The coastal trail, also the long route is 34 km and takes approximately 2 ½ hours with minimal stopping. The roads are 90% dirt with good size ruts so renting a truck or jeep is a necessity. The roads are one way and the sites are pretty well marked. The entrance fee is $10 and you will be a given map with practically no sightseeing information, but plenty of warning regarding the surf and high fire danger. First stop shortly after going through the gate is Playa Chikitu where you will find Indian inscriptions. Boka Kokolishi is a magnificent waterfall pattern in the ocean with a very small beach area, which I choose not to venture. It seems as if these rounded level steps have to have been man-made.

Further down the road is a Malmok Lighthouse, which provides a nice view, but you cannot go inside the higher level. Boko Katuna is a beach across from a lagoon, which is haven for bird watchers. Even a few flamingos are around, but they are very shy and depart quickly when they hear a sound. Boka Bartol is a wonderful beach with a sheltered cove for escaping the sun after you’ve been out enjoying a good snorkel. Here the water entrance is smooth without waves and has plenty of sea life. This is also one of the very few beaches with sand in Bonaire. The buildings on the beach are from an old plantation used for harvesting aloe plants. I found no problems wondering in and around the buildings.

There are no services anywhere in this park. Bring plenty of water, sunscreen and anything else of importance. I came across only one other vehicle. Mountain bikes can be rented and I’ve heard that people do hit the trails on their bikes. Do due the lack of facilities and the need water, I personally could not have handled it. This area has scrub brush and large cactus, shade it is nearly non-existent. As you park, you will notice the iguanas and lizards race to get under your car for shade and the possible of water from your air conditioner.

If you enjoy bird watching this is the perfect place for you. You need to rent a jeep to get there, it's quite a drive but a fun one! There are many varieties of parrots and other tropical birds, as we were driving along the cliffs we looked up and saw a few pair of Sun Conures with their nests on the rocky cliffs. Then we saw hundreds of Flamingos...what a site, especially when they all took flight as they got startled from our presence then they all circled back and settled down to enjoy more of their shrimp lunch! There were even wild Donkeys roaming around. Hundreds of years ago they were used by the locals and they ran away or were turned loose now they are wild.

Bonaire is a small island & can be driven around in half a day with adequate stops for lunch & photo opportunities. We hired a car, got a few rudimentary directions from our hotel & headed off - it's difficult to get lost!

You should go to the look out points in Washington Park - which has the highest land on the island & also check out a few of the salt flats where the flamingos gather to feed - it's one of the best sights to see them all take flight together just as the sun is setting.

Washington-Slagbaai National Park (referred to from here on as WSNP) is a gem in Bonaire which is infrequently visited. Most people have their minds set on getting the most out of their expensive diving vacation, and dammit, they think they gotta spend every waking second in the water. Not so! Let's slow down a little bit and absorb the culture, people, and land-based ecology of the area --Bonaire is far more than a coral reef botanical garden.

WSNP takes around an hour to get to from Kralendijk, but it's well worth it. If you're really itching to do some diving, by all means bring along your stuff, just don't make it the order of the day. The diving in the park is some of the most fanstastic on the whole island -- there aren't crowds, so you're bound to see things in an entirely different perspective. The geography has caused the ecosytem to develop a little differently, so instead of thick beds of stoney reef-building corals, you'll find lots of gorgonians wafting in the current. Diving here is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, but it's tough. The sites are more exposed to the elements than the leeward sites down south, so there are strong currents and high tides to toss you about. It's far more demanding, but worth it.

At any rate, you'll cruise through the back roads in the park along bumpy dirt roads, but you'll see all sorts of new plants and animals which don't really exist anywhere else. Bring some binoculars for the birding -- very spectacular. If you're careful, you'll find an interesting old light house, a freshwater pool/bird haven, an old cave which once fed some swimming holes (you can bathe yourself in the cave if you go in far enough) and a crazy dry salt lake filled with more flamingos than you can shake a stick at.