Aruba Downtown Historic and Cultural Walking Tour: Explore Oranjestad's Rich History & Culture
4.8
463 Ratings
Oranjestad
Immerse yourself in the rich history and culture of Oranjestad with a 2.5-hour walking tour. Explore over 30 sites, visit museums, sample local bites, and interact with charismatic locals.
Duration:
2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Fort Zoutman Historical Museum - When open, enter inside the Historical Museum to learn and see Aruba’s old fort built in the 1700’s. Also climb the old clock tower built in the 1800’s for an amazing view of Aruba’s downtown.
- Wilhelmina Park - Learn about two impressive statues in the Park and also see a large amount of iguana’s.
- National Archaeological Museum Aruba - When open, visit the inside of the museum to learn about Aruba’s first inhabitants. See pottery, skulls and tools that the Indians used during the early days. The exterior is a beautiful backdrop for pictures of Aruba’s old architecture.
- Coco Plum Restaurant - Learn and Taste a local snack called the Pan Bati. The pan bati is still very popular and is widely consumed by the locals.
- Oranjestad - Learn about the romantic story about the construction of one of Aruba’s iconic family mansions built in the early 1900’s.
- Caya G. F. Betico Croes - Walk through Aruba’s MAIN Street. Learn and see some of the stores that have been here since 1928. Also learn about the street car / tram ta passes through the street.
- Cosecha - The tour starts infront of one Aruba’s first government buildings which was used for multiple purposes. Currently it houses local arts and crafts by accredited locals.
- Aruba Parliament - Hear about Aruba’s politic system and see where the local politicians debate on current affairs and laws.
- Protestant Church - See one of Aruba’s oldest churches built in the 1800’s. Learn how to Protestant arrived on the island and also learn that they are not the largest religion on the island.
- Havenstraat - What do Arubans eat for Breakfast and at Parties ? Hear all about it and get to taste it here!
- Wilhelminastraat - Walk through a residential street to see where the locals live. Your guide will point out multiple iconic houses.
- Oranjestad - And Many More. Approximately 30 Stops!
What's Included
- Local expert guide with authentic stories
- Entrance to museums included
- Complimentary bottled water
- Opportunities for Instagram-worthy photos
- Visit iconic landmarks
- Taste delicious local bites (2x)
- Explore over 30 amazing sites
- Free hotel pickup (drop-off not included)
- Multilingual guides (English, Spanish, Dutch, Papiamento)
What's Not Included
- Hotel drop-off
Additional Information
Discover the streets & stories of Oranjestad with you own personal Local Expert
Aruba Walking Tours offers the islands’ local scoop during a 2.5-hour journey by foot in an interactive and engaging way. This authentic experience takes you to over 30 amazing sites in downtown Oranjestad, while a Local Expert shares fascinating stories on the islands’ rich history & culture. Stops are made to visit monuments & museums (when open), sample Aruba’s local bites and even for a little shopping on-the-go. During the Aruba walking tour plenty of ‘photo ops’ and even encounters with Aruba’s charismatic locals are provided. Making your way through the city was never this entertaining!
The group tour is available Monday, Wednesday or Friday daily. Departure 9.15 am. Meeting time: No later than 9 am. For customized experiences and other departure times you can book a private tour for couples, families and corporate groups.
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers with Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America, Princess Cruises and P&0 Cruises have to book through Ship’s website or on board. Other cruise lines must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time.
- Operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress comfortable specially walking shoes.
- Please have breakfast before due to the possible heat, to avoid sickness.
Location
Cosecha Aruban Craft Design & Heritage
Zoutmanstraat
Departure Point: Cosecha Arts & Crafts: Located behind Renaissance Hotel Marina Tower. Look out for the sign Aruba Walking Tour next to the roundabout. Address: Hotel Tour: Cosecha Building, Zoutmanstraat 1.
https://goo.gl/maps/4oTNAfaJioE2
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(463 Ratings)
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H2697ghmelaniek
May 28, 2024
Awesome Tour!!! - We were given an amazing tour of
Oranjestad by our guide Beach. He taught us all about the history of Aruba and its inhabitants as well as how the government of the island is structured. We also got the chance to sample some traditional Aruban foods like Pastechi which was great! If you’re somebody who enjoys history and likes learning about the local cultures of the places you visit I highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trip62373063631
May 28, 2024
14 days in Aruba, a magnificent place - The whole island is a beautiful place
I visited it with an exchange, 1st week at Divi Phoenix, 2nd week at Divi Dutch, both Resorts very good service, Aruba itself is expensive if you eat out every day, but these hotels, the rooms have a super equipped kitchen and grill in PB, shopping in supermarkets is not much more expensive than Buenos Aires
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R1230gmaarona
May 25, 2024
Aruba Fun! - The Aruba Walking Tour was so amazing. It was early in the day so it wasn't too hot yet which made the walk during the tour pleasant. Our guide (Yvonne) was awesome! She showed us so many cool sites and took us to a few places for us to try the food. Overall a wonderful experience for my wife and I. Highly recommend this tour as long as you don't mind walking.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
I9435mvjeromeb
May 22, 2024
Aruba walking tour - The guide was very professional and knowledgeable on the historical background of Aruba, easy to talk to and friendly. Great tour.
Jerome
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daytrip42252799374
May 19, 2024
Aruba tour 2024 - I loved the views of the town and people. Our tour guide (Yvonne) was the best. I would do it again soon. Great place to tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mario_f
May 18, 2024
Nice walk - Our guide Evelyn was very knowledgable and provided great detail about the history of the island and the architecture of the downtown area, she also provided detail about the impacts of the pandemic on the tourist industry. Be sure to bring water and comfortable shoes
Review provided by Viator
Kanica_y
May 17, 2024
Enjoyable beautiful... - Enjoyable beautiful educational walking tour of Aruba . I traveled with my husband, parents and 5 year old daughter!
Review provided by Viator
Alan_f
May 27, 2024
Overall a good experience with some growth needed - Tour guide was good; however, she spent way too much time looking things up on her phone and looking for pictures of “the way it used to be”, many of which she couldn’t find even after exhaustive looking. She did have a wealth of knowledge of the area and shared many significant o sights. She gave us great insight into the past and current culture of the island. Would I do it again? No. I am glad I took it, and maybe the guide will improve with experience.
Review provided by Viator
Sjsbeh
May 24, 2024
Overall very good - We took the tour this morning with Èvy as our guide. She did an excellent job pointing out the many historical sites, Aruban unique architecture, and other places of interest giving detailed information on each, and the impact several individuals have had on the Island. I appreciated her insight into the culture of the island and how well the people get along. We stopped along the walk for an Aruban Gouda Puff Pastry, a Cornmeal pancake sample, and a cold brew, which was well appreciated on this hot day. I would recommend that rather than showing photographs of “how things used to look” on her phone, she use an iPad so they can more easily be seen, or simply not show them at all. Also, she could easily arrange them in a tour folder on her phone so tour time would not be wasted with her looking for her many photos, some of which she never did find. This alone would speed up the tour considerably. Even with this, she was very informative and gave us an excellent tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
963alyceh
May 17, 2024
Great tour experience! - Had a fantastic tour led by Wendle. He had so much to talk about and knew the answer to every question we had. It was a great opportunity to learn more about the island that you can't find in the touristy area of Aruba.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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