De Palm Island, Aruba Review

De Palm Island is a small island right off of Aruba. It’s an all day or half a day excursion that is also all-inclusive for food and drinks, including alcohol. It cost about $100 per adult and $80 per child and a little more if you decide to have them pick you up at your hotel. The island has all sorts of activities such as snorkeling, zip-lining, banana boating, swimming, and a water park. Because of all the fun options, this place is packed with people and kids, but it didn’t feel overcrowded or busy.

We chose the all day pass, so we could get more activities in and have all our meals covered for the day. The island opens at 9 A.M. and closes at 5 P.M., which gives you plenty of time to explore and eat all your meals there. The first thing we did was eat breakfast. They had a lovely buffet with lots of delicious options. Then we got a beach chair and some drinks and lounged for a bit. The views were fantastic and the water was so blue here!

Before lunch we decided to go zip-lining. This was a long wait even though there wasn’t that many people in line at this time. This was because only two people can go at a time and obviously you have to wait until the others are off before the next group can go. It probably took a good hour or so before it was our turn. It was a fun activity, but I’m not sure it was worth the hour wait. I mean you only zip-line for about 20 seconds.

After that slight let down, we decided to get lunch. The lunch menu was pretty standard: hot dogs, burgers, or nuggets with fries, but still yummy. We did come to learn a little too late, that the area where the breakfast buffet was, later turned into a lunch/dinner buffet with much more to offer. I unfortunately cannot tell you how that was. I’d also like to mention that the drink menu is very limited. They only serve a few types or cocktails and one type of beer, however, they were still good. 

Once we finished our lunch, we decided to get in line for banana boating. We got there right before it opened back up after their lunch break so we didn’t have to wait long. This was probably the best activity the island had to offer. It was so fun and it lasted for a decent amount of time. 

Since we were already wet, we decided to go swimming next. They have two swimming areas that they created. We chose the second one because less people were there. The water was so warm, calm, and clear! It was a beautiful spot for swimming and didn’t have as many rocks as the other swim area. The only issue I have is that the whole swimming lagoon was shallow. The deepest it got was probably a little past my belly and I’m not that tall, but still a nice place to relax.

The last activity we did was go snorkeling because for most of the day it was crowded there. This was the main reason we decided to go to De Palm Island. I absolutely love snorkeling and I had read that this island had the best snorkeling in Aruba. I was not disappointed by it! There are many types of fish and coral around. It was a fantastic underwater site. Also, for the record, they do offer gear, but you can bring your own and you must wear a life vest because the water is rough. 

Overall I enjoyed De Palm Island. It was a nice getaway from the hotel and had plenty of things to do. You really can’t be bored while there. However, would I go again? I’m not entirely sure. It was one of those things that I’m glad I did, but I feel like I’ve seen it/ done it all there and don’t really need to go back, plus it is more on the expensive side. I would probably only return if I had kids with me. I think kids would absolutely love it. I definitely recommend it to others because I think it’s an experience to try and you will have fun!

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