Aruba

“One Happy Island” — the driest, sunniest island in the Caribbean, with white-sand Eagle Beach, Flamingo Beach and colorful Dutch architecture, and no hurricane worries year-round.

Aruba is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the southern Caribbean, about 29 km north of Venezuela. The island is about 30 km long and covers some 180 km², and together with Bonaire and Curaçao it forms the ABC Islands. The climate is dry and hot with little annual rainfall, and since the island lies south of the hurricane belt, it's good for a beach holiday any time of year; December–April is peak season, and the constant trade winds make it ideal for kitesurfing. The southwest and northwest coasts have calm white-sand beaches, with hotels clustered at Eagle Beach (low-rise) and Palm Beach (high-rise); the capital, Oranjestad, has colorful Dutch buildings and duty-free shopping streets. The windward northeast coast is a landscape of cactus scrub, giant boulders and limestone shoreline, much of it within Arikok National Park, best explored by off-road vehicle. Getting around: Queen Beatrix International Airport is about 10 minutes from the capital, and buses serve the main beaches; to reach the north coast and the southeast, rent a car or join an off-road tour. Plan on 4–7 days. The official currency is the Aruban florin, and US dollars are widely accepted; all visitors must complete the online ED card before arrival, and for visa requirements check the latest rules from the Dutch embassy in China.

Top sights

• Eagle Beach – A wide, soft white-sand beach with two iconic fofoti trees. It has repeatedly been named among the world's best beaches and is lined mostly…
• Palm Beach – A lively beach lined with high-rise resorts, casinos, and water sports. Its water is as still as a mirror, making it ideal for snorkeling…
• Flamingo Beach (Renaissance Island) – A flamingo beach on a private island owned by a hotel. You can pose with pink flamingos on the white sand, but spots are limited.
• Arikok National Park – A national park covering about one-fifth of the island. Cactus scrubland, caves, a limestone coast, and natural pools all lie within it.
• Natural Pool (Conchi) – A natural seawater pool on the north coast, enclosed by volcanic rock, with huge waves crashing outside and calm water inside. It can only…
• California Lighthouse – A stone lighthouse on the dunes at the island's northwest tip, named after the steamship California, which sank nearby. It is a popular sun…
• Oranjestad – Aruba's capital, where Dutch colonial-style buildings in bright colours, street murals and a seafront shopping strip cluster around the har…
• Fort Zoutman & Willem III Tower – Built in 1798, Fort Zoutman is Aruba's oldest structure. The adjacent William III Tower once doubled as a lighthouse and now houses a histo…
• National Archaeological Museum Aruba – Housed in a restored old residence, the museum displays about 5,000 years of Aruba's indigenous pottery, tools and burial artefacts.
• Baby Beach – A half-moon shallow lagoon at the island's southeast tip, with clear, calm water that reaches waist-deep. It suits families and first-time…
• Mangel Halto – A quiet cove ringed by mangroves, with a wooden platform reaching into shallow water and one of the island's best shore-snorkelling spots j…
• Arashi Beach – A calm bay near the lighthouse on the northwest tip, with fine sand and near-shore reefs good for snorkelling. Locals often come here on we…
• Boca Catalina – A small west-coast cove with shallow, calm water and plenty of fish. It is a regular stop for boat snorkelling tours, and you can also ente…
• Malmok Beach – A small rocky beach on the northwest coast, with the wrecks of the Pedernales and other ships just offshore. It is a popular spot for kites…
• SS Antilla Wreck – A German cargo ship scuttled in 1940, about 120 metres long and one of the largest shipwrecks in the Caribbean, visible from both snorkelli…
• Alto Vista Chapel – A bright yellow chapel in the wild north coast, known as the 'Pilgrim Church', with fourteen Stations of the Cross lining the path to it.
• Casibari Rock Formations – Giant diorite boulders piled up in the island's central wilderness. Climb the steps and crevices to the top for views of Hooiberg and the c…
• Ayo Rock Formations – Another boulder group near Casibari, with red rock paintings left by the Arawak people on some rock faces. It sees far fewer visitors than…
• Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins – A 19th-century gold-processing mill on the north coast. Its stone ruins resemble a small castle and are a relic of Aruba's gold rush.
• Natural Bridge – A natural coral limestone bridge on the north coast. The main arch collapsed in 2005, but the smaller natural bridge beside it can still be…
• Fontein Cave – A limestone cave in Arikok National Park, with red-brown rock art by the Arawak people on its ceiling and stalactites.
• Quadirikiri Cave – A two-chamber cave inside the national park. Sunlight shines through openings in the roof to form light shafts, and bats roost inside.
• Hooiberg – A solitary hill in the island's centre, shaped like a haystack and about 165 metres high. Climb roughly 560 steps for views over the whole…
• Butterfly Farm Aruba – A tropical butterfly garden near Palm Beach where over a hundred butterflies flutter freely in mesh-covered greenhouses. Admission can be r…
• Donkey Sanctuary Aruba – A non-profit sanctuary for the island's wild donkeys, where you can feed and pet them by hand. Entry is free, and the sanctuary is funded b…
• San Nicolas – Aruba's second-largest town. Once an oil refinery town, it is now filled with large murals along its streets and known as the island's 'col…
• Mount Jamanota – Aruba's highest point, about 188 metres above sea level and inside the national park. From the summit you can see both the east and west co…
• Dos Playa – Two adjacent sandy coves on the national park's north coast, with golden dunes facing crashing blue waves. The scenery is wild, but swimmin…
• Aruba Aloe Factory – An aloe growing and processing company founded in 1890, offering free tours of its aloe fields, production lines and a small museum.
• Savaneta & Zeerovers – Savaneta, Aruba's first capital and earliest settlement, is a quiet fishing village. At Zeerovers by the pier, fresh-fried seafood is sold…

Where to eat

• Zeerovers Fish Fry – Open-air fish fry stand at the Savaneta fishing pier, where the day's catch is fried by weight. Locals and visitors ali…
• The Old Cunucu House – Local restaurant in a century-old Aruban country house, serving home cooking since 1973. Its keshi yena is considered a…
• Flying Fishbone – Romantic seafood restaurant on the Savaneta shore. Some tables sit right in the shallow water, so you can dine with you…
• Kamini's Kitchen – Family-run restaurant in southern San Nicolas, famous for Trinidadian-style curry goat, oxtail, and roti, and consisten…
• The Pastechi House – Affordable snack shop in Oranjestad that specializes in Aruba's breakfast pastechi, with a range of fillings. It's the…
• Screaming Eagle – Upscale French fusion restaurant by Eagle Beach where you dine on canopied bed-style lounges. It was once named the bes…

Itineraries

• ABC Islands Island-Hopping Itinerary: Aruba, Curaçao & Bonaire – Connect the ABC islands from west to east via short flights, balancing white-sand beaches, a Dutch-style old town, and…