Aruba
A dry island of the Dutch kingdom, with wind-bent fofoti trees on a very wide beach and an airport where private flights clear US customs before take-off.
- Arrival
- Queen Beatrix International · AUA
- To Palm Beach
- About 11 km from the airport
- Private jets
- GA terminal with US preclearance
- Best time
- All year
The city
Cactus inland, white sand on the lee shore.
Aruba is small, about thirty-two kilometres from end to end and ten across, and far drier than most of the Caribbean: the airport records barely four hundred millimetres of rain in a typical year. Cactus and rock fill the interior, while the hotels line up along the sheltered western shore, the big resorts on Palm Beach and lower buildings behind the broad sand of Eagle Beach.
Oranjestad, the capital, keeps its Dutch colonial streets and an old fort by the harbour. Inland, roughly a fifth of the island is national park, with caves whose walls the Arawak painted. The weather barely changes: rain is light even in October and November, the wettest months.
- Eagle Beach The widest strand on the island, with leaning fofoti trees and stretches roped off when sea turtles are nesting.
- Arikok National Park Desert hills, tall cacti and a wild windward coast, and Fontein Cave, where Arawak drawings survive on the walls.
- Fort Zoutman Oranjestad’s oldest fortification, with the Willem III tower beside it, now home to a museum.
Arriving
US customs before take-off.
Queen Beatrix International has a single runway of 2,808 metres. Passengers bound for the United States are cleared by American border officers before they board.
- St Maarten 1 h 35
- Barbados 1 h 50
- Montreal 5 h 05
- Barcelona 10 h 05 long-range jet
- Lagos 10 h 40 long-range jet
When to go
All year round.
Aruba sees little rain in any month: March, April and May bring under fifteen millimetres each. Afternoons hold between 30 and 33 °C all year, cooled by a steady trade wind. The short wet spell, October to December, still averages well under a hundred millimetres a month.
- 30° J 37 26°
- 30° F 19 26°
- 31° M 8 26°
- 31° A 13 26°
- 32° M 14 27°
- 32° J 18 27°
- 32° J 31 27°
- 32° A 25 28°
- 33° S 35 28°
- 32° O 65 28°
- 32° N 78 28°
- 30° D 66 27°
Where to stay
Along Palm Beach.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- The St. Regis Aruba Resort Opened in 2025 with 252 rooms, 52 of them suites, a rooftop restaurant by Akira Back and the first St. Regis casino.
- The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba Opened at the end of 2013 with 320 rooms, every one with a balcony, and a casino that never closes.
- Boardwalk Boutique Hotel Aruba Forty-nine adults-only casitas in the gardens of an old coconut plantation, run by twin sisters and holding two MICHELIN Keys.
Where to dine
The best tables on the island.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Aruba. These are tasting menus and upscale tables picked by The Infatuation, and a chef’s table with a Travellers’ Choice award on Tripadvisor.
- Infini by Urvin Croes The Infatuation Caribbean tasting menu $$$$ Blue Residence, Eagle Beach
- Ever The Infatuation Caribbean tasting menu $$$$ Weststraat, Oranjestad
- Terra by Jeremy Ford The Infatuation Contemporary $$$$ Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, Eagle Beach
- Papiamento The Infatuation Aruban, seafood Washington, Noord
- Fred Royal Chef’s Table Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice 2026 Chef’s table $$$$ Wilhelminastraat, Oranjestad
Flying to Aruba?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.