Aruba Multi-day Trips: A Week From One Base
Short Answer: Stay Put
Aruba is a small island, about 32 km long and 10 km wide, and driving its full length takes under an hour. Trips that need an overnight stay in a different place do not exist here. You will not find an overland circuit with nightly stops, and you cannot sleep inside Arikok National Park, where camping is not permitted. Neighbouring Curacao and Bonaire are reachable by plane only, because no passenger ferries link the three islands.
What works instead is choosing one home base and building each day around a theme. If a week in a single place feels too still, split your stay across two areas of the island, for example one half on the Palm Beach and Eagle Beach side and the other near Oranjestad or Savaneta. A slow week with long beach mornings is a good plan too.
A Five to Seven Day Template
Day 1: Arrive and settle. Complete the free ED Card at edcardaruba.aw before you fly. Travelers aged 8 and older pay a US$20 Sustainability Fee during that process. Spend the first afternoon on a nearby beach.
Day 2: Arikok. The park pass is $22 for adults, with under-17s free, and the gates are open 8:00 to 16:00. Go to the Natural Pool by 4x4 or on a guided Jeep outing. Quads and motorbikes are barred inside the park.
Day 3: Oranjestad. Ride the free streetcar, which covers 1.9 km and 10 stops and does not run on Sundays. Stroll along Main Street and visit the fort.
Day 4: South coast. Visit the San Nicolas murals in the morning and relax at the Baby Beach lagoon later.
Day 5: On the water. Snorkel the Antilla wreck and the Malmok coves early, then rest in the afternoon.
Day 6: De Palm Island. Entry is from $129 and includes food, drinks, snorkeling and the water park.
Day 7: Free choice. Climb Hooiberg at dawn, or book an evening sunset sail.
Costs While You Stay
Dollars are accepted everywhere; the legal currency is the Aruban florin, at 1.79 to the dollar. A single bus ride costs $2.60, a day pass $15. Taxis have no meters and a $10 starting fare. The tap water is safe to drink, so you need not buy bottled water.
Cautions
Hide valuables when you leave a car. Hurricane season runs from June to November, so choose bookings that can be changed.
Read more: a 5 day Aruba plan , a 7 day plan and Aruba day trips .
Compare places to stay on Booking.com . Park fees are on the conservation foundation site .