Where to Stay in Aruba: Best Areas From a Noord Host

Aruba is 20 miles long and 6 miles wide. You can drive from one end to the other in 45 minutes. So the best area to stay in Aruba is less about distance and more about what you want outside your front door at 8 am and at 8 pm. Ghislaine has lived in Noord for years and explains the areas to guests like this.

Palm Beach: the strip

This is the two mile stretch of white sand in front of the high rise resorts: Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Hyatt, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Barceló and the rest. Behind the hotels runs J.E. Irausquin Boulevard with Paseo Herencia, Palm Beach Plaza, the casinos and roughly forty restaurants and bars within a ten minute walk.

The water is calm and shallow, good for kids and for people who want to float rather than swim. Piers at the Hyatt and De Palm Pier have bars on the water (Bugaloe, Pelican Pier). Every water sports operator on the island works from here.

Downside: it is busy. Chairs near the resorts fill by mid morning, the beach bars play music, and parking along the boulevard is a daily hunt. If you are staying here, you want to be on the strip itself, not three streets back with a car to park.

Best for: first timers, nightlife, people who do not want to drive, couples who want dinner on foot. Our Ocean View 2BR is here.

Eagle Beach: wide, quiet, low rise

Two miles south of Palm Beach, past the Divi resorts. Eagle Beach is wider, the sand is softer, and the hotels across the road are low rise (Bucuti, Manchebo, Amsterdam Manor, Boardwalk). No building taller than the fofoti trees, which is the point. This is the beach with the two leaning fofoti trees on every postcard, and it is a sea turtle nesting beach from March into the autumn.

The low rise area has fewer restaurants on foot than Palm Beach but better ones per square metre: Passions on the Beach, Elements at Bucuti, Ike’s Bistro at Manchebo, the Dutch Pancakehouse by the Alhambra casino. Palm Beach is 5 to 7 minutes by car for the rest.

Downside: the shaded palapas belong to the hotels across the road in practice if not in law, so bring an umbrella or arrive before 9 am. The current beyond the swim zone can be strong on windy days.

Best for: couples, honeymooners, families with small kids, people who read on the beach. Our Hideout Dream Big Suite and Hideout Happiness Suite are minutes from here.

Noord, Aruba: where the locals live

Noord is the district behind both beaches, from the Santa Anna church to the Alto Vista road. It is residential: cunucu houses, newer villa developments, Super Food Plaza supermarket, the Pastechi House, the Old Cunucu House restaurant. Rentals here are larger and cheaper per night than anything on the sand.

The trade off is the car. From most of Noord it is 5 to 10 minutes to Palm Beach or Eagle Beach, and you will drive it twice a day. For a family of six with two cars, that is a fine deal. For a couple who wanted to walk to the beach, it is a mistake, and it is the most common booking mistake we see on the big platforms.

Best for: families, groups, longer stays, repeat visitors.

Gold Coast, Malmok and Arashi: the north west corner

North of Palm Beach the road runs past Malmok’s beachfront villas, the Boca Catalina and Arashi snorkel beaches, Tierra del Sol golf course and ends at the California Lighthouse. Gold Coast is the gated villa community just inland from Malmok, with its own pools and quiet streets.

This is the island’s upscale, residential corner. No high rises, no beach bars, the best snorkelling on the west coast straight from the sand, and sunset at the lighthouse. It is also where the Antilla wreck lies, a few hundred metres offshore.

You need a car. Palm Beach is 5 to 8 minutes, Eagle Beach 12 to 15, Oranjestad 20.

Best for: couples and families who want privacy, a private pool, snorkellers, people who have done the strip before. Our Oasis Hideaway is in Gold Coast.

Oranjestad: the capital

Dutch colonial facades, the cruise terminal, Renaissance Mall, the free tram, Fort Zoutman with the Bon Bini Festival on Tuesday evenings, and the best coffee and lunch places on the island along Wilhelminastraat and the Renaissance Marketplace.

For a beach holiday it does not work well. The city beaches (Surfside, Druif) are fine for a swim but small and next to the airport flight path. Rentals in town are cheap for a reason.

Best for: a one or two night cruise connection, business trips, a city break tacked onto a longer stay elsewhere.

Savaneta, Pos Chiquito and San Nicolas: the south

Twenty minutes past the airport the island changes. Savaneta is the old fishing village with Zeerover on the pier and the Flying Fishbone restaurant with tables in the water. Mangel Halto at Pos Chiquito is the best shore snorkelling on the island. San Nicolas is the former refinery town, now the mural capital of Aruba, and Baby Beach is at the far southern tip.

Rentals here are few and local. You are 30 minutes from Palm Beach and you will not have a restaurant strip. We send guests here for a day, not a week, unless they specifically want the quiet.

Best for: a second visit, divers, people who want nothing between them and the sea.

Best area to stay in Aruba, by what you want

• Nightlife, restaurants on foot, no car: Palm Beach.
• Wide beach, quiet, low rise: Eagle Beach.
• Space and value, you have a car: Noord.
• Privacy, private pool, snorkelling: Gold Coast, Malmok, Arashi.
• City, cruise, one night: Oranjestad.
• Local, far from everything: Savaneta, San Nicolas.

Stay nearby

We placed our four homes across the three areas we would book ourselves. Ocean View 2BR on the Palm Beach strip, Oasis Hideaway in Gold Coast with its own pool near Arashi, and the Hideout Dream Big Suite and Hideout Happiness Suite near Eagle Beach. Compare them at /stays/.

Questions people ask

What is the best area to stay in Aruba for first timers?

Palm Beach if you want restaurants and nightlife on foot, Eagle Beach if you want a quieter beach and a short drive to everything. Both are within 15 minutes of the airport.

How far is Eagle Beach from Palm Beach?

About 2 miles along the coast road. It is a 5 to 7 minute drive, a 10 minute bus ride on the Arubus hotel route, or a 40 minute walk along the beach and boulevard.

Is Noord a good place to stay in Aruba?

Yes, if you have a car. Noord is the residential district behind Palm Beach and Eagle Beach. You get more space for your money and you are 5 to 10 minutes from both beaches, but you will drive to the sand.

Is Oranjestad worth staying in?

For a short trip or a cruise connection, yes. It has the shops, the tram and the harbour. For a beach week, no. The city beaches are small and the good ones are a drive away.

How long does it take to drive across Aruba?

About 45 minutes from the California Lighthouse in the north to Baby Beach in the south, on paved roads. Nothing on the island is far.