Playa Santu Pretu, Curacao

The hike to the black sand beach of Playa Santu Pretu was awesome.

It's about a 15-minute hike on a dirt trail.

This hike is on the way to the Blue Room Cave and is worth stopping to hang out.

It has beautiful crystal clear water and amazing views.

To get there, you'll want to park at Playa Santa Cruz. The parking is free.

We were coming from the north, so we made a right hand turn heading west towards Playa Santa Cruz. You will follow this long road till you get to the beach. At the beach entrance you will go to the right to the free parking area.

After parking, we started to walk over to the trailhead and saw the Playa Santa Cruz sign.

The trailhead is on the southend of the beach.

From this aerial view, you can see Playa Santa Cruz in the distance and Playa Santu Pretu to the right.

We walked over to the trailhead and started the 15-minute hike. It had just rained so the trail was muddy. The first part of the hike is steep and then it levels out. There were also a lot of mosquitos, so bring mosquito spray.

As you get to the end of the trail, there is a small rocky area you will have to climb down. Then you'll come out to a sign that shows you that you are at Playa Santu Pretu.

As you walk out onto Playa Santu Pretu, you can see that this black sand beach is a mixture of black rocks and brown sand.

These aerial views of Playa Santu Pretu really show off its beauty.

This short hike to Playa Santu Pretu was a lot of fun. This is a beautiful beach and we would do it again.

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

Parking at Playa Santa Cruz is free. The hike to Playa Santu Pretu is free.

Total Cost: $0

Note: There is company that does excursions called Captain Goodlife. They are closed on Mondays. You don't need a reservation and they do boat trips to Playa Santu Pretu and the Blue Room Cave for $22 per person for 90 minutes.  You can also rent a Kayak for $70 for 3 hours.

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring a hat to keep the sun off of your face.
• Bring sunscreen
• Bring mosquito repellent
• Bring your own snorkeling gear
• Bring some cash if you want to go on a boat ride with Captain Goodlife to Playa Santu Pretu and the Blue Room Cave.