Westpunt Loop

The northern tip of Aruba is a very diverse landscape. It is fairly narrow, approximately 3/4ths of a mile wide, so walking around is very easy to do. A few of the main attractions so to speak are the Westpunt Boca, Westpunt Beach, and the Arashi Dunes. Because it is so narrow and full of rocky and sandy features, it is a great location to photograph both at sunrise and sunset.

Westpunt

Westpunt Beach is on the furthest northern tip of Aruba and it is a great location to photograph. To reach it, you will drive north on L.G. Smith Blvd. until just before it makes a hard right towards the California Lighthouse. You will see a stone wall to your left leading towards a dirt road. take the left immediately AFTER the stonewall. The road is bumpy and full of potholes but any rental car here will be fine, just take it easy. The road wraps around next to the coast and the first of the two main features is Westpunt Boca. This is a spot where large sea swells pushed by the trade winds are forced into a cave feature where the seawater is compressed and shot back out into a booming spray of mist. I personally shot this location at sunset as shooting a sunrise may be difficult due to the fact you'd be shooting into the wind and the mist would blow right at you.

The second main feature along Westpunt dirt road is near the end. There is a turnaround so you can't go too far. Westpunt Beach is about a quarter mile from the Boca. The beach here is full of large boulders and smooth round rocks. You'll find crabs scattering all over the place. The beach offers a good spot to get some of those longer exposures shots of water crashing over the rocks and spilling back into the sea. It is more of a challenge as the trade winds will be blowing into your face, potentially fogging up your camera lens with sea mist.

The whole area of Westpunt is photogenic with these two locations, leading the way.

Arashi Dunes

Just inland from the dirt road around the northern tip of Aruba near the Westpunt dirt road are the Arashi Dunes. You can explore them from the dirt road, or you may park up near the California Lighthouse which dead ends at the end of L.G. Smith Blvd.

Smooth, soft white sands with intermingling sandstone boulders highlight the Arashi Dunes. Subtle windblown patterns emerge and offer great photo opportunities at all times but especially during those golden light hours. I personally loved capturing the morning light on the dunes as you are more likely to get clean sand. Be careful where you step as once you leave a footprint in the sand, you may have ruined a perfect photo opportunity by disturbing that fresh sand!

To capture the scenes of the Caribbean Sea, sand dunes, and cacti all in one shot can leave you with a unique vacation memory!

::NOTE::

DO NOT attempt to swim in the Westpunt location as the waves and currents along the northern coast of Aruba are very rough and strong in addition to it being a very rocky location. While exploring the sand dunes, DO NOT drive on them. Remain on any dirt road and any time you wish to explore this particular area, use only your own two feet. Watch your step, as it is very rocky and from personal experience, the rocks are sharp!

For more information, you may reference this blog post about the area: The Unexpected Surprises on the North Coast of Aruba