Spending a day in Aruba is all you need to momentarily enjoy all the beauty this Dutch island has to offer! When arriving in Aruba by cruise ship, you will most likely get to the port first thing in the morning. This will allow you plenty of time to see almost everything Aruba has to offer. Here’s what you can do in Aruba with just one day.
In Port
While at the port, you can expect to be inundated with a lot of shops. There’s a large selection of items here. They include everything from handcrafted goods to electronics. Instead of waiting until after you’ve explored Aruba to do some shopping, you are better off buying some items once you arrive at the port. That way you can take them back to the ship before venturing out to other parts of the island and can just have the day to explore rather than worrying about finding souvenirs.
Palm Beach
After you’ve explored the port, it’s a good time to go over to Palm Beach and have some breakfast. You can easily get there by cab. Moomba Beach Bar has a breakfast buffet that supposedly is delicious. After eating, walk over to DePalm Pier. It’s a great place to do a little bit of exploring. Snorkeling is a great activity to try while you are in Palm Beach as the water is crystal clear.
Eagle Beach
After exploring Palm Beach, head on over to Eagle Beach. It’s only a few minutes away by taxi. It’s also one of the favorite beaches among tourists. Here you can rent chairs and there are plenty of shady areas to sit. If you get hungry, there is usually a food truck that’s parked across the street from the beach. The restaurant, Tulip, is also a great place to eat at as it has plenty of variety.
Oranjestad
After spending some time at the beach head over to Oranjestad before you have to go back to the port. Once there, you can use the free trolley to explore the downtown area. There are a lot of shops here to wander through. There are also quite a few restaurants to stop at to grab something to eat. While here, make sure you check out the Protestant Church as it has an interesting architecture that seems to be unique to Aruba. The Archeological Museum and Fort Zoutman are also worth seeing. Because of everything there is to do at Oranjestad, make sure that you plan on spending a good chunk of your time here in order to fit everything in.
