Things to Do in Aruba with Kids (or without them)

Aruba, dubbed as One Happy Island is exactly that. This Caribbean island is below the hurricane belt so you can enjoy it year round without fear of a natural disaster. Here are some things to do in Aruba with kids or without them to help you plan a trip to Aruba.

How To Get Cheap Flights to Aruba

If you’re looking to cheap flights to Aruba, Skyscanner will help you. Skyscanner is how we found our cheap flight to Aruba on a holiday weekend. In my case I wanted to take advantage of 4th of July and have a 4 day weekend with only having to take 1 day off work as the holiday was on a Tuesday. Taking advantage of paid holiday’s is how I travel frequently with a full time job.

For this trip I actually didn’t care where we went as long as it was affordable and that’s why I used Skyscanner.  It allows you to find cheap flights two ways. 

1. If you have specific dates but don’t care about the destination you can search your home (and nearby) airports and select the destination as everywhere. Just enter your dates and Skyscanner will tell you the cheapest places to fly to during those dates.

2. If you have a specific destination you want to visit but are flexible with dates you can search the cheapest month to travel to that destination and Skyscanner will do all the work for you. Their app is just a great as their website, download it here.

You May Be Interested in Reading: The Best Websites for Flight Deals

​Where to Stay in Aruba

We chose to stay at the Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino. Our main reason for this decisions was to have access to Aruba’s Flamingo Beach on the hotels private island. It’s where you see all of the infamous photos of people feeding flamingos in Aruba.

If you don’t stay here but want to visit Aruba’s Flamingo Beach you will have to pay $100 per person for a day pass. If you’re going with your child, kids are only allowed on the beach with the flamingos from 9-10AM as it’s on the adult only side of the island. The price of the hotel was the same and in some cases cheaper than the other options nearby making more sense to just stay there. 

Renaissance Aruba Resort is in a great location; there are shops, restaurants, and a movie theater in the outdoor mall attached to the hotel. It is also directly across the street from the I Love Aruba sign. It’s ten minutes from the airport and the taxi will cost $18. Be aware that if you fly in on a Sunday their is a surcharge for taxis and the price will be $21.

Things to Do in Aruba with Kids (or without them)

Things to do in Aruba Day One: Hotel Pool, Exploring our Hotel Area and Sea Salt Grill

We got to Aruba mid-day but our room wasn’t ready when we arrived at the hotel. We grabbed lunch and then hung out at the pool.

Before dinner we walked around our hotel area a bit and came across the cutest little house. There are tons of bright colored buildings in Aruba and this one was too cute not to snap some pictures in front of.

 

Looking for the best restaurants in Aruba? We loved the Sea Salt Grill so much we ate their twice. They have live music at night, the food was really good and prices were reasonable.

Things to do in Aruba Day Two: 4×4 National Park Tour

As beautiful as the beaches in Aruba there are more things to do in Aruba with kids like exploring the National Park. We booked this half day 4×4 tour through Viator. After booking, a follower who saw we were in Aruba said visiting the California Lighthouse was a must.

When we met our tour guide I asked him if this was something we would see and he said it wasn’t apart of our tour. I let him know I was disappointed as it was recommended and he said not to worry he would make it happen. He did, along with some other surprises. I was so appreciative of this and it really made a difference. Our tour guide was Andrew if you want to request him!

​After a quick visit to the California Lighthouse, Andrew made a second bonus stop to visit the oldest Catholic Church on the island, which is in the middle of nowhere. They still have mass every Tuesday and some people get married here.

 

Next was was a stop to see the Natural Bridge which is a rock formation on the coast that looks like a bridge. After a brief stop we made our way to the Gold Mine Ruins, which was the place to dig for gold at the height of the gold rush in Aruba.​

Our final stop and the main attraction was the Natural Pool Aruba which is right along the coastline. Here we spent an hour and you can swim, snorkel, or jump off the small 3ft cliff.

 

Things to Do in Aruba with Kids ​Day Three: Relaxing at Palm Beach and Eagle Beach

Palm Beach and Eagle Beach are rated as two of the Best Beaches in Aruba and we’d be exploring both in one day. The water at Palm Beach Aruba is calm and shallow making it a great beach for families. 

If you want to do sports activities Palm Beach Aruba is the best beach in Aruba for this. Activities on Palm Beach included kite-surfing, jet-skiing wind-surfing, parasailing, SUPS, kayaking and much more. We decided to rent some SUPs from Island Cabana.

Island Cabana also rents clear kayaks which is great for seeing the crystal blue see-through water while paddling. They are two-seaters but if you have a small child they are allowed to sit in front of you even if there are two adults. They do not provide child life vests so be sure to bring your own.

 

Next we headed to Eagle Beach, famous for the pair of native Divi-Divi Trees. ​While there are water sports/activities available here there were definitely more options at Palm Beach. The water at Palm Beach is also a lot more calm and see-through. Whereas at Palm Beach Jordyn and I could go far out, we couldn’t go more than 5ft from the shoreline at Eagle Beach.

 

​Things to Do in Aruba with Kids Day Four: Aruba Flamingo Beach

Renaissance Island which is where Aruba’s Flamingo Beach is located. It is open from 7:00AM-6:45PM. Boats pick up guests every 15 minutes from the dock. Although we visited Flamingo Beach each morning from 9-10AM to see the flamingos before going off to explore the rest of Aruba, today we stayed for half the day.

After our hour with the flamingos we moved to the family side of the island. It is just as gorgeous and honestly better for swimming. This is because everyone isn’t chasing the flamingos around trying to get a picture. On the island you can rent kayaks, paddle boards, and go on diving trips outside of the enclosed area. There is a restaurant and two bars.

 

 

Family side pictured above

 

Frolicking with the Flamingos

Enjoying Pina Coladas on the family side of the private Renaissance Island.

Leaving Aruba and Clearing Customs

Like the Bahamas you clear U.S. customs prior to boarding your flight. When you arrive at your home airport you will arrive at a domestic terminal and be able to leave the airport immediately. Due to this arrive to the airport a little earlier than you might in case there are long lines. If you end up having time to kill before your flight departs and are a Priority Pass member you’ll have two lounges to hang out in.

Money in Aruba

U.S. dollars are widely accepted in Aruba so there is no need to exchange cash. While Visa and Mastercard are also widely accepted we saw quite a few places that do not accept American Express.

Strollers/Carriers/Car Seats

Strollers: I didn’t bring a stroller for my daughter because as I knew we’d mostly be at the beach and the little walking we would do she would be able to manage. If you plan of doing a lot of shopping or walking around I recommend traveling with one.
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Carrier: When traveling to Aruba with kids remember it is hot! Since it’s very easy to use a stroller here so I would caution using a carrier as you and baby will most likely be sweating a lot.

Car Seats: If you will be renting a car I would bring your own car seat when traveling to Aruba with kids. Some of the taxis we got in had missing seat belts in one or all of the seats in the back. You won’t be able to use a carseat on the off-road tour. Here are tips on traveling with car seats.

We had a great time exploring Aruba. There are many things to do in Aruba with kids, I hope this helped you plan a trip to Aruba. If you found it helpful please share this article!
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