Top 10 Marinas in Aruba
The wind never stops in Aruba. From the northeast, at fifteen to twenty-five knots on most days of the year, the trade wind bends the divi-divi trees permanently to the southwest and keeps the island cool and dry even in August. Aruba is the westernmost and driest of the ABC Islands — Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao — with an annual rainfall of barely 430 millimetres, more desert than tropics. For sailors, this steady wind is both the attraction and the challenge: it makes for fast passages in the right direction and a grinding upwind beat in the wrong one. The island sits at 12°30'N, outside the main hurricane belt, and its modern marina at Oranjestad has become the standard last stop before the offshore passage south toward Venezuela or the long stretch west to Panama.
Aruba Marina (Renaissance Marina), Oranjestad
The Renaissance Marina, operated by the Renaissance Resort, is the main yacht facility on the island. Located in Oranjestad's inner harbour, it has 30 alongside berths accommodating vessels up to 40 metres, with shore power (220 V), fresh water, and wireless internet. The marina office handles customs and immigration clearance for foreign vessels — a single stop that covers both formalities. Fuel is available at the dock by advance arrangement. The facility sits directly below the Renaissance Hotel, and cruisers have access to the hotel pool, beach island shuttle (a private beach on a small island in the inner harbour), and restaurant.
Bucuti Yacht Club
South of the Renaissance Marina, the Bucuti Yacht Club is a members' facility that occasionally accommodates visiting yachts on reciprocal arrangements. The club is set on Eagle Beach, one of Aruba's finest, and the anchorage off the beach is protected in normal trade wind conditions. There is no fuel dock, but the club has basic services and a social programme that gives visiting crews a local social connection.
Oranjestad Harbour Anchorage
The main outer anchorage at Oranjestad lies in three to five metres of sand to the west of the marina. This is the preferred overnight stop for boats not taking a berth, and the holding is reliable in the northeast trade. A dinghy dock on the marina quay serves the anchorage. Customs formalities for the outer anchorage are completed at the marina office; officers do not generally board at anchor. The waterfront of Oranjestad — a Dutch colonial town with pastel facades and a covered market — is a ten-minute dinghy ride from the anchorage.
Spanish Lagoon (Spaans Lagoen)
On the southeastern coast, Spanish Lagoon is a natural mangrove-lined inlet five miles from Oranjestad. The lagoon has depths of two to five metres, accessible to shoal-draft vessels drawing under 1.8 metres. It was historically used as a hurricane shelter by trading vessels and today hosts a kayak and nature tourism operation. Anchoring is permitted in the outer bay but the entrance channel is narrow and markers are not always well maintained; local knowledge or a pilot is advisable on first entry.
Aruba Nautical Club
The Aruba Nautical Club, near the airport at the southeastern end of the island, is a locally-run yacht club with a slipway, workshop facilities, and a small bar that serves as the social hub for the island's local sailing community. Visiting yachts can use the slipway by arrangement for antifouling and hull work. The club runs one-design racing in Optimists and small keelboats on weekends and organises an annual offshore race around the island.
Palm Beach Roadstead
Off Aruba's northwest coast, the Palm Beach roadstead provides a day anchorage in settled conditions. The bottom is sandy at two to four metres in the bay itself, but the area is exposed to northwesterly swell which occasionally wraps around the island during northern hemisphere winter months. The hotels along the seven-kilometre white sand beach make for a dramatic backdrop, but this is not a comfortable overnight stop when the swell builds.
Eagle Beach Anchorage
South of Palm Beach, Eagle Beach is rated by several international travel publications as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The anchorage off the beach holds in four metres of white sand and is generally calm in the trade wind. Beach bars and restaurants are accessible by dinghy. This is a popular day stop for charter boats based at Oranjestad.
Westpunt and Noord
The northwestern tip of Aruba, around the area of Noord, has a few exposed coves with sand and rock bottoms. These are dinghy anchorages rather than overnight spots, but the clarity of the water — visibility routinely above 20 metres — makes them worthwhile snorkelling and scuba diving locations. The California wreck, a steam freighter sunk in 1891 in 10 metres north of the lighthouse, is diveable from these anchorages.
Trade Winds and the Passage South
Aruba's constant trade wind of 15-25 knots makes it the premier kitesurfing destination in the Caribbean — the beaches around Hadicurari and Fisherman's Huts host the annual Aruba Hi-Winds kitesurfing competition. For sailors, this same breeze drives fast passages. The route from Aruba to Los Roques, Venezuela, 270 nautical miles to the south-southwest, is a comfortable beam reach or broad reach in 25-30 hours. The longer passage to Colón, Panama, some 650 miles to the west-southwest, is generally a downwind run with the trades, though the first 100 miles skirting the Colombian coast can be light and shifty.
Explore on the map
Aruba's marina at Oranjestad, the sheltered Spanish Lagoon, and the offshore passage routes south toward Venezuela all feature on the interactive map. Explore Aruba on the map to compare anchorage options, check the approach channels into Oranjestad harbour, and plan your departure route southwest toward the Colombian and Venezuelan coast.