Aruba Travel Guide
Aruba Travel Guide
Aruba is my favorite Caribbean island I’ve visited. The beaches, sunsets and weather were unbelievable! My entire family loved this place, not all of them love to travel as much as me, but we all agreed we didn’t want to come home after our trip. Keep reading below for my recommendations on where to stay, what to do and when to visit
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Disclaimer: This article contains some links where I earn commission through booking. There is no extra cost to you, and I only recommend things I’ve used and love or places I’ve stayed and enjoyed!
*Backpacks & Bubbly – Top Pick for Drinks With A View*
Divi Beach
Divi Beach for a bottle of wine at sunset. This is the absolute best sunset view in Aruba and should not be missed, There are hotels along this beach (like the Divi All Inclusive) but there is also a public beach you can visit if you’re not staying at one of the hotels on Divi Beach
Best Places to Stay in Aruba
Divi All-Inclusive
Divi is one of the only all-inclusive hotels in Aruba. I prefer to stay at all-inclusives when visiting a tropical place. I find it’s such a better experience when all your food and drink is paid in advance and you can just relax!
Divi was right on the beach & had the most stunning sunsets. They had a ton of restaurant options. This was one of my family’s favorite trips and we’re dying to go back some day! I put together my full review of the Divi All-Inclusive here.
Aruba Marriott Resort
The Aruba Marriott is one of the most popular hotels in Aruba & is a great option if you don’t want to go the All-Inclusive route. This hotel is absolutely stunning, right on the beach, is accessible to all the restaurants in downtown Noord, has 5 additional restaurants on site & all the amenities you’d expect from an upscale, tropical hotel.
Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort Aruba
For an adults only upscale option head to Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort. This place is exceptional. There is an on-site restaurant, but it’s also accessible to all the restaurants in Noord. This place is perfect for a romantic, quiet getaway
What to Do in Aruba
If I’m being honest, my top recommendation is to sit on the beach and enjoy the insanely perfect views & weather, but we did venture off the resort for a few activities! Guest Services can help you book any excursion you’re interested in. We did a UTV tour around the islands to the Natural Pool, rented jet skis, and rented a car for a little self tour of the island!
UTV Tour
I will start by saying this is not a leisurely tour. If you’re a nervous driver I do not recommend this tour. You are really off-roading and driving your own UTV down some treacherous seeming hills made purely of rocks. We had a blast, but we saw others on our tour who were definitely very anxious! Also, I didn’t have to do the driving!
It was a great way to see the island, and to learn a bit more from a local tour guide. The natural pools were beautiful, although, swimming in them was not for the faint of heart or a novice swimmer! The waves were coming in hard, and the rocks were super sharp! This is the tour we took it stopped at a bunch of places & they picked up and dropped off from our hotel directly!
Sunset Catamaran
Aruba sunset are unreal, and expereincing them from the water is next level. Try a sunset catamaran tour with snacks and drinks like this one!
Jet Ski
Perfect activity for a fun and quick adrenaline rush! The hotel can set this up for you and get you transferred to a beach where you can jet ski! The rentals are usually 30 minutes and we found that was plenty of time!
Rent a Car
We rented a car and drove around the island to some of the main downtown areas for some shopping and also checked out some of the other top beaches on the island, like Baby Beach & Arashi Beach. Both were nice, but we found the beach at the hotel nicer and probably wouldn’t have gone through the effort of venturing off the resort to the other beaches if we had known. Luckily, everything is a quick drive on the island so we didn’t spend too much time travelling!
When to Go to Aruba
In terms of the weather, there is essentially no bad time of year to go to Aruba. There is very little rain, it’s always warm, and it isn’t impacted by hurricane season. Your choice really comes down to how much you want to pay, as the seasonality impacts hotel room prices.
Winter – Hotel prices peak during this time (I mean who doesn’t love a tropical winter getaway) but you’ll pay for the perfect temps at this time of year
Spring/Summer – Hotels prices will sink during this time, as it is the off season for most hotels, and the weather might be a bit hotter than the winter, but it’s a great time to find deals on hotels you might not normally be able to afford!
Fall – Fall is another great time to visit Aruba, although you’ll see hotel prices start to creep back up again as you get deeper into the fall and peak tourist season arrives again!
