Aruba With Kids: A 5 Day Family Itinerary From a Host

Aruba with kids is one of the easiest weeks in the Caribbean. The water on the west coast is calm and shallow, the weather does not cancel plans, everyone speaks English, and the driving is short. Ghislaine built this five day plan from the weeks our family guests actually have, which means early starts, lunch on time, a siesta when the sun is high, and bed by nine. Swap days freely; nothing is more than 45 minutes from anything else.

Day 1: the beach, close to home

Morning. Breakfast at the house, then the nearest calm beach. From Palm Beach, walk to the sand in front of the resorts, where the water is knee deep for thirty metres and the banana boats are a few hundred metres out for older kids. From Eagle Beach, the same, with more room to dig. Umbrella up by 9, out by 11:30.

Afternoon. Lunch at the Dutch Pancakehouse by the Alhambra casino: poffertjes for the kids, a bacon and cheese pancake for the adults. Then home for the hot hours. If there is a pool, that is the afternoon.

Evening. Early dinner on the Palm Beach strip, where every restaurant has a children’s menu and nobody minds noise. Walk the boulevard past Paseo Herencia for the fountain show and an ice cream. Home by 8:30.

Day 2: animals in the morning, snorkelling in the afternoon

Morning. The Butterfly Farm, across the road from the Palm Beach resorts, opens at 9. Go early when the butterflies are most active, and keep the ticket: it is valid for the rest of your stay. Thirty minutes to an hour. Then drive 20 minutes to the Donkey Sanctuary in Santa Cruz, free entry, donations welcome, with a hundred rescued donkeys and a bag of carrots from the shop. Children under eight think this is the best thing on the island.

Afternoon. Lunch at home, siesta, then at 3:30 drive north to Arashi Beach. Shallow and sandy in the middle, rocks with parrotfish on the left for anyone over six with a mask, a beach bar with fish tacos, toilets, and huts for shade. Stay until the light goes gold.

Evening. Dinner at the Arashi Beach Shack or back home with supermarket pasta. Sunset from the California Lighthouse road, five minutes up the hill.

Day 3: Baby Beach and the south

Morning. Leave by 8:30 for the 45 minute drive south. Stop at Mangel Halto for twenty minutes if the kids snorkel; the lagoon is shallow and full of small fish. Then on to Baby Beach by 10. Rent a palapa and two loungers ($10 to $20), and let them loose in the lagoon, which is knee to waist deep until the mouth of the bay. Keep everyone in the inner half; the signs at the deep end mean it.

Afternoon. Lunch at the snack bar on the beach (burgers, fish, cold drinks) or drive back ten minutes to Zeerover in Savaneta for fried fish on the pier, which kids eat with their hands like everyone else. Cash only, closed Mondays. Home by 3:30 for the pool.

Evening. Something easy. Local Store behind Palm Beach does ribs and chicken on picnic tables, with a TV and a crowd. No one will shush your children.

Day 4: De Palm Island, or the lazy day

Morning and afternoon. De Palm Island is a private island off the south coast near Balashi, two minutes by ferry, sold as an all inclusive day from about $148 per person: water slides and a lazy river, snorkelling in a few feet of water with blue parrotfish, banana boats for ages 10 and up, buffet lunch, unlimited drinks for the adults. Hotel pickup is included. With children roughly 4 to 12 it is a full, easy, happy day with nothing to organise.

If that is too much or too expensive, make day 4 the lazy one: Eagle Beach early, the Alhambra food court for lunch, pool, and a two hour walk through Oranjestad at 4 pm on the free tram, with ice cream at the Renaissance Marketplace.

Evening. Dinner at home. Everyone is tired.

Day 5: the wild side, gently

Morning. The north coast without the 4x4. Drive to the Bushiribana gold mill ruins, 15 minutes from Noord, where kids climb the old stone walls and watch the surf hit the rocks. Then five minutes on to the Ayo or Casibari rock formations, giant boulders with paths and steps that children treat as a playground. An hour between them. If the group is older (8 and up) and up for it, book a morning jeep tour to Arikok and the Natural Pool instead; the ride is bumpy and the last hundred steps are steep, but kids over eight love it.

Afternoon. Pastechi from the Pastechi House in Noord on the way back, lunch at home, pool. Final beach of the trip at 4: Palm Beach for a paddle board or a last swim.

Evening. The Bon Bini Festival at Fort Zoutman in Oranjestad if your day 5 is a Tuesday: folk dancing, local food stalls, a small entry fee, done by 8:30. Otherwise a last dinner on the strip and the ice cream walk.

Things to do in Aruba with kids: the shortlist

• Butterfly Farm, Palm Beach: 9 am, ticket valid all week.
• Donkey Sanctuary, Santa Cruz: free, carrots from the shop, under eights love it.
• Baby Beach: the lagoon, knee deep, the toddler beach.
• Arashi Beach: sandy middle, fish on the rocks, huts and a snack bar.
• De Palm Island: slides, shallow snorkel, lunch included, ages 4 to 12.
• Bushiribana ruins and the Ayo rocks: climbing and surf watching, free.
• Paseo Herencia fountain show and ice cream: the evening walk.
• Oranjestad tram: free, 4 pm, 40 minutes, ends in ice cream again.
• Bon Bini Festival: Tuesday evenings at Fort Zoutman, done by 8:30.

What makes the week work

• Everything before 11:30 and after 3:30. The midday sun on Aruba is not negotiable with small children.
• A car for all five days. Taxis to Baby Beach alone would cost more than the rental.
• Our homes have beach umbrellas, chairs, snorkel sets and a kitchen. Use the kitchen for breakfast and two dinners and the week costs a lot less.
• Reef safe sunscreen, rash guards, water shoes for Arashi’s rocks.
• Super Food Plaza in Noord for everything, including nappies, kids’ snacks and the Dutch cheese your children will decide they like.

Stay nearby

The Ocean View 2BR on Palm Beach has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and the beach and restaurants on foot, which is the easiest week with young children. Oasis Hideaway in Gold Coast adds a private pool for the siestas and is five minutes from Arashi. The Hideout Dream Big Suite near Eagle Beach suits a family of three or four who want the wide beach. See all of them at /stays/.

Questions people ask

Is Aruba good for kids?

Very. Calm shallow water on the west coast, no serious rain, English everywhere, tap water you can drink, and a dozen animal and beach activities within 30 minutes of each other.

What is the best beach in Aruba for toddlers?

Baby Beach in the south: a lagoon that is knee to waist deep across most of its width. Closer to the hotels, Palm Beach and the middle of Arashi are shallow and calm.

Is De Palm Island worth it with kids?

For a day with children aged roughly 4 to 12, yes: water park, shallow snorkelling, lunch and drinks included, from about $148 per person. Older teens and snorkel purists will find it tame.

How much is the Donkey Sanctuary in Aruba?

Entry is free; they run on donations and the shop. Open mornings and early afternoon in Santa Cruz, 20 minutes from Palm Beach. Bring carrots.