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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KarenJane
Very efficient and goid communication. The person I spoke to was great and listened really well to my requests. It was particularly good to speak to a person.
Posted 2 days ago -
Patricia
Absolutely super service from Nick at eshores-knowledgeable, patient and nothing too much trouble, he made the whole process simple so we could focus on looking forward to our holiday- Thanks!
Posted 2 days ago -
Roger
Knowledgeable, helpful, listened and quick. Came up with an itinerary to match our needs.
Posted 3 days ago -
Debra
Booked my holiday with Kadie Thank you always so helpful ☺️
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Patricia
It was very easy to discuss & plan our 2 centre trip to Turkey with advisor Kelly .She was so helpful and we are very happy with her suggested holiday itinary . Kelly's presentation came promptly and was very professional ..
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AlisonFletcher
Brilliant trip organised by Dave, included Helsinki, Tallin, Vilnius and Riga. (4 different countries) Everything ran smoothly. Dave organised hotels, flights, taxis, ferry and coach. Have used this company a few times and can't recommend highly enough they are fab 😀
Posted 6 days ago -
Sandra
As always, Chris was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He gave me good advice on my travel plans and booked the holiday on my behalf. I've used eshores a number of times, and will continue to do so.
Posted 1 week ago -
Harrison
We haven’t been on our trip yet but based purely on the experience of booking the trip we are pleased with the result. It started with a bit of a hiccup as we spoke to a member of staff who never came back to us but when we reached back out again we were placed in the hands of Andy who has helped us book a 2 week trip to India including the golden triangle and then a few days on the beach. Andy was very patient with us with our changes to our tailor made holiday, even when we asked him to explore different areas only to revert back to the original plan. He also recommended moving the holiday back one week which created a saving of over £700 which meant we could upgrade the room for our beach stay in Goa. Andy was also available on weekends if we wanted to speak and regularly picked up the phone as opposed to keeping it to purely email dialogue. Hopefully the holiday will be amazing but based on the booking experience I would recommend eShores if you’re looking to book a tailor made holiday
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Wendy
I spoke to Lynette who was extremely helpful in understanding the trip that myself and my sister in law wanted from Thailand. Myself and my sister in law are both 72years young and we are really looking forward to our trip.
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Dawn
Excellent service from Matt at eShores. So very helpful and nothing was too much trouble. I booked Mya holiday after all his hard work finding me the perfect holiday that I wanted. Superb service and not pushy all all.
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