This hike is not for the faint of heart. It is not necessarily the most difficult hike out there but the combination of the steep climb, humidity and heat makes for a more difficult climb than you may expect. I have done quite a bit of hiking in the Canadian Rockies so I like to think I am a pretty solid hiker but by no means am I an expert. This hike will definitely challenge most average people but due to its short distance would probably be quite easy for an experienced hiker.
If you are staying in or around Willemstad the trip to Mount Christoffel will take about 45 minutes by car. You are going to need to drive to Christoffel National Park and pay for a ticket to enter the park. The National Park office will be on the right hand side of the road and once you purchase your ticket (15 USD pp), you will drive directly across the road, through the gate and about 10 minutes down a narrow road will bring you to the base of the mountain. You must arrive no later than 10:00am as you cannot begin the hike after that. I would recommend going way earlier as it gets hot very early on. I arrived at the base of the mountain at 8:15am and the parking lot was almost full. I have seen some people say they had no problem getting parking but I would not gamble. If there is no parking here you can park at the park office but that will add at least an hour to your hike if not more. By 8:30 am when I started my hike there were already lots of people on their way down and I was quite envious as it was already 30 degrees outside.
The first 5 minutes of the hike were pretty flat but after that it was a steep climb the
rest of the way up. The path was a combination of dirt and rock and by the end of the hike you are exclusively climbing up the rock face. There are crevasses in the rock to put your hands and feet in for support but it was a bit challenging especially if you are not used to this type of hiking. Although this is a cool hike and the path has some unique elements, there is nothing really special in terms of plant and animal life to see. I saw a few different birds and lizards but other than that there is not much to see along the hike up. After about 1 hour I arrived at the top for a break and to enjoy the breeze before trekking back down. From the top you can see 
a majority of the island and it is absolutely beautiful. I stayed up top for about 45 minutes, had some breakfast and relaxed. The hike down only took about 30 minutes and was obviously a lot easier than the trek up. It is important to note that you must be finished by 2:30pm, and you’ll definitely want to be done by then anyways.
Although Christoffel National Park has many other things to do including a Jeep Safari and a museum, I did not stick around as I was very much ready for the beach by this point. I drove the 7 minute drive to Playa Kalki for a quick swim to cool down and get out of the sun for a while and really enjoyed this beach. If you have rented a car for the day
Adding a Caribbean hike to your itinerary is a nice way to split up all the beach days and add a new experience to your trip. This is a quick hike that won’t take up your whole day so can fit easily into anyones vacation plan. I highly recommend going to Playa Kalki or Playa Piskado as they are only a short drive away and you can spend the rest of the day enjoying the west end of the island before heading back to your hotel.