Aruba Beaches: Every Beach Ranked by a Local Host

Aruba beaches come up in nearly every message we get before a booking: which one is near the home, which one is calm, which one has shade. Ghislaine lives in Noord, ten minutes from most of them, and has strong opinions. Here are all fifteen beaches that matter, running from the northwest tip down the west coast and around to the south, with who each one is for and what nobody mentions.

What are the best beaches in Aruba?

The short version: the west coast is where you swim. It faces the leeward side of the island, so the water is calm, clear and warm all year. The north and east coasts take the wind and the surf, and most of them are for walking, not swimming. The south has a few hidden bays that reward a car.

All beaches are public. Nobody can charge you to walk onto the sand, though the chairs and palapas in front of a hotel are set out for its guests.

Arashi Beach

The northwest tip, below the California Lighthouse. A compact crescent with a reef on the left side, palapas that fill by 10 am in high season, and a small snack bar. The best beach on the island for snorkeling straight from the sand when the water is flat. Parking is free but tight on weekends. Five minutes from Oasis Hideaway. Full details in our Arashi, Boca Catalina and Malmok guide.

Boca Catalina

A small cove on the Malmok road, a few minutes south of Arashi. Steps down from the road, rocky entry in places, excellent fish life a few meters out. No facilities. Come early with water shoes and leave by midday when the catamarans arrive.

Malmok Beach

Less a beach than a stretch of low rocky shoreline with sandy pockets along the road. Good snorkeling, zero shade, popular with locals on Sunday. Park on the roadside.

Hadicurari (Fisherman’s Huts)

Between Malmok and the top of Palm Beach. Shallow, windy, the island’s kitesurf and windsurf base. Watching the kites at 4 pm with a drink from the beach bar is a good hour. Not a swimming beach for small children when the wind is up.

Palm Beach

The two mile strip in front of the high rise hotels. Calm water, piers, jet skis, parasails, forty restaurants and a supermarket within walking distance. It is busy, and that is the appeal. The sand is narrower than Eagle Beach and the hotel chairs cover most of it. Our Ocean View 2BR sits on this strip. Read our full Palm Beach guide for the pier by pier version.

Eagle Beach

Our favorite on the island and the one most lists put in the world’s top ten. Wide, white, calm, with the two famous fofoti trees and turtle nests marked from March to September. Free parking in the bays along the boulevard. The low rise hotels across the road keep it quiet. Both Hideout suites are a short walk away. Everything you need is in the Eagle Beach guide.

Manchebo and Druif Beach

The south end of Eagle Beach curving around the Manchebo headland toward the Divi resorts. Deeper water close in and a bit more wave on windy days. Fewer people than Eagle Beach proper, same sand. Park at the Eagle Beach lot and walk south.

Surfside Beach

The town beach, between the airport and Oranjestad, with planes landing over your head. Flat, calm, a couple of beach bars, and the only beach you can walk to from the cruise port in 15 minutes. Fine for a few hours, not a destination.

Flamingo Beach (Renaissance Island)

The one with the flamingos. It is a private island owned by the Renaissance resort, reached by boat from the hotel lobby in Oranjestad. Resort guests go free; everyone else needs a day pass that is not sold in advance and often sells out. We cover the real cost and whether it beats Arashi in our Flamingo Beach guide.

Mangel Halto

A mangrove lined bay on the south coast near Pos Chiquito, twenty minutes from Palm Beach. The best shore snorkel on the island once you swim out past the mangroves to the reef drop. There is a current at the gap, so this is for confident swimmers. Small sandy pockets, a couple of palapas, no vendors. Bring everything.

Savaneta and Rodgers Beach

Savaneta is the old fishing village with a few sandy spots next to the restaurants; Rodgers Beach is the quiet bay beside the refinery jetty near San Nicolas, with calm water and a handful of locals. Neither is a half day on its own, but both pair well with lunch at Zeerovers or a visit to San Nicolas.

Baby Beach

The far southeast tip, 45 minutes from Palm Beach. A half moon lagoon, waist deep almost to the reef, which is why every family with toddlers ends up here. Palapas, a beach bar, paid chair rental, and a rougher beach just over the rocks for the adults. Sargassum can show up here in spring and summer. Our Baby Beach and the south guide has the day plan.

Boca Grandi

On the windward side above Baby Beach. Big waves, constant wind, the kitesurfers’ serious spot. Beautiful to walk, dangerous to swim. No facilities.

Andicuri, Dos Playa and Boca Prins

The north coast beaches, all reached by rough tracks or inside Arikok National Park. Andicuri is a black pebble and sand cove under cliffs; Dos Playa is two sandy bays with heavy surf; Boca Prins is a dune beach near the Fontein cave. Go for the drama and the photos. Swimming is unsafe at all three; the park signs say so and they mean it.

Which Aruba beach should you pick?

• Calm water and space: Eagle Beach, then Manchebo.
• Snorkeling from shore: Arashi, Boca Catalina, Mangel Halto. See the snorkeling guide.
• Toddlers: Baby Beach, then the top end of Palm Beach.
• Restaurants and water sports on foot: Palm Beach.
• Nobody around: Rodgers Beach on a weekday, or Dos Playa if you only want to look.
• Sunset: Eagle Beach or Arashi. Both face straight west.

Beach practicalities from a host

Parking is free everywhere except in Oranjestad. Lifeguards sit on Eagle Beach, Palm Beach, Arashi and Baby Beach during the day; nowhere else. The wind picks up around noon and drops again before sunset, which is why mornings are glassy and afternoons are choppy. Sunscreen must be reef safe by law; the homes have a bottle to start you off. Public toilets are rare, so plan around the beach bars.

Stay nearby

Ocean View 2BR puts you on the Palm Beach sand. Hideout Dream Big Suite and Hideout Happiness Suite are a short walk from Eagle Beach and adults only. Oasis Hideaway in Gold Coast is five minutes from Arashi with a private pool for the days you do not want sand at all. Compare them at /stays/.

Questions people ask

What is the best beach in Aruba?

For swimming and space, Eagle Beach. For snorkeling from the sand, Arashi or Boca Catalina. For a calm, shallow bay with kids, Baby Beach. Palm Beach wins if you want restaurants and water sports on foot.

Are the beaches in Aruba free?

Yes. Every beach on Aruba is public, including the sand in front of the resorts. The only one with a fee is Flamingo Beach on Renaissance Island, which is a private island reached by boat.

Which beaches in Aruba have shade?

Eagle Beach, Arashi and Baby Beach have palapas that are first come, first served. Palm Beach shade belongs mostly to the hotels. Everywhere else, bring an umbrella; our homes have them for guests.

Can you swim on the north coast of Aruba?

Mostly no. Andicuri, Dos Playa and Boca Prins have strong surf and currents, and there are no lifeguards. Go to look, walk and take photos; swim on the west and south coasts.

Is there sargassum on Aruba beaches?

Rarely on the west coast beaches, which face away from the Atlantic. The east and south coasts, including Baby Beach on a bad week, can get seaweed between roughly April and September. Check recent photos before you drive out.