Ultimate guide to an Aruba family vacation.
To get right into it: we're obsessed with Aruba. Big time. We've gone to other Caribbean locations and nothing compares — for both couples and families. I get asked a lot for my tips to make a family trip happen, so here's my ultimate guide.
Introduction to Aruba
Everyone I talk to says Aruba has been on a bucket list for a while. It's most likely the Beach Boys, who ingrained the name into our minds decades ago. And yes — it's all true.
The entire island is catered to Americans. English is the main language. The US dollar is the main currency. US Customs is right at the airport. Most travelers are US folks from the Northeast.
Location-wise, Aruba is part of an island chain that together make up the southernmost Caribbean islands, right off the coast of Venezuela.
To plan your trip, there are three key pieces (beyond booking excursions and restaurants):
- A credit card with points. We use the Chase Sapphire card year-round to rack up JetBlue points and convert them into free flights.
- Kayak. The best travel search tool because you can search multiple airports at once.
- RedWeek. A third-party rental site where you can safely buy other people's vacation rental points.
Here's my step-by-step guide to booking Aruba — and then what we recommend once you're there.
Step one: Booking flights (with points)
Let me get straight to the point: flights to Aruba are stupid expensive sometimes. So we book our travel around flight prices. In general, round-trip flights average $800–$1,000. You can find cheaper, and if you do it right, you can book some or all of it using points.
We use the Chase Sapphire card for every single purchase year-round (beyond mortgage and National Grid), boost our points balance, and pay off monthly. Here's a direct referral link — you'll get more points than applying direct, and I'll get some for referring you. Win-win.
Kayak
I love Kayak as my preferred travel search engine. The biggest benefits:
- Search up to three departure airports at once.
- Most airlines are included in results (except Southwest).
- Real-time cost calendar showing the cheapest days to fly.
For our searches, I usually add NYC (all NYC airports), BOS (Boston), and PHL (Philadelphia). All three have direct flights to Aruba. We've learned over the years that it's just better to drive the four hours to an airport where you can fly direct.
If I had to pick any flight option, I'm going with JetBlue out of Boston. Easy four-hour drive, and the direct flights to Aruba run at good times. If you do this, our recommendation is a hotel night at the Holiday Inn Express Boston. They have a park-and-fly option with a hotel night, seven nights of parking, and an airport shuttle.
Step two: Booking accommodations
There are hundreds of places to stay in Aruba, including hotels, condos/timeshares, and Airbnb/VRBO rentals. And three main locations: the downtown area, the mid-rise hotel section, and the high-rise hotel section.
All types and locations have their positives and negatives. For a family vacation, my recommendation is easy: Marriott Surf Club.
This is a Marriott Vacation Club property, so people have timeshare points to stay there. The better/cheaper way to book is to use RedWeek.com and rent someone's timeshare points for a week. The site is easy to navigate and full of options.
If you book Marriott Surf Club, join this Facebook group. It's super active and perfect for trip planning.
Step three: Booking (some) excursions
I'm a trip planner — I love pre-planning every day before we leave. My wife is the opposite: she wants to figure it out once we get there. I'll give her credit here. Aruba is definitely a spot you'll want to experience first and then pick excursions. That said, we did pre-book a few things for planning purposes.
Rental car
Not technically an excursion, but we recommend getting one. Aruba is easy to navigate, cell service is good for Google Maps, and a rental car makes the exotic beach locations on the other side of the island reachable.
For rental companies, we highly recommend YESS Rental Car. Great prices, big vans, and they'll be waiting outside the airport with your van after you land.
Pre-book these if you have a larger group
- Jolly Pirates snorkel and lunch tour
- Sunset cruise with Octopus
- ABC Tours UTV tour
- Dinner Under the Stars at Renaissance Island
Step four: Enjoying Aruba as a family
There are many ways to enjoy Aruba. I'll get pushback on this, but — never book an all-inclusive resort here. There are too many ways to enjoy the island beyond your resort. And Aruba is 100% safe. Nothing like Cancun or other places where you need to stay on your resort.
If you book the Surf Club, most rentals run Saturday → Saturday or Sunday → Sunday. Here's a day-by-day recommendation assuming a Sunday → Sunday trip.
Sunday — Arrival
Check-in at the Surf Club is around 4pm. Based on US flight patterns, you'll land at the perfect time. Your first day is mostly travel, check-in, and getting settled.
For dinner, we totally recommend Moomba Beach Restaurant. Walk toward the ocean — it's the second restaurant right on the beach. Two years in a row, they've had tables for 10+ people walking up. Great food, music, and a sunset dining experience on the beach to kick off your vacation.
Afterward, throw on bathing suits and end your first night with a relaxing float around the lazy river.
Monday — Beach day
After a long day of travel, we always opt for a beach day. Grab an oceanfront spot and enjoy the ocean, pool, bar, and restaurants the Surf Club has to offer. A relaxing day to ease into the trip.
Tuesday — Jolly Pirates
Start your day with a Jolly Pirates tour. An amazing pirate ship experience, a fun and safe crew, snorkeling in some of the most exotic locations, unlimited bar, lunch, and a rope swing contest. It's our favorite excursion in the world.
Wednesday — Fishing + Renaissance Island
For folks who love fishing, Aruba has some amazing locations. Most charters do both deep-sea and close-to-shore fishing. Tours are typically four hours — won't take your whole day.
One amazing spot in Aruba is Renaissance Island. It's a private island owned by Marriott. Stay at one of the Marriott/Renaissance hotels downtown and you get unlimited access.
But on Wednesday nights, they open the island to anyone. You can book a private dining experience, check out the island, swim with flamingos, and enjoy an awesome sunset dinner. Check availability here.
Thursday — Exotic beaches
Another beach day, but hop in your rental van and drive to two exotic beaches, both less than a 10-minute drive from the Surf Club.
Tres Trapi. Take a left out of the Surf Club and you'll hit it in five minutes. Crystal clear water, jump into the ocean, and there's a real chance you'll swim with sea turtles. Here's a great review.
Arashi Beach. Five minutes further. Private swimming, beautiful water, not that busy, and an amazing local oceanfront quick-service restaurant. TripAdvisor review.
Friday — National park with ABC Tours
Beyond the Jolly Pirates, this is my second must-do. Half of Aruba is full of hotels, bars, restaurants, and casinos. But the other side of the island is a national park — full of some of the most amazing sights we've ever seen.
We highly recommend ABC Tours. They have a few options for a four- to five-hour tour.
If you want to squeeze in one more activity, hit a sunset cruise. Many options run right in front of the Surf Club — mostly two-hour catamaran tours with open bar, snacks, and some of the most beautiful sunset views you'll ever see.
Saturday — My favorite day
If I had to pick my favorite full day in Aruba, here it is. Hop in your rental van again and drive from one end of the island to the other. It's about 40 minutes end-to-end, but you'll see amazing views.
First spot: Mangel Halto Beach. Full credit goes to my daughter Stella — she found this spot on TikTok. A hidden gem almost no tourists know about. Park the van, jump in the crystal clear water for an hour.
When you're done, put Baby Beach into Google Maps. Maybe 20 minutes further, you'll be at the other end of the island — spend hours soaking up the sun and playing in beautiful water.
If you like seafood, go five minutes out of your way on the trek back. ZeeRovers is the locals' seafood spot. Fresh seafood off the boat, pay per pound, oceanfront dining. The best shrimp we've ever had.
One more bonus: on your way back, take the downtown/scenic route. You'll drive through downtown and the mid-rise and high-rise sections, seeing more beaches, restaurants, and picture-stopping locations.
Sunday — Departure
The worst day — the day you leave. But since most US flights are early afternoon, you'll have time to enjoy one more breakfast stop.
Dutch pancakes are an island specialty and we recommend King Fred and Princess Diana. Great breakfast on your way to the airport.
You'll hear this a lot and it's true: sometimes the Aruba airport takes FOREVER. That's because you go through all the Aruba checkpoints and then US customs. But once you're done, US customs is in Aruba — so you're basically back on US soil. No additional stops when you land in the States.
There's also a newer lounge in Aruba if you clear everything early — one near gate 1 and one near gate 8. (Reach out if you want to learn how to get lounge access with credit cards.)
Other recommendations
If you followed the plan above, you'd have a pretty well-rounded experience. A few additional recommendations:
- Drive to the downtown area — shopping, restaurants, casinos.
- Try windsurfing.
- Rent a jet ski — we recommend Vanessa, right in front of the Surf Club.
Final thoughts
No matter what type of vacation activities you like, you'll love Aruba. Just don't tell too many people so it doesn't get too busy.
My key takeaways:
- Book flights first. It's the most expensive part of the trip and we always build around the cheapest flight pattern.
- There will always be rooms, so you don't have to book them at the same time as flights.
- Book some excursions, wait for others until you get there and have a feel for what you want.
Any questions, or if you need help planning — let me know. I love Aruba and love helping others make it there too.
