Do You Need a Car in Aruba? A Local Host Answers

Do you need a car in Aruba? The honest answer is: it depends on where you sleep. Ghislaine gets asked this in half the enquiry messages we receive, and her answer changes by home. Here it is by area, then the numbers.

By area

Palm Beach strip. No, if you are a beach and restaurant person. From our Ocean View 2BR you walk to the sand, the piers, the catamarans, forty restaurants and the supermarket in Palm Beach Plaza. For the one day you want Arikok or the south, book a jeep tour with pickup or rent a car for 24 hours from one of the desks on the strip. Many guests rent for two days out of seven and that is the cheapest way to do it.

Eagle Beach. Probably. The beach and a few restaurants are on foot from our Hideout suites, and the Arubus runs along the boulevard. But the Dutch Pancakehouse, the Old Cunucu House and Super Food Plaza are five minute drives, and you will want to go to the north west snorkel beaches. A car for the whole week makes the stay easier; a car for three days works if you plan.

Gold Coast, Malmok, Arashi. Yes. Oasis Hideaway is in a residential community with no restaurants in walking distance and the best beaches five minutes away by road. Rent for the full stay, no question.

Noord villas (the ones on the big platforms). Yes, always, and often two cars for a group. This is the booking mistake we see most: a family rents a villa ten minutes inland and a single car and spends the week negotiating who gets it.

Oranjestad. No for a short stay. Walk, tram, taxi.

Aruba car rental: prices and practicalities

• Price: a compact runs roughly $45 to $65 per day in shoulder and low season, $80 to $120 for a 4x4 or SUV. Add 20 to 40 percent for December through March, and book early then; the island physically runs out of cars at Christmas.
• Where: desks at the airport (Hertz, Avis, Budget, Thrifty and local firms like Top Drive and More4Less) and along the Palm Beach strip. Local firms are often cheaper and will deliver the car to our homes.
• Licence: your home country licence held for at least two years. No international permit needed for a tourist stay. Minimum age is usually 21 to 25 depending on the company, maximum 65 to 70 at some.
• Insurance: check whether your credit card covers rentals in Aruba; many US cards do. Buy the local waiver if not. Read the exclusion for unpaved roads: almost every contract voids cover inside Arikok and on the north coast tracks. A 4x4 does not change the contract.
• Fuel: petrol is sold by the litre and is more expensive than the US, cheaper than Europe. A compact uses a tank in a week of normal driving.
• Parking: free almost everywhere except the Oranjestad centre, which has paid street parking on weekdays. Our homes all have parking on site.

Driving in Aruba

Right side. Speed limits are 40 km/h in towns, 60 to 80 on the main roads, and nobody is in a hurry. Roundabouts are the main thing: there are dozens, traffic inside has priority, and you signal right before you exit. Road signs are in Dutch (Oranjestad is spelled out, Palm Beach is Palm Beach). The main roads are good. Side roads in Noord have potholes and unmarked speed bumps; drive slowly at night. Goats and donkeys are real hazards in Santa Cruz and the east.

Drinking and driving: the limit is 0.5 promille like the Netherlands and the police do check on weekend nights near Palm Beach.

Aruba taxi rates

No meters, fixed government rates by zone, printed in every cab and on taxi.aw. The 2026 airport fares for up to four passengers:

• Oranjestad: $26
• Noord: $34
• Eagle Beach (low rise): $37
• Palm Beach (high rise): $41

Surcharges: $5 flat per trip between 11 pm and 7 am, on Sundays and on public holidays including December 24 to January 1. Fifth to seventh passenger $3 each, extra bags beyond one checked and one carry on $3 each. Palm Beach to Eagle Beach is around $10 to $14; Palm Beach to Arashi around the same; Palm Beach to Baby Beach well over $50 each way, which is the point at which a car wins.

Taxis are booked by phone or picked up at the resort stands, not hailed. Your home has a taxi number on the fridge.

Is there Uber in Aruba?

No. Uber, Lyft and Bolt do not operate on Aruba, and the taxi association has kept it that way. Your options are the fixed rate taxis above, the Arubus, a rental car, or tour pickups. A private driver for a day can be arranged through most hosts and hotels, which only makes sense for a group.

Arubus: the public bus in Aruba

The public bus. The hotel route runs from the Oranjestad bus station along the boulevard past Eagle Beach and Palm Beach to Malmok and Arashi, every 15 to 30 minutes by day, less in the evening and on Sundays, roughly 5:30 am to 11 pm. A single ride is about $2.50 to $3, cash, and day passes exist. It is clean, air conditioned and used by locals and visitors alike.

Limits: it does not go to Arikok, the Natural Pool, the north coast, or Mangel Halto in any useful way. San Nicolas and Baby Beach are reachable with a change in Oranjestad, around an hour each way.

Tours instead of a car

If you only want the interior once, a jeep tour to Arikok and the Natural Pool from $85 to $110 per person with pickup is cheaper than a 4x4 rental for two people, includes the park fee, and avoids the insurance problem. Snorkel boats, sunset sails and the De Palm Island day all pick up on the strip. A family of four doing three tours in a week, though, has already paid for a week of compact car.

Our recommendation, in one line each

• Ocean View 2BR, Palm Beach: no car, rent one for a day or two.
• Hideout Dream Big Suite and Hideout Happiness Suite, Eagle Beach: a car for at least half the stay.
• Oasis Hideaway, Gold Coast: a car for the whole stay.

Stay nearby

All four homes have on site parking and a local car rental firm that delivers to the door. Compare locations and decide how many days of car you need at /stays/.

Questions people ask

Do you need a car in Aruba?

Not if you stay on the Palm Beach strip and only want the beach and restaurants. Yes if you stay anywhere else, or want Arashi, Arikok, Mangel Halto or Baby Beach without paying for tours or taxis each time.

How much is a rental car in Aruba?

A compact runs roughly $45 to $65 per day, a 4x4 or SUV $80 to $120, more in December through March. Book ahead for high season; the island runs out of cars.

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

Official 2026 rates: $41 to Palm Beach, $37 to Eagle Beach, $34 to Noord, $26 to Oranjestad, for up to four people. Add $5 at night (11 pm to 7 am), on Sundays and on holidays.

Which side of the road do they drive on in Aruba?

The right, like the US and the Netherlands. Your home licence is fine; no international permit is needed for a tourist stay. Roundabouts are everywhere and traffic inside the circle has priority.

Is there public transport in Aruba?

Yes, Arubus. The main routes link Oranjestad with Eagle Beach, Palm Beach and Malmok roughly every 15 to 30 minutes by day, around $2.50 to $3 a ride. It does not reach Arikok, the Natural Pool or the north coast.