Award-winning beaches, designer shopping malls and a capital city with a distinctly Dutch feel – it’s all on the cards on a holiday to Aruba.
The Happy Island
Aruba calls itself One Happy Island, and it’s pretty easy to see why. The Arubans’ reasons to be cheerful start with their beaches – the island is circled by almost 70 kilometres of sandy shoreline. The stretch that gets the most attention is the 11-kilometre sweep linking Palm and Eagle beaches. The latter even made it into the top three on TripAdvisor’s 2017 poll of the world’s best beaches.
Oranjestad
Head to the capital, Oranjestad, and the Caribbean influences take a backseat. Here, there’s no hiding the island’s ties to the Netherlands. Gabled roofs are everywhere and the buildings are painted in merry-go-round colours.
Arikok National Park
Aruba’s interior is the cherry on top of the island’s cake. The walking trails in Arikok National park will introduce you to shoulder-high cacti, skittish iguanas, and two species of bird that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
Places To Stay In Aruba View all places to stay »
Druif Beach
Set on Aruba's western coast, Druif Beach fits the Caribbean job description well. It's a small, quiet place with just a few hotels, restaurants and shops on its resort CV. But where it really blows the competition out of the water is the beach – a Robinson Crusoe-style stretch that goes on as far as the eye can see.
Palm Beach
This high-rise, high-glamour resort on Aruba’s northwest coast dishes up the kind of swish offering you’d expect from a place like Vegas. Super-sized hotels, malls, casinos – they’re all here. But unlike Sin City, it’s got a white-sand beach that would make Robinson Crusoe green with envy. No wonder Palm Beach is the island’s top tourist destination.
AT A GLANCE
- Shop ‘til you drop in Oranjestad
- Unwind on De Palm Island
- Watch the sunset from Palm Beach
WHEN TO GO
If you had to score Aruba’s weather it’d get a perfect 10/10. This island just off the South American coast has year-round sunshine and temperatures that sit around the 28°C mark, and don’t drop below 24°C. Trade winds help keep things cool, and between January and March they provide top-notch windsurfing conditions. Aruba’s outside the Caribbean’s hurricane belt, too, so storms are extremely rare. The island is spot on for diving all year round, too, thanks to ultra-clear waters.
Things To Do View all »
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Aruba Music Explosion
Kicking off on a Thursday night, this festival rolls on until the early hours of Sunday morning. It all happens at Oranjestad’s…
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Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival
This two-day jam sees some of the biggest names in jazz sharing the stage with Aruba’s home-grown talent. The headline acts…
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Soul Beach Festival, Oranjestad
It’s not hard to persuade people to come to Aruba – so it’s no surprise that this annual 4-day music fest attracts famous…
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Rub shoulders with the locals at Rodger’s Beach
Rodger’s Beach in the south is a real favourite with the locals. They gather here for a game of football or just a quietpicnic…
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Relax on Arashi Beach
This sandy swathe on the north of the island is as peaceful as they come. There aren’t any shops or restaurants nearby, so…
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