ARUBA · SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN
Turquoise on one side, desert on the other.
Catamaran sails on the lee coast, 4x4 tracks across Arikok, the Antilla wreck twelve feet down. Eagle Beach, Palm Beach, the Natural Pool, and the wind-carved corners in between.
Only in Aruba
Three things you can’t do anywhere else.
Snorkel sails and beach days exist in every Caribbean destination. These three don’t. A volcanic-rock pool with no boat access, the biggest wreck in the sea, and a sail that fills on the trades almost every day of the year.
Inside Arikok
Conchi, the Natural Pool
A volcanic-rock pool tucked into Aruba's wild north coast, fed by the Caribbean as the swell breaks over the outer walls. Reachable only by 4x4, horseback or a 90-minute hike across the desert interior. The combination of rough access and clear-water swim sits in a category of one.
- 1 Ultimate Island Jeep Safari with Natural Pool, Baby Beach & Lunch
- 2 Aruba UTV, ATV Adventure to Secret Beach and Cave Pool
- 3 Aruba Natural Pool and Indian Cave Rugged Jeep Safari
Under the sail
The Antilla Wreck
A 400-foot German freighter scuttled in 1940 and left where she sank. The bow sits twelve feet below the surface, so you snorkel her without a tank. The largest shipwreck in the Caribbean, and the second stop on almost every west-coast catamaran sail.
- 1 Antilla Shipwreck and Catalina Bay Snorkel Sail
- 2 Private First-Time Dive on Aruba’s Reef and Wreck Site
- 3 Banana Adventure Catamaran Shipwreck Snorkel and Turtle Swim
On the trades
Sailing With The Wind
Aruba's easterly trade winds blow a steady fifteen knots roughly 350 days a year. The lee coast stays flat and clear; the windward side stays rough and empty. The reliability is why catamarans were here long before resort tourism. The sails fill on schedule.
- 1 Arusun Catamaran Sail with Snorkeling in Aruba
- 2 Dolphin Catamaran Snorkel and Sail with Open Bar
- 3 Aruba Morning Snorkel Sail aboard Palm Pleasure Catamaran
The day everyone books
If you only do one big day, do this one.
More reviews than anything else on the island. The Natural Pool, the outback and the south-coast beach in one day. The combination most travellers come to Aruba to have.
The classics
Aruba’s Most Popular Day Tours
Natural Pool jeeps, catamaran sails to the Antilla, UTV runs across Arikok. The half-dozen tours most travellers come to Aruba to do.
By place
Pick a stretch of Aruba.
Arikok for the desert outback and the Natural Pool. Baby Beach for the calm shallow south. Oranjestad for the pastel-Dutch downtown. De Palm Island for the day off the island.
Three roads in
Three ways to reach Conchi.
Aruba’s Natural Pool sits inside Arikok with no paved road to the edge. UTV, Jeep or horseback. Pick the kind of journey you want before you pick the company. Each route has a different pace, a different view, and a different highest-reviewed tour.
Drive it yourself
The bumpy option. Self-drive a four-seat UTV across the dirt tracks of Arikok, cliff-jump at the Natural Pool, then carry on to the Secret Beach cave pool.
Top-reviewed pick
Aruba UTV, ATV Adventure to Secret Beach and Cave Pool
Read the review →Let the guide drive
The story-led option. A 4x4 with a guide who knows where the divi-divi trees grow and which side roads are open this week. Hands free, eyes out the window.
Top-reviewed pick
Ultimate Island Jeep Safari with Natural Pool, Baby Beach & Lunch
Read the review →Take the slow road
The quiet option. A small-group ride from the north of Arikok down to the pool itself. Slower than wheels, but it is the only way to arrive without engine noise.
Top-reviewed pick
Horseback Ride Tour to Natural Pool in Arikok National Park
Read the review →By tour type
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
Catamaran sail if you want the lee coast and the Antilla. UTV if you want the dust. Horseback for the slow road in. Mangrove kayak, scuba, sunset cocktails, pirate ship for the kids. The rest of the menu is below.
When the light changes
The hour the boats live for.
Aruba sits 12° north of the equator, so the sun drops fast and the colour shift across the lee coast lasts about forty minutes. If we had to pick three sunset sails, these are the ones we’d book.
Off the engine grid
Aruba on hooves.
The north coast was made for slow travel. Cacti, ironshore, divi-divis bent SW by a wind that never stops. Our shortlist when the UTV crowd feels like too much engine noise.
For the table
Eat where Aruba eats.
Keshi yena, pan bati, seafood off the south-side boats. Aruba’s food is a Caribbean-Dutch-Venezuelan three-way crossover. Three food & drink picks we’d send a friend to before they tried the resort buffet.
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