Last Updated on June 24, 2026 by Adrienne
Tres Trapi Steps
Tres Trapi isn’t really a “beach” in the sunbathing sense, but it has a reputation as one of the best places in Aruba to snorkel with sea turtles, and indeed we found a whole bunch of turtles here when we visited. Follow Google Maps directions to the Tres Trapi viewpoint, then look for a set of cement stairs leading into the water. We didn’t see any turtles inside the roped off swimming area, but as soon as we swam just beyond the rope we saw several. They were mostly hanging out on the ocean floor, but at one point one did surface and swim with me.
Even without turtle sightings, this beach would have been worth a visit, since we also saw bright blue lizards and beautiful pelicans here.
Pro tip: while we were swimming here, several people got stung by box jellyfish. I think this was unusual and had to do with a hurricane in the northern Caribbean pushing jellyfish towards Aruba’s northern shores, but you might want to use a rashguard and even swim leggings here to keep your skin as covered as possible.
Mangel Halto Beach
Mangel Halto beach is my other top recommendation on Aruba for snorkeling. We did a guided tour here with Aruba Bob, which was really great especially since we booked a “small group” tour and ended up on a private tour. We used their solar-powered motorized sea scooters, which help you swim against the stronger current at this beach. We didn’t see any turtles, but we spotted lots of beautiful fish, including French angelfish, lionfish, blue tang and one eel, and the coral is also quite vibrant. On the whole it was some of the best snorkeling I’ve done in the Caribbean without spotting a turtle or ray. They took a bunch of photos for us (included with the tour price!) so we didn’t have to worry about anything except holding on to our scooter and snorkeling, which was nice.
Baby Beach
As the name suggests, Baby Beach is Aruba’s best beach for families with a very calm protected cove that stays shallow a long ways out. There are a couple of restaurants right on the beach, and you can rent umbrellas if you want to stay here for a full beach day. Baby Beach is on the southernmost tip of Aruba (supposedly you can see Venezuela from here on a clear day, although we weren’t so lucky), away from the major tourist areas of Palm/Eagle Beach and Oranjestad, so this beach tends to be less crowded than many Aruban beaches, especially on weekdays.
There’s also decent snorkeling here, particularly near the end of the rock barrier on the left side where we saw lots of friendly parrotfish and trunkfish.
Eagle Beach
We spent a lot of time on Eagle Beach, since it was home to our resort, the Bucuti & Tara, and it’s one of the best beaches on Aruba if you’re looking for the postcard-ready white sand beach with turquoise water. There’s no snorkeling here, but it’s perfect for hanging out in the water or floating on a mat with a cocktail.
Divi (Druif) Beach
Divi Beach is basically next door to Eagle Beach and they’re pretty similar, but I think Divi Beach is actually a smidge prettier. It has some rock promontories that add visual interest. These two beaches are an easy walk from each other, so if you’re staying in the low rise hotel area, as we did, I definitely recommend checking out both. If you’re coming from somewhere else on the island like Palm Beach, I’d probably start at Divi Beach.
Have you been to Aruba? What beaches would you add to my list?
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You left out Boca Catalina. Beautiful with good snorkeling. We saw moray eels there, along with many different parrotfish.
Ah yes, that’s a great addition! It’s right next to Tres Trapi and we did snorkel there a bit too at the same time, but I should have mentioned it separately. A moray eel is super cool.