Palm Beach Aruba: The Honest Guide

Palm Beach Aruba is the beach you have seen in every ad: the two mile strip of calm water in front of the high rise hotels, with the piers, the catamarans and the sunset. Ghislaine lives ten minutes inland in Noord and walks this strip most weeks, usually to meet guests at our Ocean View 2BR. This is her honest version: what is great, what is crowded, and how to use it without staying in a resort.

What is Palm Beach Aruba like?

It is the island’s resort beach. On the sand side you have the Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Hyatt, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Barcelo, Riu and a dozen more, each with its rows of loungers and palapas. On the road side you have Palm Beach Plaza, the Paseo Herencia mall, the casinos and more restaurants than you can try in a month.

The water is the calmest on Aruba. It is shallow for a long way out, flat enough for paddleboards most mornings, and warm all year. The sand is softer than Eagle Beach but the beach is narrower, so by 11 am in February the hotel chairs cover most of it.

If you want quiet, go to Eagle Beach. If you want everything within a five minute walk, this is the place.

The piers, from north to south

The piers are the landmarks everyone uses to meet up.

• Hadicurari, the fishermen’s huts, at the far north end. Kitesurfers, a casual seafood restaurant and the quietest sand on the strip.
• The Marriott pier area, where most catamaran and sunset sails pick up.
• De Palm Pier, between the Hilton and the Riu, with a beach bar and water sports desk. Jet skis, parasails and the Palm Pleasure boats leave from here.
• Pelican Pier, near the Holiday Inn, with a restaurant over the water and the Pelican snorkel trips.
• The south end near the Divi Phoenix and Barcelo, where the beach narrows toward the Eagle Beach headland.

The bit between the piers is the busiest. Walk past the fishermen’s huts or south of the Barcelo and the crowd drops off fast.

Who owns the loungers?

Nobody owns the beach. Legally the sand is public up to the high water line and you can lay a towel anywhere. The loungers and thatched palapas, though, are hotel property, and each resort polices its own. Take one and a pool attendant will ask for your room number.

Options for non hotel guests:

• Rent two chairs and an umbrella from the vendors near De Palm Pier or Pelican Pier. Prices have been roughly $25 to $35 a set for the day; check before you go.
• Bring your own umbrella. Our homes have beach umbrellas and chairs for guests.
• Use the beach bars. A drink at Bugaloe or the pier bars buys you a seat with shade and a restroom.

Palm Beach parking and buses

Parking is free in the public lots along J.E. Irausquin Boulevard, the biggest at the north end near the fishermen’s huts and a few squeezed between resorts. Palm Beach Plaza has a garage. The road side lots fill on Saturday and Sunday afternoons when local families come out; mornings are easy.

The Arubus hotel route stops every 15 to 30 minutes along the boulevard and gets you to Eagle Beach, Oranjestad or Arashi for a few dollars. From Ocean View 2BR you will not need a car for the beach at all; see do you need a car in Aruba for the days you might.

Water sports on Palm Beach

Everything is here, and the prices are the highest on the island because the hotels are. Jet skis, parasailing, banana boats, paddleboards, kayaks and the big catamaran snorkel trips all run from the piers. If snorkeling is the point, skip the Palm Beach boat and drive to Arashi or Boca Catalina; the fish are better from the sand and it is free. Our snorkeling guide has the honest comparison.

Palm Beach restaurants worth the walk

There are around forty restaurants within a ten minute walk of the strip. Many are fine, a few are worth planning around.

• Breakfast: Dushi Bagels and Burgers and Linda’s Dutch Pancakes on the road side, or Scott’s Brats at the north end. We wrote a full breakfast near Palm Beach guide.
• Lunch on the sand: Hadicurari for fresh catch at the fishermen’s huts. The pier bars for a burger with your feet in the water.
• Dinner: Atardi at the Marriott, tables in the sand at sunset, book weeks ahead in high season. Azia and Pure Ocean for a nicer night. Gianni’s and Que Pasa in the plaza area for an easy evening.
• Local: walk inland five minutes to the Noord side for Pastechi House or drive ten for the cunucu restaurants. See where locals eat.

Prices on the strip run 20 to 40 percent above the rest of the island. A service charge of 10 to 15 percent is often on the bill, so check before tipping twice.

Palm Beach at sunset

The sun sets straight out to sea every day of the year. The best free seat is the sand north of the Marriott, where the beach is wide enough to sit without a chair. Sunset sails leave the piers around 5 pm and come back after dark; they are worth it once. On the beach itself, the bars turn into the island’s nightlife by 9 pm, loud and friendly rather than wild.

When is Palm Beach busiest?

December through March, and any week with a spring break. In those months get to the sand by 9 am, swim before the jet skis start around 10, and leave the afternoon to the pool. May, June, September and October are quiet and the water is at its warmest. Hurricane season is not a worry here; Aruba sits outside the belt.

Stay nearby

Our Ocean View 2BR is on the Palm Beach strip: walk to the sand, the piers, the restaurants and the supermarket. If you want Palm Beach for dinner but Eagle Beach for the day, the Hideout Dream Big Suite and Hideout Happiness Suite near Eagle Beach are seven minutes south and adults only. Oasis Hideaway in Gold Coast is the private pool option fifteen minutes north. See all four at /stays/.

Questions people ask

Is Palm Beach Aruba free to use?

Yes. The sand and the water are public all the way along the high rise strip. The rows of loungers and palapas in front of each resort are set out for its guests; sit on your own towel or rent chairs from a vendor near the piers.

Where do you park at Palm Beach?

Free public lots sit at the north end near the fishermen's huts and between the resorts along J.E. Irausquin Boulevard, plus the Palm Beach Plaza garage. On weekend afternoons in high season expect to circle once.

Is Palm Beach or Eagle Beach better?

Palm Beach is better for restaurants, water sports and walking everywhere without a car. Eagle Beach is better for the beach itself: wider, quieter, finer sand. Most of our guests want both and they are seven minutes apart.

Can you swim at Palm Beach?

Yes, it is the calmest swimming on the island. The water is shallow and flat for a long way out and there are lifeguard towers. Watch for jet skis and boats near the piers.