← All destinations · Caribbean

Aruba

Aruba · Caribbean · northern hemisphere

SwimmingLakes & CoastlineHiking

Aruba is at its best for swimming in December to April. Good but not prime in May, June, July, August, September, October and November.

JFMAMJJASOND
Swimming
88
92
90
100
78
73
68
71
78
71
56
80
Lakes & Coastline
90
93
92
93
79
76
73
71
67
66
55
87
Hiking
92
94
92
78
21
18
14
12
13
8
56
86

No reliable monthly crowd data for this destination — the proxy used elsewhere did not pass its checks here, so nothing is shown rather than a guess.

Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.

primegoodpossibleoff-seasoncrowds, on this place’s own scale

The short version

Sits on the southern fringe of the hurricane belt, which is most of the point — while the rest of the Caribbean holds its breath from August to October, Aruba rarely registers the season. Dry, windy and reliable almost every month

What the walking is like

Short, hot desert walks with no shade, and more up and down than the island looks. Start when the park opens at eight, with a day pass.

When not to come

Nothing severe, which is rare here. August and September are the hottest, and the wet season opens in October.

Busiest

Mid-December to mid-April, plus July — and Carnival through January and February

With children

Unusually easy — calm shallow water on the western beaches, short distances, and only a short wet season at the end of the year. The windward side has serious surf and is not for swimming.

Where to stay

Eagle Beach and Palm Beach carry the resort premium. A short walk inland is materially cheaper for the same water; the north end of Palm Beach is where the luxury resorts are.

What can go wrong

Hurricane season

Aruba lies below the main hurricane belt and is rarely hit directly — the lowest storm risk in the Caribbean, which is much of its appeal.Sep · Oct

Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.

Dates that matter

  • Carnival (Jan–Feb) — weeks of parades building to the Grand Parade before Lent
  • Trade winds at their strongest (Dec–Aug, peaking in June) — the reason the windsurfing is world class
  • Hottest, most humid stretch (Sep–Oct)

Walks

  • Arikok National Park — desert trails across two-thirds of the island, hot and shadeless
  • Conchi, the natural pool — a rough walk or a 4WD to a sheltered basin in the rocks
  • Hooiberg — about 560 steps to the top of the volcanic cone, and the whole island below

This is cactus and divi-divi country rather than forest. Walk early: there is no shade anywhere and the trade wind is the only relief.

See everything else at its best in Apr

Elsewhere in Caribbean

St. JohnTurks & CaicosBarbadosTulum & the Riviera MayaPuerto Rico