BON BINI NA ARUBA! One Happy Island indeed. Aruba is a tiny island with a little over 100,000 inhabitants yet brings in 2 million tourists a year. Perfectly clear water and white sandy beaches. Here’s our guide on visiting Palm Beach and the island’s most visited attractions.

What to know before heading to Aruba

You’ll want to fly into the Queen Beatrix International Airport; from there you’ll find a regulated taxi service to anywhere on the island. Most likely you’ll be heading to the high-rise hotels or Palm Beach area. The fares fluctuate but typically it will cost you $25 (in cash), to get to Palm Beach.

When you have internet, make sure to download Maps.me for a great offline mapping application and Arubiana which will help you track your excursions as you navigate through the island. Both applications are free, but I found that it was best to use a combination of both versus relying on one.

Where to stay

We loved staying in Palm Beach especially because of its proximity to the plazas and nightlife. Where should you stay in Palm Beach? Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino – 100% recommend staying at the Hilton. Not too crowded, great service (although we did have a mysterious plate of eaten ribs show up in our room) but still it was a wonderful stay. The beaches are not all private, you must stop by the towel kiosk every afternoon to reserve your Palapas or Tiki Umbrellas.

You’ll also have access to the awesome De Palm Pier that has freshly made ice cream, a mini store to grab sunscreen if you forget, and a full restaurant in the middle of the water.

What to do in Aruba

Hands down the best way to get around the Northern part of the island (and a little bit beyond that) is doing a full day sand buggy excursion. Be brave. It’s quite a feat if you’re not used to the outdoors or driving through a desert, but the stops along the way are worth the bits of anxiety. This is the full day tour option we really enjoyed, but you can also opt to do a half day ATV tour – both are incredibly fun!

The ATV path is already mapped out for you, along the path there are few spots that stood out. Check out the different rock formations along the coast  – many of them are actually man-made stacks of stones.

Use the Arubiana app! There are secret gems like hidden caves that you can stumble upon – all mapped out for you on the national app.

The famous Arikok National Park is also a great place to venture into with your ATV, entry is only $11 per person. The Natural Pool was our favorite activity, just plan on bringing a towel as there is nowhere to dry off.

As you head out of the park and continue your trek, head to the Lost Seamen Memorial Anchor on the outskirts of Seroe Colorado. You’ll be very close to Baby Beach which is just a small beach of shallow water. If you make it to the end of the island, stop by the beach where the locals typically hang out.

As you wrap up your day on the sand buggy, enjoy Aruba’s streets, nature, and beautiful homes. & of course you can’t miss the Divi Divi trees and cacti everywhere.

Sign up for a snorkeling excursion! Our day trip included a 3 hours sailing excursion, two locations for snorkeling + open bar and small sandwich provided. We stopped at Boca Catalina Bay, which was genius. Transparent water, colorful fish and vibrant corals. The second stop was an old sunken ship, visibility was low but you can certainly tell it was there. Here’s the tour we signed up for – and of course highly recommend.

Where to eat & the lowdown on Palm Beach

There’s the beach and there’s the commercial strip. The beach is self-explanatory. Here’s the low down on the plaza and best places to eat in Palm Beach. Filled with restaurants, music, popsicle and crepe stalls and mini shopping booths. Check out the outdoor sit-down restaurant the Lazy Turtle– where you can order Caribbean delicacies like the local plantain and coconut soup. There’s also a dancing fountain show that seems to start at random times.

The strip itself is filled with an assortment of small restaurants, fast food even, and high-end restaurants. We enjoyed our time at Lola Taqueria, the seafood tacos were impeccable and if you’re lucky you’ll catch an up close live performance by a mariachi band. Right next-door is Craft, which serves some of the best cold brew on the strip during the day and caters cocktails to Lola’s crowd in the evening.

Wacky Wahoo’s– tucked away from the main strip is this food gem, only an 8 minute walk from the main circle. Whether you have the Barracuda, the Red Snapper or the Grouper – this place is hands down the best seafood restaurant on the island. It’s limited seating so make sure to reserve in advance, you can only call between 2 pm and 5 pm so plan ahead.

If you’re looking for a romantic/calm beachfront restaurant, Hadicurari is really nice. The food portions are a little smaller than what you’d expect for the price but the ambience makes up for it. Right next door and also owned by the Marriott chain is Moomba Beach bar – which essentially a cool outdoor space to spend the evening right on the beach and enjoy a refreshing drink…or multiple.

While you’re enjoying the crystal clear waters of Aruba, especially Palm Beach venture into the Playa Linda complex. It’s really a time-share compound, but has fun shops to discover. Eduardo’s Beach Shack recently got lots of social media traction for it’s decorated pineapple and coconut smoothie bowls. If you’re looking for a warm spicy kebob wrap, Kouzina opened up a few years ago and is run by a Greek family and then there’s the different bar shacks like Carlito’s and Scott’s Brats.

On the street side of Playa Linda is Garden Fresh Café– great spot if you’re looking for a bit of a salad detox. Fresh pressed juice, salads, paninis, organic and GF options. It was perfect! & if you’re craving ice cream in the smoldering heat, walk up to Gelatissimo!

Around the island

There’s so much more to Aruba than the beach, and we are so glad that we had the opportunity to venture past Palm Beach. Here’s a full guide on some of Aruba’s hidden gems, art district and a thorough walkthrough of downtown Oranjestad. I’ll give you a glimpse of what you should plan for.

Go to Downtown Orjanestad – take a stroll by the water, see the yacht port, and enjoy the post-colonial dutch architecture. You can hop on a local bus from the “High Rise Hotels strip” or Palm Beach which will only cost you $3 per way.

Bon Bini Festival [only on Tuesdays from 7:00 – 8:30 pm]. The show is a combination of historical narrations, Aruban music, dance performances and displays of local artwork. Hop on the circulator bus and head to downtown. Walk through the stores, pass the renaissance hotel and get to Fort Zoutman. The entrance fee for the Aruban show is $10 for adults and $5 for children.

What about the Flamingos? We originally planned on getting to the Renaissance Hotel to spend the day on the Flamingo Island, however very quickly found out that in addition to the $100 entry fee – the hotel only passed out 20 entry tickets each day to non-guest hotels. You have to get there around 6:30 am to snatch a timed entry card.

If you’re an animal lover check out Philip’s Animal Garden or the Ostrich farm.

San Nicolas

Hands down the greatest discovery of this trip was San Nicolas, an up and coming artistic district in the Southern part of the island. The boom in art is impressive; buildings decorated in murals and sculptures in every corner. This is a place you do not want to miss! Read our full Guide to San Nicolas here.  

One last note, make sure to save a coin in Florin (or the local currency) – they’re square shaped coins which make for a nice souvenir!

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