Good news for fans of Bonaire's Washington Slagbaai National Park, since Nov. 15 the national park has partially reopened. Since the end of October, the park has been closed several times. The reason was the heavy rainfall of the past few weeks on Bonaire. This made the roads in the national park impassable.

The roads in Washington Slagbaai National Park are largely unpaved. Because of the heavy rain, these roads have therefore turned into mud puddles. As a result, there is a chance that you may get stuck with your car while visiting the park. 

The map shows which part of the route is currently open for visitors, photo STINAPA

As of now, therefore, the national park is again partially open between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.. A portion of the route is open, making Slagbaai beach and the popular snorkeling spot Wayaka II accessible from the park entrance. The route that is now open is very narrow. That means it can only be used in one direction at a time. Therefore, you may enter the park between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. so you can safely drive to Slagbaai or Wayaka II. Want to return to the entrance? Then you can do so between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. from Slagbaai or Wayaka. This way you will have no oncoming traffic during your visit to the Bonaire National Park. 

Currently it is not possible to climb the Brandaris. Bonaire's highest mountain, located in Washington Slagbaai National Park, is currently not accessible because that part of the trail is also closed. In addition, popular attractions such as Playa Chikitu, Boka Kokolishi, Malmok, Pos Mangel and Put Bronswinkel are not accessible due to the road closures in the park. Meanwhile, hard work is underway in the closed part of the park to restore the roads.

Also read: A day at Washington Slagbaai National Park