Tips for Excursions & Fun in Aruba

Tips for Excursions & Fun in Aruba 

Natural Pool Jeep Tour:

If you like adventures then I definitely recommend taking the Natural Pool Jeep Tour by De Palm Tours. It is a very adventurous tour and can be scary for some. The tour is a half day trip rather than a full day one, which is very nice. The jeep comes and picks you up right from your hotel. Try and sit in the front row rather than the last because you will feel less of the bumps you go over when going to the Natural Pool. 

Jeep that Takes you Everywhere

The jeep is like a safari jeep almost and it drives on the regular roads with cars. Since it is all open make sure you bring sunglasses to protect your eyes because it gets very dusty.

 Windmill You'll see when waiting for the other
Jeeps to Arrive 

After getting picked up by the jeep you will go and wait for the other jeeps in a parking lot. Once all the jeeps are there, the drivers will all introduce themselves and the tour will start. 

Natural Pool

The first place the tour visits is the Natural Pool. Hold on tight because it is very bumpy and scary to get to the Natural Pool. This is the bumpiest part of the trip. If you have Angie as a tour guide she is very nice and she did not drive crazy like some of the other drivers. There is no set path to get to the Pool and you'll sometimes feel like the jeep is going to flip over. You will have to walk down a lot "steps" once you get out of the jeep to actually get to the natural pool. Then you will have to walk through huge rocks to go into the Natural Pool. 

Wave Crashing Over at Natural Pool

If you choose to go in the Natural Pool wear the vest that they give you, they also give you snorkeling gear if you want. Make sure you listen to the tour guides and stay to the left because you can be pushed over the rocks when the waves crash over. Also, I recommend wearing water shoes. Before leaving the Natural Pool you will be given drinks and a snack. At most stops you will be given snacks and drinks. 

Scenery to Natural Pool

When driving to the Natural Pool and back you are going to want to take pictures, but it will be hard. I would keep your phone and camera away because it gets really bumpy and could fly out of your hands.

Scenery Driving to Natural Pool

Scenery to Natural Pool

Entering the Natural Bridges 

Next stop will be the Natural Bridge and you will get to take pictures and walk across it. It gets very windy so don't go to close to the end of the bridge. 

First Natural Bridge

The first Natural Bridge will be the second stop, on the rest of the tour you will only be driving past the other bridges not stopping. This is the biggest one of the bridges. At the stop their is a little store that you can use the bathroom, but you have to buy something. This is the only bathroom on the tour. It is very rundown and not the nicest of place, but its the only bathroom.

By the Natural Bridge

You will notice on this tour how their are rock towers all over. People have stacked rocks and it is very cool. This is the first place you will see it, but you will continue seeing them as the tour continues. Your tour guide will explain how fisherman used it to tell that it was a good fishing spot, but now tourist have been stacking them now. 

Gold Mill Ruins

Next the tour will drive past the Gold Mill Ruins, but you will not actually stop and get out, just stay in the jeep.

Alto Vista Chapel

This will be the last stop that you get out of the jeep at. The Chapel is beautiful, but it is a real Chapel that people go to so be respectful. People will most likely be inside praying. The tour guide will give you a story about the Chapel and then you will be able to go and explore.

California Lighthouse

Next you will drive by the lighthouse. It was undergoing construction when we were there so far away pictures were better than close up ones. It is very old and needs to be cleaned up a little.

Arashi Beach 

Last, you will drive by Arashi Beach. The water is very pretty and you will see that a lot of locals are hanging out on the beach.

The excursion to the Natural Pool is a good option for a day trip, but if you are staying on Palm Beach (High Rise Hotels) there is a lot of activities you can do during the day. 

Other Activities in Aruba 

There will be a bunch of huts on the beach offering activities. Jolly Pirates is one of the companies and I recommend using them. 

1. Jet Ski

If you decide to do jet skiing a boat picks you up and brings you down away from the hotels where the jet skis are. If your kid is going, they may let you on the boat to go watch them, but we walked all the way down to where the jet skis were. It is a long walk because you have to go past all the hotels, but it is cool to see.  

View of the Hotel Strip and Beach

 This was a picture taken from walking all the way down where the jet skis are. It is very pretty down there because it is deserted.

Beautiful Conch Shell that was on the Beach 

This was a picture of a conch shell I found on the beach where the jet skis were. I wanted to take it home, but it was to larger and heavy to put in a suitcase. 

2. Kayaking

Aruba is very windy and kayaking is really hard because of that. If you are experienced and know how to kayak you may want to give it a try, but otherwise I strongly recommended that you don't. It is very difficult and if you go later in the day it will be extremely hard. In the morning when there is less traffic in the water and it is less windy would be the best time to go. 

3. Tubing

Tubing is a popular activity in Aruba. They will let you go on the boat and take pictures of the person tubing. 

Taken from Boat

We had a very nice boat driver and he brought us out further and showed us the clearest water. The people in the tube can tell the driver how fast and crazy they want to go. For little kids they will go slow and be safe. They have signals that you give to tell them faster, slower and stop. If you ask for a crazy ride they will try and tip you over. 

3. Paddle Boarding

The hotel we stayed at offered paddle boarding for free one morning. Since it was offered through the hotel you stay in the swimming zone and the instructor will help you if you need it. They do it in the morning because it is less windy and less people are in the water.

Aruba is very fun and there are a lot of excursions and water sports to pick from when you are on the Island. You can book the De Palm Tours excisions online before you go to Aruba and the water sports you buy when you are on the island. Make sure you have money to tip. Tip your drivers on the tour and tip the boat drivers.