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Things to Do in Aruba With Kids

WhatWildlife Editors 4 min read

Philip's Animal Garden (Aruba)
Philip's Animal Garden (Aruba). Photo: Ginelly.Q, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Aruba doesn't have a big zoo or aquarium, but it has two things that work well with kids: Philip's Animal Garden in Noord, and Arikok National Park, which protects the animals that actually live on the island. Pair the two and you cover both "meet an animal up close" and "see what's really out here" without a long drive between them.

What not to miss

Featured location Philip's Animal Garden (Aruba) Aruba, Aruba Philip's Animal Garden (Aruba) is a zoo in Aruba, Aruba. Animals on show include Peacock, Red Kangaroo, Skunks, Duck and Mule.

Philip's Animal Garden is at Alto Vista 116 in Noord.

Other wildlife nearby

For animals that actually belong on Aruba rather than in a collection, Arikok National Park is the other half of the day. Established in 2000, it covers about 7,907 acres (32 square kilometres) in the island's northeast — around 20% of Aruba's total land area — and has a visitor center and a viewpoint on Seroe Arikok hill. Inside it live species found nowhere else on Earth: the cascabel, an endemic rattlesnake; the Aruban whiptail lizard; the shoco, Aruba's native burrowing owl; and the prikichi, a small native parakeet. Sea turtles nest on the park's Boca Prins beach, which is worth timing a visit around if that's what your kids want to see.

If birds are the draw, the Bubali Bird Sanctuary, a wetland of about 20 hectares near Palm Beach on the island's northwestern end, is a shorter stop. BirdLife International has designated it an Important Bird Area: American coots, common moorhens, white-cheeked pintails and green herons feed there alongside a large roost of neotropic cormorants, and migratory wading birds and neotropical songbirds pass through seasonally.

With kids and accessibility

Because Philip's Animal Garden is open every day from 8am to 6pm, it fits around nap schedules and flight times better than an attraction with a narrow window.

Best time to visit

Aruba's weather rarely changes the plan. The island gets only about 500 millimetres (20 inches) of rain in an average year, with just a brief rainy season from September to January. That makes both the animal garden and a few hours in Arikok National Park a reasonable plan almost any week you're on the island; pack for sun rather than rain whichever month you go.

Frequently asked questions

Is Aruba good for kids?

Yes, in the specific sense that the island doesn't force you into big travel days. Philip's Animal Garden is open every day and gives kids an up-close, hour-or-two stop, and dry, steady weather most of the year means you're rarely stuck indoors waiting out rain.

What animals live in Aruba?

Aruba's own wildlife is smaller and stranger than a typical zoo collection: the cascabel rattlesnake and the Aruban whiptail lizard exist only here, alongside the shoco burrowing owl and the prikichi parakeet. Along the coast, the Bubali wetland holds coots, moorhens, pintails and green herons, and sea turtles nest at Boca Prins in Arikok National Park.

What dangerous animals are in Aruba?

The main one is the cascabel, Aruba's endemic rattlesnake, which lives inside Arikok National Park.

How long should you spend on Aruba's wildlife in one day?

There's no fixed answer, but Philip's Animal Garden in the morning and an afternoon in Arikok National Park — which has its own visitor center — covers both the hands-on animal encounter and the island's native wildlife without needing a second day.

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