Aruba Itinerary: 7 Days for First Timers

Aruba is 20 miles long. This Aruba itinerary covers all of it in a week without ever rushing, and still leaves a day spare for doing nothing. It is the week Ghislaine would plan for a friend visiting for the first time: beaches in the mornings, the interior and the south on their own days, and the afternoons left alone. Pick it up and move days around; nothing here depends on order except the Natural Pool, which goes early in the week in case the sea closes it.

How many days do you need in Aruba?

Seven, for a first visit, and this is why: three beach mornings, one day for Arikok, one for the south coast, one for the snorkel coast and the wreck, one spare. Five days works if you drop the south or the park. Three days is a beach weekend, and we have a separate plan for that. Ten days or more and you start repeating the beaches, which is what most repeat guests want anyway.

Day 1: arrive, swim, sunset

Morning or afternoon. Land, pick up the car or the taxi, drop bags, swim at the nearest beach. From Palm Beach that is the strip; from Eagle Beach, the wide sand by the fofoti trees; from Gold Coast, Arashi five minutes away.

Evening. Supermarket run to Super Food Plaza in Noord for breakfast supplies, then sunset at Arashi or from the Palm Beach piers. Dinner nearby and early: Local Store for ribs, or the Old Cunucu House for the island’s own cooking.

Day 2: Eagle Beach, Palm Beach, the lay of the land

Morning. Eagle Beach at 8, before the hotel chairs. Swim, walk south to the Manchebo headland and back.

Afternoon. Dutch pancakes at the Alhambra for lunch, siesta, then the free tram loop through Oranjestad at 4 pm: the Dutch facades, Fort Zoutman, the Renaissance Marketplace for a coffee.

Evening. Palm Beach strip. Walk the boulevard, pick a restaurant, watch the scene. Casino if that is your thing.

Day 3: Arikok and the Natural Pool

Morning. Jeep tour with pickup at 8 or 8:30, booked before you flew. Four hours: Fontein or Quadirikiri cave, the dunes at Boca Prins, the rough track to Conchi, a hundred steps down, a swim in the pool if the swell allows. Tours run $85 to $110 per person and most include the $22 park fee. Bring closed shoes, a rash guard and two litres of water. If you drive yourself, the caves and Boca Prins are reachable by normal car; the pool is not.

Afternoon. Back by 1, dusty. Shower, pool, nothing.

Evening. Early dinner at Gasparito or Papiamento in Noord, both in old cunucu houses, both local kitchens.

Day 4: the snorkel coast

Morning. Tres Trapi at 8 for the turtles, Boca Catalina at 9 before the boats, Arashi by 10:30 for a hut and a second breakfast at the Beach Shack. Our homes have snorkel sets.

Afternoon. Siesta, then the California Lighthouse at 4:30: climb it, walk the dunes behind it to the wild north coast, come back for the sunset.

Evening. Faro Blanco at the lighthouse for dinner with the whole west coast below you, or back to the strip.

Day 5: the south coast loop

Morning. Leave by 8:30. Mangel Halto at Pos Chiquito by 9 for the best shore snorkel on the island; stay inside the reef. Savaneta by 11:30 for the first seating at Zeerover: fish and shrimp by weight, fried on the pier, cash only, closed Mondays.

Afternoon. San Nicolas at 1: the murals along the main street, the Museum of Industry in the water tower if it is open, a beer at Charlie’s Bar under eighty years of things left on the ceiling. Baby Beach by 2:30: rent a palapa and float in the lagoon until the light softens. Rodgers Beach in the next cove if Baby Beach is full.

Evening. Home by 6:30. Dinner at the house with fish you bought from the trucks on the way, or the Flying Fishbone in Savaneta with tables in the water, booked a week ahead.

Day 6: the Antilla and the sea

Morning. Snorkel sail from the Palm Beach piers, morning departure, two or three stops: Catalina Cove or Boca Catalina, then the Antilla wreck, 120 metres of German freighter lying in up to 18 metres of water since May 1940. Smaller boats give you more time in the water; the big catamarans give you a louder sail back. $60 to $100 per person.

Afternoon. Lunch on the strip, then the Bushiribana gold mill ruins and the Ayo rock formations on the way to nowhere in particular, 15 minutes from Noord, an hour for both. Alto Vista Chapel on the way back, the island’s oldest church, yellow against the brown hills.

Evening. Tuesday? The Bon Bini Festival at Fort Zoutman in Oranjestad: local food, music, folk dancing, done by 8:30. Any other day, Passions on the Beach at Eagle Beach, tables in the sand, booked before you flew.

Day 7: the spare day

Morning. Whatever you liked most, again. For most of our guests that is Eagle Beach or Tres Trapi at 8.

Afternoon. Pack slowly. Last pastechi from the Pastechi House in Noord. If you fly to the US, remember pre clearance: be at the airport three hours before.

Evening. Sunset from the beach closest to your house, one last time.

The logistics in one place

• Car: all seven days is simplest. From Palm Beach you can skip it on days 2, 3 and 6.
• Book before you fly: the Arikok jeep (day 3), the snorkel sail (day 6), Passions on the Beach and the Flying Fishbone.
• Cash: Zeerover, the fish trucks, the pastechi windows, beach chair rentals.
• Sundays close local kitchens; Mondays close Zeerover. Shift day 5 accordingly.
• Reef safe sunscreen, rash guards, closed shoes for Arikok, a hat for everything.
• The sustainability fee ($20 per adult) and ED card are done online before you fly; see our entry guide.

Stay nearby

This week works from any of our homes. Ocean View 2BR on the Palm Beach strip lets you skip the car on three days and walk to the piers. Oasis Hideaway in Gold Coast is five minutes from the day 4 beaches and has a private pool for the afternoons. The Hideout Dream Big Suite and Hideout Happiness Suite near Eagle Beach put day 2 and the Passions dinner on foot. Compare them at /stays/.

Questions people ask

How many days do you need in Aruba?

Seven is right for a first visit: three beach days, one for the park, one for the south, one for the snorkel coast, one spare. Five works if you skip the south or the park.

What should a first timer not miss in Aruba?

Eagle Beach at 8 am, the snorkel coast at Boca Catalina and Tres Trapi, the Natural Pool in Arikok, fish at Zeerover in Savaneta, and the San Nicolas murals. Sunset every day is free.

Do I need a car for a week in Aruba?

For this itinerary, yes, at least five of the seven days. Days 2 and 3 can be done without one from Palm Beach.

What is the best day trip in Aruba?

The south coast loop: Mangel Halto snorkel, Zeerover lunch, San Nicolas murals, Baby Beach. One day, one tank of fuel, most of the real island.