Eagle Beach vs Palm Beach Aruba: Which One Is Yours

Eagle Beach vs Palm Beach: two beaches, two miles apart, and the whole island’s tourism split between them. We have a home on each, so we have no reason to push one. Here is how we help guests pick.

The sand and the water

Palm Beach is a two mile strip of fine white sand in front of the high rise resorts. The beach is narrow in places, 20 to 40 metres between the hotel pools and the water. The sea is calm, shallow and protected; you can wade out 50 metres and still stand. There are piers, moored catamarans and a constant traffic of jet skis and banana boats a little offshore.

Eagle Beach is wider, often 60 to 80 metres of sand, and the sand is softer and whiter. No piers, no water sports concessions in the water, no music drifting across. The sea is calm near shore but the bottom drops faster and the current beyond the swim zone can pull on windy days. Lifeguards mark the zones.

Verdict: Eagle Beach, clearly, if the beach itself is the point.

What is behind the beach

Palm Beach: the resorts, Paseo Herencia, Palm Beach Plaza, three casinos, and something like forty restaurants and bars within a ten minute walk. Bugaloe and Pelican Pier on the water, Moomba Beach for drinks at sunset, Gianni’s and Azzurro on the boulevard, Local Store a few streets back for ribs and a beer with Arubans. Everything stays open late.

Eagle Beach: the low rise hotels (Bucuti, Manchebo, Amsterdam Manor, Costa Linda), a handful of restaurants, the Alhambra casino with the Dutch Pancakehouse and a small food court. Passions on the Beach with tables in the sand is the one everyone books. After 10 pm it is quiet.

Verdict: Palm Beach if you want choice on foot; Eagle Beach if you have a car and like it quiet.

Crowds

Palm Beach in February is a proper scene. Loungers go out at 7 am, the good ones are gone by 9, and the beach bars are full from lunch on. It thins out at the far north end past the Ritz and at the south end near the Divi.

Eagle Beach has fewer people per metre every day of the year. Weekend afternoons bring local families with coolers and music, which is a good scene but not a silent one. Weekday mornings it is nearly empty.

Verdict: Eagle Beach.

Shade and chairs

On both beaches the palapas and loungers in front of a hotel are for that hotel’s guests. The beach is public, the furniture is not. On Palm Beach you can rent chairs from vendors near the piers and there are public palapas at the far ends. On Eagle Beach there are a few first come palapas near the public car park and rental chairs at the Divi end, usually $10 to $15 a day.

Our homes include umbrellas and chairs. Bring them and the question disappears.

Parking

Palm Beach: hard. The boulevard bays fill early and the resorts guard their lots. If your rental is on the strip, leave the car and walk.

Eagle Beach: easy. Free bays along the sand side of the boulevard, with room at the north end even on busy days.

Snorkelling

Neither. Both are sandy bottom beaches. For fish you drive 10 minutes north to Boca Catalina, Tres Trapi and Arashi. Palm Beach is the departure point for every snorkel catamaran, which is convenient if you are booking one.

Sunset

Both face west and the sun sets into the sea every evening. On Palm Beach you watch it with a drink at Moomba or from the Hyatt pier. On Eagle Beach you watch it from a towel, and the fofoti trees frame it.

Cost

Rentals on the Palm Beach strip cost more per night than anything near Eagle Beach, and the restaurants are priced for resort guests. Eagle Beach is a little cheaper on both counts, and you save the money you would have spent on parking stress.

Getting between them

Two miles apart along the same boulevard. Driving takes 5 to 7 minutes; the Arubus hotel route runs between them every 15 to 30 minutes by day for around $3; a taxi is $10 to $14. Walking the beach and the boulevard takes about 40 minutes and is a pleasant thing to do once, in the evening, with dinner at the other end. Most of our guests who stay on one beach spend at least one morning on the other.

Water sports and boats

Everything with an engine leaves from Palm Beach: the snorkel catamarans to the Antilla wreck, the sunset sails, jet skis, parasailing, banana boats, the De Palm Pier dive boats. If your week includes two or three of these, staying on the strip saves a taxi each time. Eagle Beach has paddle boards and kayaks from the hotel huts and nothing louder, which is exactly why people choose it.

Which is better, Eagle Beach or Palm Beach?

Do you want to walk to dinner? If yes, Palm Beach. If you are happy to drive five minutes, or to cook most nights and go out twice, Eagle Beach gives you the better beach for less.

Families with teenagers who want things to do: Palm Beach. Couples who want to read: Eagle Beach. First timers who want to see what Aruba is about: Palm Beach for the first trip, Eagle Beach for the second. That is the pattern in our bookings, year after year.

Stay nearby

For Palm Beach, our Ocean View 2BR sits on the strip with the sand and the restaurants on foot. For Eagle Beach, the Hideout Dream Big Suite and Hideout Happiness Suite are minutes from the fofoti trees. If you want neither crowd and a private pool, Oasis Hideaway in Gold Coast is a short drive from Arashi. All four at /stays/.

Questions people ask

Which is better, Palm Beach or Eagle Beach?

Eagle Beach is the better beach: wider, softer sand, fewer people. Palm Beach is the better base: restaurants, bars and water sports on foot. Most guests choose by whether they want to walk to dinner.

Can you walk from Palm Beach to Eagle Beach?

Yes, it is about 2 miles along the sand and the boulevard, around 40 minutes. Driving takes 5 to 7 minutes and the Arubus hotel route connects them every 15 to 30 minutes.

Is Palm Beach crowded?

In high season, yes. Loungers in front of the resorts fill by mid morning and the beach bars run until late. Walk north toward the Ritz Carlton or south toward the Divi for more room.

Which beach is better for kids?

Both have calm, shallow water. Palm Beach has more to do on the sand (banana boats, paddle boards, piers). Eagle Beach has more room to run and fewer boats near the shore.