Sights & Sounds

Get packed, ready, and go. Here are enough spots on the island to fill up a three week vacation. Get to know Aruba's culture, by visiting each of these historical and natural places.

• Museums
• Churches
• Architectural
• Landmarks
• Nature
• And some more...

Museums

• Fort Zoutman and King Willem III Tower (above picture) - Today housing the Aruba Historical museum. The museum opens Mon-Fri from 10:00 am to noon and 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm. The Governor's offices are very close by too.
• Numismatic Museum - a collection of coin and paper currency with over 30,000 pieces from 100 countries. Open Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm.
• Archaeological Museum - with artifacts and pottery retrieved from digs around the island which clearly define the lifestyles of our earliest Indian settlers. Open Monday through Friday from 8 am to noon and 1 pm to 4 pm.
• Plaza Daniel Leo - surrounded by unique Dutch Colonial Buildings.
• Aruba Model Train Museum - a collection of model trains from all around the world. The museum is open: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm.
• The Aruba Aloe Museum and Factory - explore the plant's importance to the island's economic development and the way in which it is harvested and processed. Tour hours from Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm. Special discount on tour fee for VisitArubaplus members.

Churches

• The Protestant Church - built in 1846, this is an architectural gem nestled up against the newer bigger edifice which serves the community and visitors to the island. On the premises is a Bible Museum which is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to noon.
• Santa Anna Church - built in the 1770's and well known for its oaken wood carved altar, a prime example of neo-gothic design which won the exhibition award in Rome in 1870.

Architectural

• California Point lighthouse - where the Caribbean Sea crashes into the rocks and splashes onto dunes and beaches full of driftwood.
• Chapel Of Alto Vista - on the north shore, which was built by Spanish missionary Domingo Antonio Silvestre and is often referred to as the Pilgrim's Church. This restored chapel dates back to 1750.The winding road with crosses marking the stations of the cross reaches the site high above the sea; a special place for peace and contemplation.
• Bushiribana Ruins - In 1872 the Aruba Island Gold-mining Company Ltd. built a large smelting works at Bushiribana on the North coast, for the gold that was being mined at Seroe Plat and in its surroundings. The smelting works was in use for only ten years, but its construction was so solid, that ruins thereof at the North coast are still quite impressive.

Landmarks

• Natural Bridge - the Caribbean's highest and most dramatic coral structure and the largest of eight on the island, which was carved over the centuries by the pounding sea and forms an arch measuring over 100 feet long standing 23 feet above sea level. Editor's Note: Regrettably the Natural Bridge collapsed in 2005. more...
• Natural Pool - reached by an adventurous ride through the lunar-like landscape.
• Andicuri - deep sandy cove and black stone beach.
• Daimari - coconut plantation nearby the site of the first gold discovery
• Frenchman's Pass - a narrow canyon in the rocks with hundreds of chattering parakeets and egrets in residence.
• Spanish Lagoon - once a hideaway for pirates and now where Aruba's sea water desalination and power plants are located.
• Seroe Colorado - home of Baby Beach, Rodgers Beach and Colorado point marking the southeast tip of the island.
• Grapefield - a popular surfing site

Nature

• Arikok National Park - a showcase of all that grows on the island as well as a beautifully restored piece of Aruban architecture - an old cunucu (or countryside) house as well as a traditional stone wall - built without using mortar.
• The Butterfly Farm - the Butterfly Farm is the island's newest and most unusual attraction. Step into a magical garden teeming with hundreds of tropical butterflies from around the globe. Entertaining guided tours show these fascinating and beautiful creatures as they develop from the egg to the caterpillar to the chrysalis and finally to the butterfly. An unforgettable encounter with nature. Located between the Divi Aruba Phoenix & The Westin Hotels. Open seven days a week. Phone +297 586 3656.
• Ayo and Casibari Rock Formations - The huge granite boulders found in abundance at Ayo
• California Sand Dunes
• Caves - at Guadirikiri, Tunnel Of Love and Fontein - where there are ancient Indian wall drawings.

And some more...

• Bubali Bird Sanctuary - two connected man-made lakes provide sanctuary for more than eighty species of migratory birds including egrets, herons and cormorants, coots, gulls, skimmers, terns, and ducks.
• The Old Mill -Currently housing a restaurant, this re-constructed Dutch Windmill built in 1804 and brought to Aruba in 1962, faces the entrance of the Bubali Bird Sanctuary.
• Fishermen's Huts - the location of one of the world's top Flatwater Windsurfing areas
• The "Antilla" World War II wreck - a popular dive site