We recently went to Aruba and decided to do a De Palm Tours jeep tour. There are several companies that do jeep and UTV tours, but are they worth the money and are they fun?
Given that we are travel agents, we did a bit a research before deciding on which tour to try. The tours for the various companies are similar and have a lot of the same stops, but each company is a little different.
Why We Choose De Palm
A huge selling point for us was that De Palm Tours is EarthCheck Silver certified. EarthCheck is the world’s leading certification and advisory group for eco-friendly travel and tourism.
Although the De Palm Safari Tour "jeeps" are really more like trucks, they just looked like it would be a more comfortable experience. The seating is oriented facing forward. AroundAruba offers both jeeps and trucks, but the trucks are smaller with side facing seating. ABC offers Land Rovers and claims to be the most comfortable ride.
We also felt that social distancing would be easier on the De Palm tour. They limit each row to a single group, which ends up being no worse than being on a airplane. We did consider a private tour, but as travel agents we wanted to see how a group tour worked and operated.
Natural Pool Off-Road Safari Tour
Ultimately we chose the Natural Pool Off-Road Safari Tour. We didn't want a whole day tour, so this 4 hour tour was a good fit for us and it left in the morning. The tour picks you up at your hotel and both jeeps meet at a staging location. Once we got to the staging area they provided us with neck gators for the dust and a bottle of water.
The tour starts off by heading to Arikok National Park via a lot of backroads. Some were paved and some were dirt so at this point I wouldn't consider it "off road".
We were surprised to see that several varieties of cactus grow all over the ABC islands. Although one looks like the Organ Pipe cactus that grows here in southern Arizona, it's a deferent variety known locally as Yatu.
Arikok National Park and the Natural Pool
Our first stop of the day was Conchi, also known as the Natural Pool. This natural landmark is only accessible via an off road vehicle, horseback or by foot. Once entering the park we quickly left the road. Arikok is highly mountainous and very rocky. Although there is a paved road that traverses the park, the bulk of it is only reachable via trails that are constantly changing due to weather and erosion.
The road to the top of Arikok Hill is pretty well maintained, and there you can get a commanding view of most of the island. It's a great spot to snap a few photos. Once you move past the radar station the trail becomes unmaintained. Heading down the other side we eventually made it down to the north coast and Conchi.
There were a lot of tours already there when we arrived. It's about a 10 minute walk down the trail to the pool. It's around 90 steps I think total, and going back up was not as bad as I thought it would be.
Swimming in the pool was cool, but honestly it was really crowded and so it was hard to snorkel. I gave up after about 10 minutes but got some decent underwater shots. I still think it's worth a visit, but next time I'd probably rent a Jeep or UTV and drive myself (the trail is decently marked).
One of our group dropped his new iPhone in the pool so we were about 30 minutes late in leaving our first stop. This is great reason to consider a floating phone case if you are going to use it for pictures.
Natural Bridge Ruins and Baby Natural Bridge
Leaving Conchi we took the same trail back out. Once we left the park we headed over to the Natural Bridge. Along the way we took a route by the Ayo Rock Formation. Our head guide David gave us some history of the formation and it's uses by the natives over the years.
The Natural Bridge was formed naturally out of the waves eroding the coral limestone, and was the remnants of an ancient cave. Unfortunately it collapsed unexpectedly on September 2, 2005 although you can still view the ruins to see how massive the arch was. There is a smaller "baby arch" next to it that is still standing.
David told us here are actually seven of these natural arches on the north coast but I believe the Natural Bridge site is the only one accessible via car. The others can only be seen by off-road vehicle or by foot.
The Natural Bridge stop was 50 minutes, but I feel that was way too long. I think half of that would have been plenty of time.
Bushiribana Ruins and the North Coast
Leaving the Natural Bridge we quickly drove by the Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins. We barely slowed down, I am guessing because we were behind schedule. We drove along the north coast along the coastal trail.
The route takes you along the limestone cliffs, and gets quite rough at times. This trail takes you by several beaches, including Wariruri Beach however swimming along the north coast is not for the faint of heart. The currents are very strong so it's discouraged.
You will also see a lot of "fishing shacks" along this route. These old structures were used by fisherman until offshore fishing made fishing from the shore inefficient. You will see them in various states of disrepair.
Some seem quite dilapidated, but others seem to be pretty well maintained. We were told that they are still owned by local families and are still used by locals. Some can even be rented.
Alto Vista Chapel
The last actual stop of the day was the Alto Vista Chapel. The original church was built in 1750 built by Domingo Silvestre, a Venezuelan missionary, and consisted of stone walls and a straw roof.
By 1816 the original church was unused and fell into ruin. The side was rediscovered by a local school teacher and a new chapel was reconstructed in 1952. The site is visited by people of all faiths, and is used for both praying and for meditation.
The site was a interesting stop. There was a cart vendor on site offering alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Most of our tour mates bought drinks, however we declined given the pandemic and a lack of what I considered sufficient sanitation.
California Lighthouse, Arashi Beach and Back To the Hotel
Leaving the chapel we drove back down to the beach trail. At this point, I think both Taunya and I were over the off-roading and would have been happy to have stayed on the pavement.
We were so far behind schedule at this point, I think our guides were driving a lot faster than they normally would along the trail. It was about 6 km from the chapel to the California Lighthouse which was the roughest of the entire trip, mainly because of the speed.
The lighthouse was only a drive by stop where we stopped briefly but did not disembark the jeep.
After leaving the California Lighthouse we headed along the coast past Arashi Beach and into the high rise hotel zone where they began to drop us off. All told our entire tour lasted just over 5 hours, so it took about an hour longer than it was supposed to.
Conclusion
So was the De Palm Tours jeep tour worth it? Honestly, it probably was. You get to see all of the primary tourist spots on the north side of the island easily and with a knowledgeable guide. And if you have never done a jeep tour or been off-road before they can be a lot of fun.
One caveat though is your are stuck on a schedule. For us, we were ready to move on to the next stop before anyone else. Also given “island time”, it's quite possible (even likely) your tour will take longer than they specify.
We definitely don't regret doing the tour; it was a great experience that we can talk about with firsthand knowledge. However since we actually own a Jeep Wrangler, next time I think we'd rent a Jeep or UTV and drive it ourselves as I am very comfortable driving off-road.
So would you do a jeep tour in Aruba? We'd love to hear from you. If you have already taken a tour, tell us about your experience and what you thought about it! Before you go, check out our other articles on Aruba or other Caribbean destinations.
Living, loving, drinking, and traveling through life.
— Derek
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