What to expect when traveling to Aruba during public holidays

During holidays things are slightly different than normal. Shops close early or in some cases are not open at all. What you can expect during these days, will be explained below.

If information is missing or you still have questions, please feel free to contact us.

Official Aruban Holidays

Holiday	Date
New Year's Day	January 1st 2013
Betico Croes Day	January 25th 2013
Carnival Monday	February 11th 2013
National Anthem & Flag Day	March 18th 2013
Good Friday	March 29th 2013
Easter Monday	April 1st 2013
Queen's Day	April 30th 2013
Labor Day	May 1st 2013
Ascension Day	May 9th 2013
Christmas Day	December 25th 2013
Boxing Day	December 26th 2013

General information

Restaurants

Most restaurants close on official holidays. However the restaurants in the hotel / resort areas normally stay open. To make sure if a restaurant is open on a holiday, it is best to call ahead.

Supermarkets

Supermarkets often close the whole day or close earlier than normal. Holidays in 2013 when supermarkets are closed: New Year's Day, Betico Croes Day, National Anthem & Flag Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. See more information on the national holidays and other celebrations.

On all other holidays supermarkets will close earlier, normally they close at 1 PM. On December 24th and 31st supermarkets will close at 3 PM.

However some smaller supermarkets will stay open during the holidays.

Gas stations

Gas stations are closed on holidays, the day before they may close earlier around 6:00 pm or so. They will open the next day around 10:00 am.

Bank

All banks are closed on official holidays. On December 24th and 31st banks will close at 12 PM. ATM machines normally keep working!

Shopping

All stores in general are closed on holidays, the day before they may close earlier around noon. They will open the next day at normal hours. Stores in the vicinity of the resorts may remain open for a part of the day or the entire day but this varies from store to store.

Specific holiday information

Carnival

Visitors can enjoy Aruba's Carnival along the roadside. Depending on the parade, the parade will have a different start and/or end point. Please take a look at our page for the Aruba carnival route.

Getting around during Carnival

During Carnival the parade streets and a couple of other roads will be closed. Traveling by taxi or bus is the best way to travel during the carnival, but remember that the parade streets are closed to traffic, so you may need to walk a bit. Because of the closed roads, bus routes will also change.

If you arrive during a carnival parade you have to take into consideration that it might take a bit longer to get from the airport to your resort. You can also arrange your transport in advance. There are companies who offer airport transportation.

Carnival Tips

If you go to watch the carnival parades, the following tips could be useful:

Depending on were you are watching the parade from, it can take some time before you see the first trailer with participants, especially if you are watching from a location closer to the end of the parade route
Take a cell phone to call a taxi or other services in the event of need
Wear comfortable foot wear
Bring a cap, sunglasses and sunscreen, the sun can be very hot during the daytime parades
Bring ear plugs, the music can be very loud
Bring enough liquids and snacks
Bring a camera
Best attended parades: Aruba Tivoli Lighting Parade, Grand children's parade, Parade di Luz (Lighting Parade San Nicolas), Grand Carnival Parade San Nicolas and the 59th Grand Carnival Parade Oranjestad.

Renaissance Mall

On Carnival Monday Renaissance Mall stores will be open from 10am - 2pm.

Easter Weekend Tips

Be careful while driving around on Sunday there are 2 big island wide Egg search, hunters/drivers are prone to concentrate at one place and can get traffic jammed for the hunt of an egg. So don’t be scare if you see a pack of cars rushing suddenly from one place to another. They are in the thrill of a hunt.
When going to the groceries stores it is advisable to get is bread, cheese, milk and eggs early because those run always out of stock during the week thanks to the campers.