A fantastic summer family trip to Aruba

Our fantastic summer family trip to Aruba felt like everything you could want from a holiday, even though as we arrived I panicked and thought it wasn’t for us.

As the island came in to view I started to worry that spending two weeks here we would run out of things to do. As an active family who like to get out and enjoy the culture I was seriously concerned Aruba would be lacking in everything we needed.

Two weeks later with sand permanently on our feet and salt in our hair we didn’t want to leave.

*AD / I may have been compensated or gifted in this post by attractions or accommodation options. To read more please see my Disclosure Policy.

About Aruba

Aruba is the furthest south of the Caribbean islands and is just 20 miles off the coast of Venezuela.

Still under the jurisdiction of the Netherlands it has an unmistakable Dutch vibe with Caribbean flavours.

It’s long been the playground of North American vacationers and the large cruise ships that pull in to the port to enjoy the beautiful beaches here. The water in Aruba is like something else, stunning turquoise seas with white sand stretching out.

Aruba is much more than simple beach time though. The capital of Oranjestad is quirky and colourful and full of some fantastic dining options.

However it’s beyond the main south-west coast that Aruba really shines. The terrain becoming sandier and rockier, vibrant turquoise lizards darting in every direction and forests of prickly cacti dotting the entire landscape.

Here, where the sea can crash spectacularly against the rocky shoreline and beautiful, quiet bays allow for perfect snorkelling, is where the real Aruba shows itself.

We clambered around deserted gold mines, swam with colourful fish and beautiful, graceful turtles, took walks to bat filled caves where the drawings of the earliest settlers are still visible and made towers of stones near natural bridges.

Through all these experiences Aruba crept in and stole our hearts.

Flying in

Our travels started at the Queen Beatrix International Airport where just outside the main entrance the Hertz car hire sat in the sunshine. Here we were kitted out with a perfect, family sized car complete with “Aruba – One Happy Island” sticker, ready to take us on our adventures.

We headed off, driving through Oranjestad where the first impressions were of Dutch styled buildings in pretty pastels and along the coastline of twisted divi trees that soon became such a symbol of the island.

Bubali Villas – our summer family trip to Aruba

We headed through to the touristy area of Noord which was to be our base for the two weeks on Aruba and the first of our stays, at Bubali Villas.

Bubali Villas was a really lovely location to start our Aruba adventures. With a pool outside our apartment and self catering facilities in the room, it became a home away from home and somewhere to plan our wonderful adventures from.

We loved helping ourselves to the free coffee and sitting on the terrace while the kids jumped into the pool over and over again. They never tired of spending time in this refreshing space.

The beaches of Aruba on a family holiday

Our adventures started small. Checking out the nearby stretches of sand – Palm Beach which was almost deserted when we visited and was a wonderful first taste of swimming in the warm sea waters.

Then Eagle Beach – deservedly regularly nominated as one of the best beaches in the world.

And on to Malmok Beach – rockier and perfect for snorkeling with striped and spotted fish in almost every colour swimming past.

The beaches of Aruba are undeniably gorgeous.

They are almost out of this world in their picture perfectness and lazy days spent under the palapas while the children danced in and out of the sea felt so relaxed.

The kids kept thanking us for bringing them on the trip, reminding me how we rarely spend so many days on a beach holiday like this but how much they love it and benefit from it.

I’ve made a mental note to try and do it more often.

I can’t deny my itchy feet though and I was desperate to explore more, to get to the heart of the island, beyond the tourist trails of the beaches and find out what really made it tick.

Heading out of the main resorts it was remarkable how quickly the landscape changed.

The cacti grew denser and more woody, spines sharp and pointing upwards in a landscape that seemed otherworldly and a desert dream.

The roads were wilder too and we bounced along to find out what lay beyond.

Bushiribana Gold Mine

One of our first trips was to the abandoned Bushiribana gold mine.

The British built this in 1825, disguising it as a castle as a warning to approaching pirates.

The gold was extracted here in what must have been such inhospitable conditions.

Even with the almost constant winds that Aruba wraps herself in the temperature here is hot and the sun blistering, especially out here where you can almost feel the land cook beneath your feet.

We loved it though. It was atmospheric and as the sea crashed behind us the children scrambled up the rocky terrain for the views across the land.

The Natural Bridge

We then headed along the coast to the Natural Bridge. One of which has now collapsed where the sea felt angrier and more wild but beautifully so.

We marveled at the landscape here, so different from the calm waters and pristine sand of the resort areas of the island.

Arikok Nationl Park – on our family trip to Aruba

My favourite trip out though has to be to Arikok National Park. In the centre of the island and somewhere that seemed slightly foreboding.

That was until our guide for the day, Rambo (yes, really), showed up with his tattoos and walking boots and firmly but in the most friendly and engaging manner, took charge.

With Rambo’s lead we walked to areas we would not have dared on our own.

He guided us through the prickly paths, stopping occasionally to help us pick huge cacti spikes from our shoes, and pointing out birds we shouldn’t miss, plants that kept the forest going and told us some of the history of this intriguing area.

It was wonderful to have him with us, quickly diverting us when the unmistakable smell of a dead animal started to permeate the air and guiding through terrain that looked like it was impassable.

We also went with Rambo to visit some of Aruba’s caves which were heavy with bats hanging down, damp and eery.

He pointed out the paintings on the cave’s ceiling, pictures and designs from the island’s earliest settlers.

We found out so much on our day with Rambo (and he’s available to book for a tour at the Arikok National Park visitor centre so do ask for him).

Staying at Pauline’s

The second week of our trip to Aruba we stayed at the wonderful villas at Pauline’s. A sweet, Caribbean inspired apartment complex where we had the best time.

With beautiful, airy accommodation and a pool where the iguanas liked to hang out too it was a real oasis of calm complete with hammocks dotted around which the kids would hang out and swing in.

We loved it here, there was a kitchenette inside too and everything about the place was friendly and cheerful.

Baby Beach – trip to Aruba with children

From here we took trips out to the beaches of the south-east coast and in particular, our favourite, Baby Beach.

Here, far from the crowds of tourists on the main island beaches, we sat beside local families having picnics and the children played in the sea, snorkelling in the water and building sandcastles on the beach.

We adored it here, our own little place to come and relax and feel happy.

Activities we enjoyed on our family trip to Aruba

No trip to Aruba would be complete without enjoying some of those tourist activities though. And we didn’t stay away from all the fun of the Noord area.

Jolly Pirates

We took a really fun boat trip with Jolly Pirates Aruba where we went out as far as the SS Antilla Shipwreck, the German ship which was scuttled by her crew at the outbreak of the Second World War and now is home to a whole, colourful, sea life community.

On board we ate and drank and were merry and the nine year old even conquered her fears to swing off the side of the ship and in to the sea.

Submarine – family trip to Aruba

We also went under the water in the amazing De Palm Tours SeaWorld Explorer Aruba submarine.

This was a wonderful experience, seeing the SS Antilla up even closer and looking out and identifying the different fish swimming past and corals on the seabed.

De Palm Island

Spending a day on De Palm Island was an unexpected highlight.

The snorkelling here was just wonderful, so many tropical fish we had to pinch ourselves and swimming side by side with the kids, all of us breathlessly pointing out a new discovery to each other, “have you seen the really large bright blue fish?”, “quick, look over here, this spotted one”, was something I won’t forget.

Butterfly Farm

We also spent time inland, at the absolutely fantastic Aruba Butterfly Farm. That was a tropical dream full of fluttering butterflies and the world’s largest moth.

We loved it here and wished we had time to return to watch them all hatching early in the morning.

Sitting outside drinking homemade lemonade and freshly baked banana bread we thought this was one of the most special spots on the island.

Oranjestad – family trip to Aruba

We really enjoyed our trips in to the capital, Oranjestad too. On the surface the streets felt touristy, packed with jewellery stores and designer clothes but we enjoyed the back streets with the little local shops selling little tasty pastechi – pasty-like hot pies in a multitude of flavours.

There were some great cafes here in Oranjestad too and we had some wonderful meals out, particularly at Lucy’s Retired Surfers and The Dutch Pancake House. And a fantastic meal at Barefoot where we sat with our feet in the sand watching the sun set.

What we thought of our family holiday to Aruba

Our time in Aruba was so rich and varied, something, on first glance I really didn’t think it would be.

Watching the children gasp at the lizards and carefully watch the languid iguanas, to marvel at the changing landscape from palm trees to cacti and to learn about the history of this interesting island. We were captivated by all its many stories and faces.

On the last day of our trip to Aruba we headed back up to Baby Beach, our favourite spot on the island and swam in the warm waters one last time.

Then I spotted something below the surface which, when we swam close, moved away.

We carried on, splashing about and playing and then I saw the shadow was back and swimming closer to the surface.

Suddenly, out of the water a neck protruded and the unmistakable face of a turtle broke through to the air before dashing below once again.

My 11 year old had his snorkel and glass on and swam under the sea, alongside the turtle, emerging with eyes as wide as saucers, gasping out at the experience of swimming with a turtle.

We stayed at Baby Beach until the sun set and the turtle stayed too, swimming over and close to us, we were careful not to swim towards it or disturb it in any way.

It was the perfect end to our trip.

Watching the sun set, sending orange and pink sparks across the sky, none of us wanted to leave the little island that had entranced us so much.

Check out our short film of our trip to Aruba below and read more about this beautiful island with our ultimate guide to Aruba with kids here.

Souvenirs from Aruba

The best things to do in Aruba with children