Family holidays in Aruba

You're unlikely to see any wild water during family holidays to Aruba, due to a combination of factors. First of all there's the position of the island, which shelters its southern coast against the stronger ocean currents and creates good bathing conditions off the sandy beaches in the south-west. Second is the lack of any high altitude on the island, which means there are no natural rivers flowing from the interior to the coast. The naturally sheltered south-west not only has the best waters, but is also home to the island's best beach resorts.

Aruba in the air

While there's no part of the island with any great elevation, it is not quite completely flat. You might expect an island to have its summit at its centre, and in the case of Aruba this is almost correct. However, Mount Jamanota is actually located just slightly to the south-east of centre, and on cheap family holidays in Aruba you should be able to spot it from certain parts of the island standing some 600 feet above sea level in the distance.

Around the region

Despite some people's misconceptions, any rivalry between neighbouring islands in the Caribbean is mostly friendly - and in fact they often work together to maximise their prosperity. In the case of Aruba, the nearby country of Venezuela on the mainland is a valuable source of tourist spend. Your own family holidays in Aruba will help to boost this income even further, and you can expect to see a good number of Dutch people during your stay too, as the island officially belongs to the Netherlands.

Aruba for the children

Certain activities will never be available on Aruba - white-water river rafting, for instance - but other than that it is a great destination and your kids will undoubtedly enjoy their family holiday on Aruba. Make the most of the coastline, as there's no inland waterways to use for sport. Off the south-west of the island, where the waters are at their calmest, you should find conditions are ideal for snorkelling with the kids, or even just for swimming and playing in the water, and this gives you a good chance to help your children gain more confidence in the water, and especially the open water and swelling waves of the ocean.

Why Aruba is so great for families

It's hard not to enjoy a family holiday in Aruba. This small Caribbean island is located just off the coast of Venezuela but there's very little of the boisterous Latin spirit here. What you get is calm, relaxing and extremely safe Aruba family holidays where you can spend endless hours playing in the warm flat waters, and building sand castles on the fine white sands. There's no rush and no obligations – you'll be firmly on Caribbean time. Just free to enjoy some quality family time together.