ADVENTURE/ABC's Aug 20-27,2016 REVIEW w/lots of photos

[Hoopster95]

At the time, I didn't know any better, but the big Curacao sign in the park ws not in the Curacao blue/yellow colors.... worn out?

 

 

 

A view of the streets ion high season and 2 ships in town... not a ghost town back then like on the Adventure sailing

 

 

 

A shot of Vision at the cannons, which are at the entrance of the pontoon bridge right across the street from the famous Penha building

 

 

 

Across the other way is the tourist booth. You can see here ATV's for rent, amongst other tour vendors in this area

 

 

[Hoopster95]

I had concentrated on video for a good 30 minutes so won't include here, but backing out of Curacao after the bridge had swung open was just unreal. If I was cognizant if doing a review I would've filmed smaller bits to share... I think my video from the corner aft is really rare, you can see everything in Punda as we sailed by. Here are some photos for you

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the extra pics and happy sailing to all :D:D

[descotes]

Nice! I thought about that with the water taxi...

the only negative for me is not having Alejandro around taking professional photos from the Woodwind tour, he's awesome and incredibly reasonable priced for the CD of photos you get from Woodwind. I'll share some of the pro photos I received as well

 

Enjoying your review as we just did this itinerary back in June. We did woodwind as well so looking forward to that part of your review. The pro pictures were priceless. So glad I bought them.

[easyboy]

Enjoyed following your review. Thanks.

[catella02]

Thanks so much for the great review and the beautiful pictures. We will be doing the ABC islands on Navigator in December. Never been.

Thanks again for taking the time.

[medic368]

We are going with Lawrence of Antigua tour ( he came highly recommend on both CC and trip advisor ) for a 3 hr tour that was supposed to end on a beach near the poet. A couple of emails later I've arranged to substitute being dropped off and picked up at the launch point for stingray city.

 

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[murphy4]

This is the map I felt was best for Curacao that I fond on-line. Like Bonaire and Aruba before, I printed this out on large legal 17x11 paper. I found some inconsistencies in this map as I will explain as I go along where the roads didn't look exactly as drawn on this map, although very close, and created confusion.

 

 

 

Curacao cannot whatsoever be done in one day, it's the largest of the islands so no way to circumnavigate it in one day. There are plenty of things to see on Curacao between beaches, caves, parks, etc so definitely research various excursions and "things to do" on-line so you can choose for yourslf what interests you. I wanted to concentrate on the northern western side including Kenepa Beaches (Klein Knip & Grote Knip), Shete Boka National Park & Cristoffel National Park

 

 

 

thanks for these maps! I highlighted the areas you are talking about. would you recommend going right to Shete Boka National Park and then back tracking to Kenepa Beaches?

[Hoopster95]

thanks for these maps! I highlighted the areas you are talking about. would you recommend going right to Shete Boka National Park and then back tracking to Kenepa Beaches?

 

Hey Murphy, you're welcome for the maps :)

 

Re your question, either place you decide to visit first will work. Shete Boka is maybe 1/2 drive from Kenepa (Knip) beaches and is open all afternoon. So for us, we wanted the morning sun and not the 95+ degrees August sun on the beach, so we did the morning beach thing first and then headed to Shete Boka in the afternoon. You can easily do in reverse no problem. And I would go to the larger Grote Knip (Kenepa Grandi) beach the next time... I hope you go there so you can post photos!!!:D

 

It's Cristioffel National Park that is the issue as the mountain pass for cars is 3 hours round trip and they do not allow any cars in after 11am.

[murphy4]

Hey Murphy, you're welcome for the maps :)

 

Re your question, either place you decide to visit first will work. Shete Boka is maybe 1/2 drive from Kenepa (Knip) beaches and is open all afternoon. So for us, we wanted the morning sun and not the 95+ degrees August sun on the beach, so we did the morning beach thing first and then headed to Shete Boka in the afternoon. You can easily do in reverse no problem. And I would go to the larger Grote Knip (Kenepa Grandi) beach the next time... I hope you go there so you can post photos!!!:D

 

It's Cristioffel National Park that is the issue as the mountain pass for cars is 3 hours round trip and they do not allow any cars in after 11am.

 

i was trying to research the "mountain pass". what exactly would this be? is it the scenery from the top that is the goal?

[Hoopster95]

i was trying to research the "mountain pass". what exactly would this be? is it the scenery from the top that is the goal?

 

Yes.... I wanted this to be a 3-4 hour portion of the day with views and nature, seeing some of the ruins and caves... and then drive 5 min away to Shete Boka.

http://www.christoffelpark.org/

 

The National Christoffelpark Curacao — a must see for everyone!

 

Christoffelpark is the largest national park of Curacao and a must see for everyone. The park has a rich variety of local flora and fauna. Nature lovers will find the park teeming with local birds and plants, including species, which are not easily seen elsewhere on the island. For example wild orchids, the Palabrua, the rare native barn owl. The Curacao White Tailed deer (of which there are only about 250 left) and much more.

 

Hiking trails and activities

 

There are eight hiking trails, allowing the visitor the choice between an easy stroll, or for instance, a challenging hike to the top of the Christoffel mountain (recommended for early morning). Scenic car routes take you through underbush, around hills and across sea swept bluffs. The park also organizes special activities, including safaris, deer watching, animal presentations, cave excursions, a guided park tour and many special trips like occasional full moon walks and sunrise safari’s.

 

 

Best map of then park is here:

http://www.christoffelpark.org/christoffel-park/routes/

 

Here is the map of the car routes:

http://www.christoffelpark.org/christoffel-park/routes/car-routes/

 

_____Savonet Plantation & North coast: 9 km (5.6 miles) – 45 minutes

 

Drive through the northern section of the park, where the former fields and irrigation works were located, to Curaçao’s rugged north coast and Boka Grandi. Visit the caves with their ancient Indian drawings and the interesting rock formation nearby.

 

_____Mountain Route: 12 km (7.5 miles) – 1,5 hour

 

The first stop is at the ruins of Landhouse Zorgvlied. Enjoy the vast panoramas overlooking Christoffel Park, Shete Boka Park, Landhouse Kenepa and an old manganese mine.

 

_____Mountain Route short cut: 7,5 km (4.6 miles) – 3 hour drive and climb

 

Drive directly to the foot of Mount Christoffel. Park at the bottom and climb the trail through natural, semiarid landscape to the top for the most scenic view on Curaçao. The climb takes about 2 hours and leads past the spring of Pos Shimaron.

 

_____The orchid Trail: 5 km (3 miles) – 15 minutes

 

(closed to cars but accessible in pickup safaris on special request)

 

Pass scenic panoramas on this route, which leads to the challenging Orchid Hiking Trail in ‘Shete Seru’ (seven mountains), or choose for the easier Santa Cruz Rooi Trail. There are four species of orchids in the park. The white orchid Brassavola nodosa and the pink orchid Schomburgkia humboldti are the most common.

 

 

A couple of great youtube videos here:

[Beachcruzer]

Another awesome review, Claudio! :D:D:D Thanks for all the pictures and advice on the ABC Islands. I can't wait to see them in just a few weeks! :)

[jlas000]

Great review. Do you remember if the Jeep you rented in Aruba was auto or manual transmission?

[Ocean Boy]

Great review. Do you remember if the Jeep you rented in Aruba was auto or manual transmission?

 

When we rented in Aruba it was manual.

[Hoopster95]

Another awesome review, Claudio! :D:D:D Thanks for all the pictures and advice on the ABC Islands. I can't wait to see them in just a few weeks! :)

 

Thx Beachcruzer! Thinking about you... hoping any storms don't hit you badly. stay safe!

[Hoopster95]

Great review. Do you remember if the Jeep you rented in Aruba was auto or manual transmission?

 

Both in 2013 and this trip we had auto :)

[jdelta]

Hoopster,

 

Many thanks for the incredible amount of detail provided. We're not sailing on AoS until April but the planning process has begun! :)

 

Question ref Barefoot resturant in Aruba, a quick search noted sunset in Sep and Apr are within 15mins of each other.

With the ship sailing at 8pm, did you have time to enjoy the meal/sunset yet not feel rushed to return to the ship?

 

Many thanks once again, I'm sure many people have bookmarked your review and will spend hours digesting everything provided...eh!

 

Joe

Halifax, NS

[Hoopster95]

Hoopster,

 

Many thanks for the incredible amount of detail provided. We're not sailing on AoS until April but the planning process has begun! :)

 

Question ref Barefoot resturant in Aruba, a quick search noted sunset in Sep and Apr are within 15mins of each other.

With the ship sailing at 8pm, did you have time to enjoy the meal/sunset yet not feel rushed to return to the ship?

 

Many thanks once again, I'm sure many people have bookmarked your review and will spend hours digesting everything provided...eh!

 

Joe

Halifax, NS

 

Hi Joe. I assume you're on the April 29th sailing, with sail away from Aruba at 8pm (rather than 11pm). In this case, all aboard will be 7:30pm. Sunset will be around 6:45-7pm. I really don't think you have the time time to enjoy the sunset, and you'd have to be at Barefoot for dinner at 5pm so that you can get a 7pm taxi back.. let alone the time prior to 5pm to change and go there for dinner. I don't think you should plan going to Barefoot on your sailing.

 

Personally I would spend as much time as possible ashore enjoying the island and then enjoying the sunset from the ship with a great dinner on board... maybe treat yourself to Giovanni's that night with a window seat reservation.

 

Have a great cruise! :D

[tlaffin]

Thank you for this wonderful review! I enjoyed following your travels and appreciated all your helpful tips! I look forward to a great experience on the AoS when we sail away April 29th!

[smd104]

Thank you for this wonderful review! I enjoyed following your travels and appreciated all your helpful tips! I look forward to a great experience on the AoS when we sail away April 29th!

 

 

I am also on the April 29th cruise. Have you subscribed to the roll call?

OP , thanks for the great review. Very helpful.

 

 

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[tlaffin]

I am also on the April 29th cruise. Have you subscribed to the roll call?

OP , thanks for the great review. Very helpful.

 

 

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Yes, I have, thanks! Only 70 something days to go!

 

 

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[Mrs.C05]

We're doing this itinerary in April and are thoroughly enjoying this review!

 

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[BLAMBKY]

Thanks for giving me a heads up. No way would I have stumbled across this but looks so helpful. Now, going back to start at page 1! 🙂