Aruba is just off the South American coast, in the deep southern part of the Caribbean and is known by most as “One Happy Island”. It boasts 20 miles of pure white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and as it lies outside the hurricane belt it offers great year-round weather. Aruba is mainly flat with the famous Divi-Divi tree and its numerous cacti making the landscape quite unique. The capital Oranjestad offers colourful buildings and dockside bazaars, which are ideal to explore on foot and the island really is an exotic paradise of stylish resorts and charming Dutch colonial architecture.
Things to see & do in Aruba
Attractions: If you fancy a break from lazing on the beach and catching the Caribbean rays, Aruba’s capital Oranjestad is a wonderful place to explore. This pretty city is named after the Netherlands’ first king, William of Orange-Nassau and perfectly reflects Aruba’s Dutch heritage in style, architecture and as well as name. The city is awash with colourful colonial buildings with traditional dutch tiles and is a great place to simply wander, taking in the pretty harbour, waterfront market and boutiques along palm-fringed streets. Nature lovers will enjoy a day trip to the Arikok National Park which serves as a sanctuary for many varieties of flora and fauna and also houses plantation house ruins, ancient Arawak painting and the native divi-divi trees.
Events/festivals: Aruba is far from a sleepy island and its calendar of events, festivals and celebrations is testament to that. Some of the major events include the annual carnival whose Grand Parade takes place on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday through Aruba’s capital city of Oranjestad – with spectacular costumes adorned with feathers and sequins, plus live music and stunning floats. In May each year, the island hosts its Soul Beach Music Festival where top acts including the likes of Chaka Khan and Lauren Hill perform for a 2-night concert. This event has recently been voted by American newspaper USA Today as one of the top five Caribbean Celebrations.
Sports: There is a hive of water sports activity along the west coast of the island, including sailing, deep sea fishing, kite surfing, waterskiing and parasailing. Aruba has a championship golf course at the island’s northwest tip at Tierra del Sol. Holidaymakers can also explore some of the island’s countryside and coastline on horseback, or if mountain biking is more your thing, hire a bike and try out some of the challenging 350km of mountain bike trails which cover the island.
Nightlife: Aruba’s nightlife is largely based around the hotels and resorts on the west coast of the island. Most bars can be found in the capital of Oranjestad, Palm Beach and Eagle Beach. There is something for everyone from beach bar shacks to more sophisticated bars and an couple of nightclubs.
Eating/Drinking: Aruban cuisine leans on its Dutch heritage with certain dishes such as keeshi yena, which is baked Gouda stuffed with meat, spices, cashews, raisins and capers. Fresh seafood is popular in many restaurants and you can taste some fabulously fresh grouper, snapper and crab on the island. Many dishes of the traditional dishes are flavoured with coconut and Caribbean spices and other popular favourites include stoba (lamb or goat stew) and sweets such as coconut candy. . It is safe to drink the tap water in Aruba and for drinks of the alcoholic variety, the aruba rum punch is one of the island’s firm favourites.
Shopping: If you like snapping up a designer bargain, you will love Aruba’s shopping centres such as the Royal Plaza Mall in downtown Oranjestad, which offer designer brands and labels at discounted prices. You will find hand-rolled cigars at the Cigar Emporium and local handmade crafts in boutiques dotted around the island.
When to go
Aruba enjoys a consistently warm and sunny all year round temperature of 24-29 degrees. As it is one of the ‘ABC’ islands situated just outside the hurricane belt, it is lucky to be very rarely affected by tropical storms.
One of the island's best all-round properties, catering for everyone and set in an ideal location next to Eagle Beach.
Learn MoreA large beachfront resort with great facilities, situated on the popular Palm Beach and catering for families and couples alike.
Learn MoreAn adults only property, with easy access to Eagle Beach. Perfect for honeymooners and couples seeking a relaxing romantic break.
Learn MoreThis luxury boutique hotel is perfectly situated on Aruba's best beach and is ideal for those seeking tranquillity and intimacy.
Learn MoreWhy choose eShores?
One to One Service
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.
100% Tailor Made
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.
Fully Protected
Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.
Competitive Pricing
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.
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Tony
Michelle is fantastic and has so much patience with Me which I thank Her for. On this occasion the pricing was more favourable than My last trip but again Michelle has been so supportive and met all My expectations.
Posted 19 hours ago -
Jane
Second time booking with Michelle at e shores. Could not have been more helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. Would highly recommend.
Posted 1 day ago -
Maureen
Nick was very helpful in finding us a suitable 2 centre holiday in Greece. He quickly amended the original quote when we had to change the dates. He was very approachable, polite and friendly.
Posted 1 day ago -
Anonymous
Matt really helped with our booking. Nothing was too much trouble. Every time we changed our mind (which was quite a few) he rearranged the plans and got back to us promptly. I will definitely use this company again.
Posted 3 days ago -
Angela
Have just booked with eShores for the second time. Gavin planned a three week Caribbean Island hopping trip earlier this year which was fantastic and very well organised. We decided to do the same thing again and look forward to our next trip in January. Would definitely recommend this company and use them again.
Posted 5 days ago -
Paul
Absolutely a fab team ...Matt has been taking care of my holiday he is really so nice and helpful and responded to everything for me..
Posted 5 days ago -
TeresaFrancina
Eshore’s are an excellent company I can’t praise them enough, especially Adam who has been amazing. He was really patient as I’m indecisive and changed my mind several times. He persevered and found us a dream holiday and put together great itinerary covering every aspect of our journey . Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances we had to cancel the trip and Adam went above and beyond to recoup as much as possible for us. It was a huge help & felt very personal as if he were a friend. We have rescheduled the holiday & will use Eshores for all future trips’
Posted 6 days ago -
DebbieAnn
Nick was helpful from start to finish, helped us with any concerns, would recommend( not been on the holiday yet but sure we won’t be disappointed)
Posted 1 week ago -
KarenBryant
Lynette has been very accommodating it meeting all of our requests and changes and also with her suggestions. Price was good too.
Posted 1 week ago -
Chuk
I had never heard of eshores till I decided to plan a multi-stop holiday in Turkey some weeks ago. The decision to use eshores was based on a quick internet search for any help I could get with this. So, i wasnt really expecting much. As the planning was at relatively short notice...and we had never travelled to Turkey, I was pleasantly surprised at the support I had from Rachel at eshores who listened to what I wanted and was patient to go back and forth with me till I had the exact holiday I wanted (Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya). I always had a response with every query(and I had quite a few!!). The travel itself worked like a dream...both international and domestic flights were straightforward, but even more surprising was how reliable the multiple taxis to and fro airports were, even when picking up at 0330!! Overall, the experience has been very positive and I would be very happy to use the service again
Posted 1 week ago
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