Things to do in Oranjestad
Oranjestad
Most people fly into Oranjestad and leave within the hour, staright to the resort strip a few miles up the coast. Which is a shame, because the capital is small enough to cover on foot in an afternoon and it’s got more going on than the “quick stop before the beach” reputation it currently has.
Start at Fort Zoutman, if only because its the oldest thing standing in the city built in 1798 to keep pirates off the coast, and it still looks the part, low and thick walled and paintec that mustard yellow you will see all over the older buildings downtown. Right next to it is the Willem III tower, which used to double as a lighthouse and the town clock back in the 1868, and squeezed between the two is the Historical Museum, a small one, worth twenty minutes if you want the short version of how the island got from Arawakl settlement to Dutch colony to whatever it is now. On Tuesday nights the fort turns into something else entirely, the Bon Bini Festival takes over the courtyard with live music, dancing and food stalls, and it;s one of the few tourist facing things on the island that dosen’t feel staged. Locals actually show up to it.
Is Oranjestad Aruba Safe?
The short answer is yes, Aruba is safer than most places you’d comparte it to. The US department puts Aruba at level 1, its lowest advisory tier, and downtown Oranjestad backs that up, well lit streets, a steady police presence, and enough foot traffic most of the day that are rarely somewhere truly empty. Violent crime aimed at tourist is genuinely rare here.
Hotels in Oranjestad, Aruba
Where to stay in Oranjestad mostly comes down to how much you want to be able to walk versus how much beach you want outside your door, because the two don;t always overlap the way you would hope.
The Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort.
This is the most obvious selection, it right downtown, split across a marina wing and beach wing, and it;s the only hotel on the island with a its own private island a few minutes offshore.
This is more a low key downtown option, smaller, walkable to groceries and restaurants, the kind of place where shared upstairs kitchen space with ice and a mircowave actually gets used.
It is literally one minute away from the airport, no hotel transfer is necessary.
This gives you a golf course along with the ocean if thats your thing.
This is a adult only and consistently shows up best in the Caribbean list for a reason, quiet, well maintained and it is right on the sand.
This has been recently renovated property near Governor’s Beach.
Go beyond the resorts. Discover Aruba like a local
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