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Aruba is small: the airport is about 4 km by road from Oranjestad and about 10 km from Palm Beach and Eagle Beach. The choice is between the hotel beaches north-west of the capital, the capital itself, and the quieter north and south.
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The tourism district north-west of Oranjestad, with high-rise hotels along a white beach and shopping malls next to them. It suits a first beach holiday built around the hotel, less so a quiet stay.
Car and parking
No paid street parking scheme was found outside Oranjestad as of September 2026, so ask the hotel how guest parking works. Oranjestad is about 7 km away by road.
A neighbourhood of Oranjestad with low-rise resorts along the widest beach on the island, south of Palm Beach. It suits beach days with more space and a shorter drive into Oranjestad.
Car and parking
No paid street parking scheme was found outside Oranjestad as of September 2026. Oranjestad is about 5 km away by road and the airport about 10 km.
The capital, on the south-west coast, with colonial-style buildings around Plaza Daniel Leo and the airport a short drive away. It suits short stays, early flights and town life, less so a beach at the door.
Car and parking
Meters run Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 19:00 unless posted: AWG 1 for 30 minutes, AWG 2 an hour, AWG 20 for a 10-hour day, paid by licence plate with local or US coins, Visa, Mastercard or the Pay.aw app. Park only in white spaces; unpaid cars can be towed after 2 hours.
The town of Noord, inland from the Palm Beach hotels, in a region that also takes in Palm Beach, Arashi Beach and the California Lighthouse. It suits a rental house for a family or group with a car for the beach runs, less so walking to the sand.
Car and parking
No paid street parking scheme was found outside Oranjestad as of September 2026; ask the host whether the house has its own parking. Palm Beach is about 2 km away by road.
North of Palm Beach, where smaller apartment complexes and holiday homes line the road towards Arashi Beach, whose calm water draws swimmers and snorkellers. It suits a quieter stay with the hotel strip a short drive away.
Car and parking
No paid street parking scheme was found outside Oranjestad as of September 2026. Palm Beach is about 5 km away by road and the airport about 15 km.
The south of the island: San Nicolas, the second largest city, with mural art on its streets; Baby Beach, a shallow, sheltered lagoon at the south-east end; and Savaneta, the capital until 1797, nearer the airport. It suits repeat visitors and a quieter base away from the hotel strips.
Car and parking
No paid street parking scheme was found outside Oranjestad as of September 2026. From San Nicolas, Baby Beach is about 7 km away by road and Oranjestad about 18 km; Savaneta is about 10 km from the airport.
Where to stay
Aruba covers about 70 square miles, and every area in this guide is within about 15 km of the airport by road. The areas differ in what sits outside the door: high-rise hotels, low-rise resorts, the capital, a rental house inland or the quieter north and south.
Photo: SIryn, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Monthly stay
The tourist levy and the environmental levy apply to every night of a month in Aruba, with no cap found, so they belong in any comparison of monthly prices. The paperwork depends on nationality.
Palm Beach, with its high-rise hotels, or Eagle Beach, with low-rise resorts on the widest beach on the island, both about 10 km from the airport by road. Oranjestad, about 4 km from the airport, suits a short stay in town.
A tourist levy of 12.5% of the room charges, service and energy charges included, and an environmental levy of USD 3 per occupied room per night. Guests registered as residents of Aruba pay neither.
Yes. Visitors complete the online embarkation and disembarkation (ED) card up to 7 days before arriving and show proof of approval to the airline. Visitors arriving by air also pay a USD 20 sustainability fee through the ED card, once a year.
In Oranjestad, yes: meters run Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 19:00 unless posted, at AWG 1 for 30 minutes and AWG 20 for a 10-hour day. No paid street parking scheme was found elsewhere as of September 2026.
