One of the first things you think about when Aruba comes to mind is beautiful white sand beaches, crystal clear blue water, and fluffy pink flamingos walking past you alongside the ocean as you sip your favorite frozen drink.
If that's what you're going for on your trip to Aruba, then you need to know where you need to go to see them. It's not super simple to do either.
Here are the only two places to see Flamingos in Aruba, and how to get there
Flamingo Beach at the Renaissance Hotel
The first way to see flamingos in Aruba is to visit the iconic Flamingo Beach, but fair warning, Flamingo Beach is not open to the public. You cannot simply show up and see them. It is part of and owned by the Renaissance Hotel.
Here are two ways you can successfully get to Flamingo Beach (which did not happen for me):
1. You can book a room at the Renaissance Hotel.
When you stay at the Renaissance Hotel, which also goes by The Renaissance Wind Creek Resort, you gain exclusive access to Renaissance Island. There are actually three different places you can stay at:
- The Renaissance Marina Hotel Tower - this is located across the street from the Seaport Village Marina, so it doesn't have direct beach access from the hotel. The private beach for hotel guests is a short walk or shuttle ride away.
- The Reniassance Ocean Suites - this is located on the water, so you gain direct beach access as you step outside your hotel (plus a private pool). They created their own private beach for guests, since this is just off the marina.
- The Renaissance Island Suites - this is located on Renaissance Island, so you're truly getting an island getaway.
Anyone who stays at any of the Renaissance Hotels gets complimentary water taxi rides to the island.
You can find it on Booking.com or on Expedia.
2. You can buy a day pass to Renaissance Island.
Day passes are $125 per person, and they have very limited slots. I tried to visit Flamingo Beach with this option, but it sold out before I could make my purchase.
The Renaissance Hotel only releases day pass tickets once per week for the upcoming week. I set an alarm to book my ticket and still missed out. I tried about 15-20 minutes after they were released, and they were already sold out for the upcoming week.
Being that I was there for 4 weeks, if I had known earlier this was how to get to Flamingo Beach, I would have tried much sooner. Lesson learned!
De Palm Island
The second way to see flamingos in Aruba is to visit De Palm Island. De Palm Island is an island oasis off the coast of Balashi, Aruba. The island has so much to do so I highly recommend going early so you can spend the whole day there.
With a regular entry ticket, you get all-inclusive food and beverages, free use of snorkel gear to snorkel at your own pace, free snorkeling tours if you'd like a guide, open seating on the beach, salsa lessons in the afternoon, unlimited banana boat rides, kids water parks, and a body drop slide.
For food, there is an all-you can eat buffet for lunch, and a separate restaurant that has options like burgers, chicken tenders and fries.
In the table seating area, there is a separate bar for all-you-can-drink cocktails. The have a couple frozen drink options as well as a few options that are served on the rocks. Plus the main seating area has free water, fountain drinks, and coffee. I took advantage of making a midday iced coffee for a pick-me-up.
You can book a ticket with transportation from Oranjestad, or you can choose to drive there yourself, but I recommend including transportation with your ticket, especially if you plan to take advantage of the open bar.
How Do You See the Flamingos at De Palm Island?
You can only mingle with the flamingos at De Palm Island if you book premium seating or a private cabana, which is quite a bit more expensive than a regular entry ticket. Both of these options allow you to see the flamingos up close. With these upgrades, you are able to go on a private beach where the flamingos are able to roam freely. You can capture some great pictures with them here.
If you do not want to upgrade your entry ticket, you can only see flamingos through the fence. I was able to see a few flamingos up close through the fence when they were hanging around closer to the public beach area. However, I was not able to get any pictures with flamingos, only zoomed in pictures through the fence.
You can book your ticket to De Palm Island through Viator.
Seeing flamingos in Aruba isn't easy to do, but you do have options to make it happen. If you want to be able to take pictures with them, you will need to shell out some extra money to make it happen.
Is seeing flamingos on your list of things to do in Aruba? It was on mine!