With the weather being consistently warm throughout the year and temps rarely dropping below 28oC (82oF), there is really no best time to travel to Aruba. It all depends on the type of vacation you are looking for.
Price-wise, Aruba is best visited between the months of April through August, when the island’s room prices do not soar as they do from January to March. Early fall is also a great period to find discounts.
Aruba enters its high season from mid-December to mid-April, receiving a massive influx of tourists who want to escape the cold and wish for some relaxing time with sunshine and warmth. This means more crowds, more expensive accommodation, dining, and entertainment (it’s strongly advised to make your reservations well in advance), and slightly higher temperatures, especially in the late summer months through September.
The first month of the year hosts a series of events and celebrations, such as the Betico Croes Day (25th of January), with the hugely lively and animated Aruba Carnival and its glorious parades and unbeatable party atmosphere being the most anticipated of them all. People dressed in vivid costumes come together from across the island, dancing and having fun with the rhythms of West Indian music in the background. The peak of the Carnival is the Tivoli Lighting Parade, where floats adorned with twinkling lights give the night an even more exotic flair.
Besides January, the following months are also full of events to join or watch and make your stay even more pleasurable:
Anytime is an exceptional time of the year to visit Aruba if you want to enjoy its sugar-sand, white western and southern shores, and their amazing Divi-Divi trees and turquoise waters. Or opt for the wilder side of the coastline and head east, where you’ll be greeted with rugged volcanic cliffs, a boulder- and cactus-strewn desert, and the imposing Mt Jamanota, where rattlesnakes, goats, and wild parakeets live! In any case, the weather is actually a minor factor affecting when to visit the island’s beaches.
Sunbathing & Swimming
If you prefer cooler temperatures to indulge in activities like sunbathing and swimming, remember that the average temperature rises by a few degrees between May and October, without causing any fierce difference in the way you experience the heat, though. However, visiting the island during the high season to enjoy its beaches comes with a higher price tag on things like accommodation, dining, and experiences in general. Plus, more sun worshippers hitting the beaches.
Kitesurfing & Windsurfing
For adrenaline-pumping water sports enthusiasts, the period between May and July is fantastic for kitesurfing and windsurfing due to the favourable winds whose speeds average 20-25 knots. Plus, July is the month of the Hi-Winds World Challenge – the only PWAGP (Professional Windsurfing Association Grand Prix) championship in the Caribbean that turns Aruba into a Windsurfing and Kitesurfing mecca.
Snorkelling and Diving
For underwater explorations, the waters are significantly calmer from September through November and the winds do not usually go above 10-20 knots.
The Arikok Natural Pool
A top local attraction on the east Aruba coast, the Arikok National Park, can best be visited when there are fewer crowds, so between January and March. Its Natural Pool, though, usually gets crammed during the months of May, July, and June, when it is the windiest.
Aruba accepts the largest influx of tourists between mid-September and mid-April. However, if you want to plan an Aruba getaway at this time of the year, you could stray from the jam-packed remote, and protected shores on the southern and western coast and opt for the more rugged ones lining the northern and eastern coastline. Some superb options to avoid crowds are Manchebo Beach and Eagle Beach.
With the overwhelming majority of travellers choosing to fly to Aruba during the weekend (from Friday through Sunday), you could pick any weekday to travel to the Caribbean island for more comfort and convenience.
This refers to the months between mid-April and August when you’ll be able to enjoy a great social life and savings (accommodation prices drop by 20-30%), alongside a diverse crowd blending Europeans and South Americans. The welcoming daily breezes also help keep stickiness to a minimum.
From September through December, the Aruba trade winds die down and the island starts to experience some rainfall. However, most days are sunny and warm. It is the cheapest time of the year to visit the island as you can find lodgings at half the price asked during the high season. The lighter winds also make Aruba a fantastic place for snorkelling. And, although the number of per week outings is usually reduced, there are significantly fewer lines and smaller groups in the available tours than in the peak season.
