Westpunt

Westpunt is a rural village at the end of the road from Willemstad, and a car is the only practical way to explore. The coves near it are small and clear. At Grote Knip a free public beach sits under stone cliffs that people jump from, and the snorkelling is best along the wall on the left; Kleine Knip is next door, and Playa Kalki draws divers to the reef.

Inland, Christoffelpark has protected the island’s highest hills and dry woodland since 1978, on land that was once plantations. The north coast takes the open sea head on, and at Shete Boka the sea runs into a cave at Boka Tabla and bursts against the rocks at Boka Pistol. In the late afternoon at Playa Lagun, the fishermen come in and throw their scraps to the turtles.

• Shete Boka National Park Three inlets on the north coast, among them a sea cave at Boka Tabla and the pounding surf of Boka Pistol.
• Christoffelpark Trails through dry woodland and old plantation land around Mount Christoffel, the highest point on Curaçao.
• Grote Knip A public beach in a cove below the cliffs, with calm, clear water and good snorkelling along its left-hand wall.