel National Park?
- How long does it take to hike to the peak of Christoffel Mountain?
- How difficult is the hike to the top of Christoffel Mountain?
- What to pack for a day at Christoffel National Park?
- Everything else you need to know about hiking Christoffel Mountain.
Curacao is an absolutely stunning island, best known for its gorgeous beaches and crystal clear water. But it’s perhaps lesser known that there is some wonderful hiking opportunities in Curacao too.
During our trip to Curacao, we spent a day in Christoffel National Park. Across the course of the day, we hiked to the peak of Christoffel Mountain and explored two of the National Park driving trails.
In this blog, I’ll share everything you need to know about visiting the Christoffel National Park, Curacao. And the information you need for how to hike up Mount Christoffel.
How to get to Christoffel National Park?
The best way to navigate anywhere in Curaçao, is most definitely by renting a car.
How to drive to Christoffel National Park
Driving to Christoffel National Park is fairly easy and takes around 30 to 40 minutes from the main town. We were staying at Coral Estates Luxury Resort. From there, it took us about 25 minutes to cross over the island. If you are driving from Willemstad area to Christoffel, give yourself at least 45 minutes.
When travelling to Christoffel National Park by car, there is plenty of parking at the main visitor center, and at the base of Christoffel Mountain. We had read warnings that parking could get busy during the day, but it wasn’t something that we experienced ourselves. (We started our climb at 9:30am).
How To Get To Christoffel National Park Without A Car
If you do not have a car, getting to Christoffel National Park by public transport is possible, but challenging. I wouldn’t recommend it, as there is a limited time window in which you are allowed to start hiking. You risk missing the hike if you are relying on the infrequent public transport on the island.
However, if you want to get the Christoffel National Park by bus, the 9A service runs from Otrobanda to Westpunt. The bus drive is 1h and 16 minutes from Otrobanda to Christoffel National Park.
At the time of writing, the 9A bus departs once every two hours. But check the Curacao Bus Timetable for the latest up to date information.
Although significantly more expensive than the bus, I would recommend taking a taxi to Christoffel National Park if you do not have a car. Taxi 24/7 is a reputable taxi company on the island. Taxi 24/7 is great because they will state the fare of your journey before you start. Which is much better than relying on unpredictable metres.
When to visit Christoffel National Park?
Curacao’s weather is consistently hot all year round. So no matter what month or day you visit, you’re likely to get sunny weather. What’s more important is what time of day to visit Christoffel.
The Christoffel National Park is open from 6 am to 3 pm. This is to account for the incredible heat that Curaçao experiences, particularly in the afternoons. Depending on what you plan to do in the National Park, be very careful with when you arrive.
If you plan to hike Christoffel Mountain, you must start before 10 am in the morning. And, you must finish by 2:30. We arrived at about 9:30 am, later than initially planned, and by the final descent the heat was getting almost unbearable. So I can completely see why they have the restrictions that they do.
For the driving trail and other areas of the park, signs suggest that you cannot start after 1:30 pm.
How to spend a day at Christoffel National Park?
There is more than a days worth of activities to do and see at Christoffel National Park. So this really depends on what is of most interest to you, and your fitness levels.
Some of the things that we did not explore, and so I cannot give us much information on, were the smaller walking trails, and the museum that is on site.
This itinerary worked great for us, and I recommend something similar:
As the heat intensifies throughout the day, I recommend doing the most active part of your plans first.
1. Hike Up Mount Christoffel
Aim to arrive at the National Park by 9am / 9:30am at the latest. Then purchase your entry ticket from the main office, and drive over to the base of the mountain to hike to the peak. The drive from the ticket office to the base of the mountain is approximately 10 to 15 minutes. The route is narrow gravel tracks (and the green car trail).
The hike itself will take between 2 to 3 hours, depending on your personal levels of fitness. And of course, how long you would like to spend at the top admiring the view.
2. Grab a refreshment & some shade
On arrival back down at the bottom, drive back over to the main ticket office. Here there is a refreshment stand for a very well earned cold drink. (Take cash, the card machine didn’t work for us, and so we were unable to enjoy!)
3. Explore the blue car trail
After a refreshment, and some time in the shade, hop back in the car before 1:30pm. There’s still time to enjoy another side of the National Park on the blue car trail.
This trail winds around the more coastal area of the park, and offer some incredible views to a totally different side of Curaçao. The waves are very dramatic on the cliff side, and it’s wonderful to see another personality of the island that many tourists may miss.
4. Check out the Savonet Museum (if there’s time!)
By the time you have completed the hike, and the car trail, it’s likely that you’re almost out of time for your day trip to Christoffel National Park. But if you’re lucky, or an early riser, you might be able to fit in a trip to the Savonet Museum too. The Savonet plantation is one of the oldest and largest plantations of Curacao and the museum is inside the old plantation manor house.
The Savonet museum costs $3 and is open until 2pm according to the website.
How long does it take to hike to the peak of Christoffel Mountain?
This question is a little bit like how long is a piece of string. However, I would advise it would take at least two hours, more realistically closer to three. This allows for water breaks on the way up and down. And of course the many photos spots that this stunningly scenic hike has to offer.
We are both fairly physically fit, and hiked a lot during lockdown in Edinburgh. However, we are not accustomed to the heat which was certainly an adjustment from hiking in Scotland.
Our schedule for climbing up Christoffel Mountain:
The short answer, it took us 2.5 hours to climb Christoffel mountain. In a little more detail, here is the breakdown of how long the hike up Christoffel mountain took:
- 09:45 – 10:45: We set off on the hike to the peak of Christoffel mountain from the car park at 9:45 am and reached the summit at 10:45 am.
- 10:45 – 11:10: We spent approximately 25 minutes at the top, taking some photos, having a drink, and enjoying the view.
- 11:10 – 12:15: We started back down at 11:10 am and reached the car park again at 12:15 pm
How difficult is the hike to the top of Christoffel Mountain?
After reading a number of reviews about how challenging the hike in Christoffel National Park is, I was a little bit concerned. Honestly, we almost decided not to do it.
However, as two fairly fit people, we found it challenging, but not impossible.
The trail starts off as a dirt track. But fairly quickly there are sections that require scrambling using hands as well as feet to climb over rocks. In the top portion, this becomes almost full scale rock climbing. With a nearly vertical incline. You most definitely need decent shoes, and to use your hands and feet to help you up.
Descending back down again was equally challenging in these parts. I actually sometimes found it harder to climb back down the steep rocks instead of up them.
This is certainly not a hike for people with no experience, or who are not physically able. But if you have average / above average fitness, and you set off early enough to avoid the heat, you should be okay.
If you are worried about it, or have a lower level of experience with hiking, the National Park still has a ton of different trails to offer, at a variety of different levels. So there is certainly something to suit everyone.
What to pack for a day at Christoffel National Park?
Water!!
There are signs all over the National Park information around how much water you should bring with you on the day. And these should not be ignored. The National Park recommend you bring 2 litres of water with you for the hike. And this is probably about what we had for our visit.
There is a water fountain that is free to use and refill your water bottle at the main ticket office, if you forget before arrival, or you wish to refill at the end of your hike.
Good Shoes
Unless you’re only planning to explore the car trails, I would recommend a good pair of trainers. Or even better, walking boots. The trail to Christoffel Mountain peak is very rocky and many of the rocks you climb can also be slippery if it has rained.
We were lucky to visit on a dry day. But if you are visiting after a rain shower, or even during one, the trails could get muddy as well.
Hat / Sun Coverage
The sun is no joke in Curaçao. And hiking in this heat requires decent protection. We didn’t pack a hat, but it’s recommended, and I would certainly bring one if we were doing it again. I blame the early morning departure and pre-coffee brain!
That being said, we did wear T-shirts with covered shoulders, to provide a bit of shade when needed. Although, I ended up walking most of the trail in a sports bra and shorts as it was so warm.
Sunscreen
The UV levels in Curacao can hit 11+, I’m not sure I need to say much more than that…
Snacks
There is a small snack bar in the main car park, but if you are someone that likes a mid-hike snack, or as a treat at the top, be sure to pack some in your backpack.
Fun fact: When we were at the top, a group of students arrived at a similar time to us and produced a bottle of rosé wine from their backpack as a celebratory drink. Props to them, but I don’t know if I’d want to add that weight to my bag for the climb up!
Everything else you need to know about hiking Christoffel Mountain.
Cost to enter Christoffel National Park
The entry fee to Christoffel National Park is $15 per adult. We found this a little bit steep (no hiking pun intende). We are used to hiking in Scotland where it is free. But this ticket gives you access to the National Park, the car trails, plus the drinking water fountain and toilet facilities, so overall for a day out, it was worth it.
Christoffel National Park Driving Trails
Driving trail options in Christoffel
There are 2 driving trails in Christoffel National Park. Thee are certainly the more accessibe way to explore the national park if hiking isn’t an option for oyu.
In the end we drove both the green and blue car trails. The green trail is necessary to drive in order to access the car park at the bottom of Christoffel Mountain, for the hike. It’s a windy route through lots of greenery & past the foot of the mountain.
The Blue Trail driving experience
The Blue trail (no suprises) takes you to the coast for some ocean views. The trail starts from the main ticketing office and winds around the north coast of Curacao.
This took us just over an hour (one hour 15 minutes) to do. You could do it faster if you didn’t stop at each of the viewpoints, and equally you could take longer if you choose to stop and climb the steps down to the water to see the beach.
The roads are very narrow in places, and require a decent amount of confidence. There are some sharp incline and declines as well as some slight off-roading. But nothing that our very small two-person rental car couldn’t handle.
What to see on the Blue Trail
On the blue trail, you’ll find
- A couple of great scenic look outs
- A variety of wildlife and trees (some giant cactus!)
- Cool caves with some ancient native paintings inside
- Plus, there’s the ability to stop for a beach picnic if that fits with your schedule.
And that’s it! All you need to know about spending a day at Christoffel National Park. If there’s anything I missed or you’ve got any questions, drop me a message @TheJennaWay and I will be sure to help answer them.
