Complete Aruba Itinerary Guide!

Before we traveled to Aruba at the end of September, I found myself watching videos and reading blogs about other peoples experiences to the island. I am so glad that great tips were given which inspired me to do the same here. If you ever decide to visit Aruba, here is our one week itinerary guide! Hope you create some great memories like we did.

Day 1

We flew out of Raleigh/Durham airport early Friday morning and had a short layover in Atlanta. Our overall flight time was about four and a half hours so we arrived early afternoon at Queen Beatrix International Airport in Oranjestad, Aruba. The island is not very large so getting from one point to another is very easy and most of the hotels are located within 10 minutes of the airport. We rented a Jeep prior to arriving and someone from the company called More4Less Jeep was there to pick us up. One tip we highly recommend is getting a Jeep because there is a lot of off roading adventures and no Ubers/Lifts are available on the island. In order to get the most out of your time, a car rental is necessary!

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton on Palm Beach which was absolutely breathtaking! (pictured above). Due to covid, the hotel was basically empty so we decided to explore all that the resort had to offer on our first day. It was so calm and relaxing as we overlooked the beach from our balcony to enjoy the sunset. Since we were tired from traveling, we decided to order room service. One of the appeals that drew us in to the Ritz was that it had a variety of restaurants on site at the resort. They have BLT (a steakhouse), Casa Nonna (Italian), Solanio (breakfast), Madero Pool and Beach Grill, Divi Sushi Bar, and Ritual Coffee Culture. We decided to order room service from Madero Pool and Beach Grill that night and walked the beach afterwards.

Day 2

We started our day by running to the first floor and stopping by Ritual Coffee shop (we did this every morning due to its convenience and how amazing the coffee was!) We got ready for the day and decided to walk down the beach towards Eduardo’s Beach Shack. After reading a lot of amazing reviews online about this smoothie/acai/juice/poke spot, we had to give it a try! Annnnd it did not disappoint. I would recommend the chocolate protein bowl- yum!

For our first full day, we decided to visit the much anticipated Arikok National Park for some off-roading. Once we arrived, we bought tickets and were given a map to begin our adventure. There are not a lot of signs and the roads are very bumpy so I advise bringing plenty of water, tie your hair up, and having good walking shoes on. The waters are rough and very dangerous on this side of the island so I would also be cautious when approaching many of the stops. Arikok National Park lies on Aruba’s east coast. Conchi is a natural ocean pool sheltered by craggy rock formations, beaches include Boca Prins and Dos Playa but have very rough waves. We visited Fontein Cave and were able to spend the entire day taking in all that the park has to offer. For dinner, we enjoyed the BLT Steakhouse back at the hotel and turned in for the rest of the night.

Day 3

The one day that I anticipated the most was our private cabana reservation at Flamingo Island (owned by The Renaissance Hotel)! This is the only private beach on the island with rich blue waters and free roaming flamingos. We rented a cabana for the day to get the most out of this once in a lifetime experience. The flamingos can be feed but they like their distance so it was a bit difficult to get a picture with them. We ordered food from their on site restaurant and relaxed the day away. You can call the hotel or email navigator@arubarenaissance.com to reserve your romantic, private cabana but be sure to do so well in advance.

Day 4

We spent the fourth day relaxing at the private beach resort. We ordered food throughout the day from the Madero Pool and Beach Grill- the wings and shrimp tacos were amazing!. After a great beach day, we got ready for our “feet in the water” dinner date! I watched a Youtube couples sunset dinner at the Flying Fishbone and knew we had to make a reservation to experience it for ourselves. In order to assure there was availability, we made a reservation online before we traveled to Aruba- I am so glad we did! It was the most romantic dinner that we will never forgot.

Day 5

Since we just enjoyed a nice relaxing beach day, we were reenergized and wanted to do an excursion. There are plenty of companies all along the beach advertising a variety of water sport activities. We ended up deciding to go with a 3 hour brunch, snorkeling excursion. They offer dinner time cruises as well but since we are early risers, the morning option was more appealing. Due to covid, they cut the number of people allowed on the boat so we took that in as a benefit. More room to roam and relax while we cruise along. We got to snorkel the Antilla Shipwreck and learned a lot about its history. We are so happy that we were able to capture some footage of the ship to include in our Aruba video!

Afterwards, we snorkeled in some calmer waters, slid down the slides included on the boat, and dove into the crystal blue ocean. Once we were back on land, we made a stop at Eduardo’s Beach Shack for lunch to try the Poke and grab a smoothie. Afterwards, we paddle boarded back at the hotel and floated the day away (The Ritz has free water sports gear for guest rental). For dinner, we ordered BLT to our room and got some sleep after enjoying a long day in the sun.

Day 6

Our 6th day on the island, we decided to hop in the Jeep and explore on our own. We started off by grabbing coffee at Island Grind then headed to Bushiribana Ruins which was built at the tip of the Spanish Lagoon. Remnants of the mill are still visible overlooking the rough sea. The ruins are located on the northern side of the island with rough rocks and non-swimmable waters. Near by is the New Natural Pool (pictured below) which was an experience unlike any other. It is very dangerous to get to so I recommend bringing tennis shoes and being very very cautious as you climb down. It is important to note that it is very secluded with no lifeguard on site so I would not explore alone. Afterwards, we drove over to the Natural Bridge that collapsed in 2005.

For lunch we decided to give Zeerovers a try since a local recommended it to us. The menu depends on the catch of the day and oh boy was it delicious! We sat outside and chatted before heading back to the hotel. After resting a bit, we got ready for dinner at Madame Janettes where we enjoyed live music and an amazing meal outside.

New Natural Pool Aruba

Bushiribana Ruins

Day 7

Our last full day on the amazing island… Just writing this makes me sad as I remember leaving this piece of paradise. In order to make the most out of the day, we decided to do more driving and exploring. The island is not very big as it is about 45 minutes from beginning to end.

For breakfast, we had to try the famous Linda’s Dutch Pancakes. Thankfully, there was no wait as we enjoyed our peaceful meal outside. An employee at the hotel recommended that we explore Eagle Beach, downtown Aruba, and Baby Beach. Sooo of course we had to find coffee for the road and ran into the cutest cafe on Eagle Beach, Santos Coffee Shop. Eagle beach is very calm with low rise hotels and the famous Divi-Divi trees. Fun fact: the trees are always pointing in a southwestern direction due to the winds that blow across the island from the north-east.

Afterwards we headed downtown to explore some murals and take pictures on nearby Baby Beach. We spent most of the day looking at Aruba’s beauty and history then decided to make our way to the California Lighthouse as our final destination. We had reservations at Faro Blanco Restaurant which is literally right next to the lighthouse. The lighthouse cost $5 to enter and we were lucky enough to have it all to ourselves- pictured below. A vendor was selling fresh coconuts outside of the restaurants so we sipped on the fresh juice as we watched the sunset while waiting for our table.

California Lighthouse- Aruba

We flew out the next day but had time to grab brunch at Arepados Bar Cafe Aruba. This spot was hidden and quaint to perfectly end our dreamy vacation. We ordered several arepas and coffees before dropping off the Jeep and heading to the airport.

Be sure to read more about our trip here!

Until next time Aruba!

XOXO, LN