Spending a week in Aruba and tired of the beach?

Here are four unique and fun adventures you can have in Aruba to get you off the beach, out of the resort, and into town. I tried them all.

1. Butterfly Farm
2. ATV
3. Horseback Riding in the Desert
4. Submarine

Believe me…. This is fun and all but sometimes you have to leave paradise to live a little:

Butterfly Farm

This place was a gem. It’s small and within a 15 minute walk from the main hotel strip in Aruba. We were staying at the Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino and I left early one morning to walk to the butterfly farm because I heard butterflies are more active in the morning. It’s a small $15 dollar fee to get in and then you can stay as long as you like. There’s an option to join a tour to learn more about the butterflies. I watched a butterfly lay an egg and got a lot of practice in with my camera in preparation for our upcoming trip to Sabi Sands in South Africa. It’s a nice way to kill about two hours and to get away from the sun.

ATV

Did you now Aruba is a desert? No, neither did I. Almost 20 percent of the island is composed of Arikok National Park with small wildlife, beautiful flowers, cliffs, swimming holes, and cactus and rocks. It would be a shame to come to Aruba and not see it. Since the national park is mostly desert — it allows for desert activities like ATVing around cliffs and through sand. Somehow I convinced my husband to leave the beach and come with me. We took an ATV tour with Kini Kini. The ATV we used went slower than the others so we kept getting left behind. Also, normally I’m a good driver but that does not translate to ATVs. I got stuck on a cliff and went slower than everyone and then my husband got motion sick. I tipped the guide well for putting up with us. But overall, I enjoyed it. If you are more adventurous than my husband I would recommend an ATV ride through the national park or at least a horseback ride.

Horseback Riding in the Desert

I go horseback riding whenever I can on trips. I have no training but I enjoy horses. So I also took a horse back riding tour in Aruba. I opted to take the tour with Rancho Notorious because they had some of the best reviews on Trip Advisor. I was not disappointed. There was one other family there from Texas – so the dad got to ride the horse names Diablo but for Christian and I we were on horses names Cute and Safe. Just Kidding. But riding horses in Aruba is a must and I’d recommend booking with Rancho Notorious because the guides are the best. My husband was pleased as well and the horses are trained well…except for Diablo. Furthermore, there’s a ranch dog whose cuteness is out of this word and he follows the horse tours everywhere.

Submarine

There is a submarine in Aruba. For some reason, that’s not surprising. The company who operates it is called Del Palm Tours  and they also offer a number of other under water adventures. It’s hard to be disappointed with a submarine ride. It’s basically an aquarium that comes to you. This activity is family friendly, safe, and even ok for people with Asthma (me – but always check with your doctor – I’m not one). I’d recommend it as a fun activity.

Food:

There are a ton of places to eat but I have to recommend a morning stop at Linda’s Dutch Pancakes. One, she serves gluten free crepes, pizzas, and pancakes, and Two, it’s really good. It’s a bit away from the main hotel drag but nevertheless, when you go on a weekend morning there will be a line and a short wait– which is ohhh so worth it!

See, there’s a butterfly on my camera! It did leave it’s “mark” (butterfly pee)

Horses of the Ranch. 

Yummy Crepe’s at Linda’s Dutch Pancakes