Aruba Airport Guide: Arrival, Taxis and US Preclearance

Aruba airport, officially Queen Beatrix International, code AUA, is small, close to everything and mostly painless, with one rule that catches people every week: for a flight to the United States you go through US customs and immigration before you board, in Aruba, and that takes time. Ghislaine does airport runs for guests often enough to have the timing down. Here it is, arrival first, then departure.

Arriving at Aruba airport

The airport sits on the south coast just east of Oranjestad. Flights from the US east coast land in the early afternoon, the Amsterdam flights late afternoon, and the arrivals hall is busiest between about 1 and 5 pm, when the queue at immigration can run 30 to 45 minutes. Morning arrivals walk through in ten.

Before you fly you need the online ED card, Aruba’s entry form, and from 2025 a $20 per person sustainability fee is paid with it. Do it the week before, not at the gate; our entry rules guide walks through the form and who is exempt. At immigration you show your passport and the ED card confirmation. Baggage comes out on carousels just past it, and customs is a walk through unless you are picked for a check.

Then you are outside, in the heat, with three options in front of you.

Taxis from Aruba airport

Taxis wait at the stand directly outside arrivals. There are no meters. Fares are fixed by the government per zone and printed on a card in each cab, for up to four passengers with one checked bag and one carry on each. The 2026 rates from the airport:

• Oranjestad: $26
• Noord: $34
• Eagle Beach and the low rise hotels: $37
• Palm Beach and the high rise hotels: $41
• Gold Coast, Malmok and Arashi: around $44 to $47; ask the driver before you load the bags

Surcharges: $5 per trip between 11 pm and 7 am, on Sundays and on public holidays, which covers December 24 through January 1. A fifth, sixth or seventh passenger is $3 each, extra bags $3 each. Dollars are accepted, cards sometimes; carry cash. The drive to Eagle Beach is about 15 minutes, Palm Beach 20, Gold Coast 25.

You cannot hail a taxi on Aruba and Uber and Lyft do not operate here, so the stand or a phone call is how it works for the whole stay. There are no ride share apps to download.

Rental car desks at the airport

Hertz, Avis, Budget, Thrifty, National and several local firms have desks in or just outside the arrivals hall, with the cars in a lot a short walk away or a shuttle ride for the off airport firms. In high season the desk queue can add 30 minutes to your arrival; the trick is for one of you to collect the bags while the other goes straight to the desk with the booking confirmation.

Local firms are usually cheaper and will deliver the car to your door instead, which is what we arrange for most guests: you taxi to the home, the car arrives an hour later, no desk. Whether you need a car at all depends on where you stay, and our guide to whether you need a car in Aruba answers that by area.

Buses and hotel shuttles

The Arubus public bus stops on the main road outside the airport, not at the terminal, and runs to the Oranjestad bus station where you change for the hotel route to Eagle Beach and Palm Beach. It costs a few dollars and takes about an hour with the change. Fine for a backpacker, not for a family with luggage. Some resorts run shuttles; vacation rentals do not, which is why the taxi rates above matter.

Departing from Aruba airport to the US

This is the part to read twice. Aruba has US Customs and Border Protection preclearance. Everyone on a flight to the US clears US immigration and customs in Aruba, before boarding, in a dedicated US terminal. The benefit is real: you land in Miami, Newark or Boston as a domestic passenger, no queue, straight to your bags or your connecting gate. The cost is time on the Aruba end.

The sequence is: airline check in and bag drop, Aruba security, Aruba exit immigration, then US CBP, then the gate. Four queues. The airport’s own guidance is to arrive three hours before departure, and during the current terminal construction it does not let US bound passengers into the US terminal earlier than three hours before their scheduled time. If you arrive at four hours you wait outside with your bags until your flight is called. If your flight is delayed, come at the original time anyway.

Ways to make it faster:

• Mobile Passport Control, the free CBP app, lets you submit your declaration on your phone and use a shorter line. Download it at home.
• Global Entry works at Aruba’s preclearance for members.
• Check in online the night before and use the self bag drop, which is only for US flights.
• Return the rental car first; the lots are a few minutes from the terminal and the agent walks you back.

Expect the whole thing to take 60 to 90 minutes on a normal afternoon and longer on a Saturday in March, when most of the US flights leave within the same two hours.

Departing to Europe, Canada or elsewhere

Non US flights use the other terminal and skip the CBP step. Two hours before departure is enough outside peak weeks; two and a half for the KLM and TUI flights to Amsterdam in high season, when the check in queue is long. Aruba exit immigration is quick.

Inside the terminal

Keep expectations modest. The airport is in the middle of a multi year expansion, and from 2026 several shops and restaurants after security have closed while new gate areas are built, so eat before you come. There is free wifi, a few cafes, duty free, and a small VIP lounge that sells day passes. Air conditioning is strong; bring the layer you have not worn all week. The parking lot fills in summer and at Christmas, which only matters if someone local is dropping you.

A last word from a host

The airport is 20 minutes from the beach. Do not let it eat your last day. Our guests on a 4 pm US flight have breakfast at home, a final swim at 10, shower, drop the car, and are at the airport by 1. That is the whole plan.

Stay nearby

Our four homes are 15 to 25 minutes from the airport by taxi, and we send the official fare and the rental delivery details with every booking. Ocean View 2BR on the Palm Beach strip, Oasis Hideaway in Gold Coast, and the adults only Hideout Dream Big Suite and Hideout Happiness Suite near Eagle Beach are at /stays/.

Questions people ask

How early should I get to Aruba airport for a US flight?

Three hours before departure, and not earlier. You clear US customs and immigration in Aruba, and the airport only lets passengers into the US terminal three hours before their scheduled time.

How much is a taxi from Aruba airport to Palm Beach?

The official 2026 rate is $41 to Palm Beach, $37 to Eagle Beach, $34 to Noord and $26 to Oranjestad, for up to four people. Add $5 at night, on Sundays and on public holidays.

How far is Aruba airport from the beaches?

Close. Oranjestad is 5 minutes, Eagle Beach 15, Palm Beach 20 and the Gold Coast around 25 minutes by car. Nothing on the island is more than 40 minutes away.

Do I go through customs when I land in the US from Aruba?

No. Because of US preclearance you already did it in Aruba, so you land as a domestic passenger and walk straight to baggage claim or your connection.