Aruba UTV & ATV Tour: Animal Garden, North Coast & Andicuri Beach

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

• 1
  Philip's Animal Garden

  Your UTV or ATV tour starts at Philip's Animal Garden, Aruba's largest privately run wildlife rescue sanctuary and the meeting point for this excursion. It is home to more than 60 rescued and rehabilitated species, from lions and monkeys to kangaroos, parrots, tortoises, and snakes, most of them animals that were abandoned, confiscated, or surrendered by owners who could no longer keep them. Your entrance fee includes a complimentary feeding bag, so you can feed the animals by hand instead of watching from behind glass. It is a relaxed, family-friendly half hour before the engines start, and it is one of the stops guests mention most often in their reviews. Free camera-monitored parking is available here if you drive yourself to the tour rather than using our complimentary pickup.

  30 minutes • Admission ticket included
• 2
  Alto Vista Chapel

  From Philip's Animal Garden, the trail climbs to Alto Vista Chapel, the oldest chapel in Aruba and one of the island's most photographed landmarks. The first chapel was raised on this hillside above the North Coast in 1750; the small bright-yellow church standing here today was rebuilt on the same spot in 1952. Step inside to see the simple wooden pews and altar, then walk the grounds for open views across the northern coastline and the cunucu countryside behind it. Many riders also walk the 11-circuit prayer labyrinth beside the chapel, or follow the line of white crosses along the Peace Path that leads up to it. Admission is free, and you have time to look around and take photos before getting back on your UTV or ATV.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 3
  Natural Bridge

  Next, you will park at the Baby Natural Bridge, the coral-limestone arch known locally as the Daughter Bridge. It sits on Aruba's North Coast directly beside the spot where the island's famous original Natural Bridge stood until it collapsed in September 2005. That bridge was the largest of its kind in the Caribbean and Aruba's single most visited landmark; what remains today is this smaller arch beside it, cut by the same Atlantic surf that brought the original down. Walk right up to the arch, watch the waves drive through the opening, and photograph one of the most dramatic stretches of coastline on the island. Please note: the original Natural Bridge no longer exists. This stop is the Baby Natural Bridge beside its remains, which is the bridge every Aruba tour visits today.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 4
  Wariruri Bay

  Wariruri Bay is one of the emptiest places on the whole route. A remote cove on Aruba's windward North Coast, it is all jagged black volcanic rock, wind-bent divi-divi trees and Atlantic surf breaking hard against the shoreline. This is the raw, unfiltered version of the island that most visitors never see, because there is no sign, no facility, and nothing built here at all. It is a long-standing favorite with local bodyboarders and photographers for exactly that reason. Hop off your UTV or ATV and walk out along the rock shelf to watch the waves come in and feel the spray, or stand for a minute and take in the open ocean stretching north with nothing between you and the horizon. Admission is free, and there is time to explore on foot before you ride on.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 5
  Bushiribana Ruins

  Ride on to the Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins, the weathered stone shell of a gold smelter built here in 1872 during Aruba's gold rush. Gold was discovered on the island in 1824, and for roughly a century Aruba mined and smelted it commercially, which is how the island earned its old nickname, Isla de Oro. The Bushiribana mill processed ore from the surrounding hills for about a decade before operations moved south to Balashi. Park your UTV or ATV and walk through the archways and thick stone walls, climb to the upper level for a long view down the North Coast, and frame a photo through one of the original window openings with the Caribbean Sea behind it. Admission is free, and there is time to explore on foot.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• Cave Pool Aruba (Pass by)

  Just past the Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins, you will pass the Cave Pool, a natural rock pool carved into the North Coast shoreline and hidden from the road above. For years, it was one of Aruba's best-known local swimming spots, reached by a ladder down the cliff face and popular for cliff jumping into the clear water below. After a section of the cliff collapsed, the ladder was removed, and swimming and cliff jumping are no longer permitted here, so this is now a scenic pass-by rather than a stop. Your guide slows as you ride past, points out where the ladder used to be, and tells you the story behind one of the island's most photographed hidden gems. If you are looking for the Conchi Natural Pool inside Arikok National Park, that is a different site on the other side of the island, and no UTV or ATV tour is permitted to enter it.

  Admission ticket free
• Shark Bay beach (Pass by)

  Shark Bay is a short scenic pass-by on one of the wildest sections of Aruba's North Coast, where the Atlantic hits the ironshore hard enough to throw spray up over the rocks - no stop here, no path down, and no facilities. You ride past as your guide points out the coastline and explains how the constant trade winds and heavy surf shaped this side of the island, making it so different from the sheltered beaches on the west. It is one of the best places on the route to understand why the North Coast has stayed undeveloped while the rest of Aruba is filled with resorts, and why a UTV or ATV is the only practical way to see it.

  Admission ticket free
• 6
  Andicuri Beach

  Save your swimsuit for this one! Andicuri Beach is the highlight of the ride and the tour's only beach stop. It sits in a deep cove on Aruba's wild North Coast, framed by limestone cliffs on both sides with the open Atlantic rolling straight in, and it feels like a different island from the calm, resort-lined sand of Palm Beach and Eagle Beach. No vendors, no loungers, and usually very few people, because the track in is rough enough that rental cars don't attempt it. That is exactly why it stays this quiet. Park your UTV or ATV, walk the sand, climb a little way onto the rocks for the view back across the bay, and take what most guests agree are the best photos of the day. Swimming is allowed here whenever the sea is calm. Andicuri faces the open ocean, and the surf can build quickly, so on rough days your guide will keep everyone out of the water for safety. Bring a swimsuit and a towel so you are ready either way.

  30 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 7
  Tripod Bridge

  Pull up at Tripod Bridge, a natural rock arch standing on the coastline near Blackstone Beach and one of the more unusual geological formations on Aruba's North Coast. Unlike the island's better-known bridges, this one rests on three separate stone supports rising out of the ironshore, which is where the name comes from: from a distance, it really does look like a tripod planted on the rocks. It sees a fraction of the visitors that the Natural Bridge does, so you will usually have it to yourselves. Step off your UTV or ATV, walk around the formation to see how the sea has cut through it, and photograph the arches against the surf. Your guide will share the local story behind the name while you look around.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 8
  Blackstone beach

  Blackstone Beach is exactly what the name promises: a shoreline paved in smooth dark volcanic stones instead of sand, with turquoise Caribbean water breaking over them. The contrast between the black rock and the bright sea makes it one of the most striking photo stops on the route, and centuries of Atlantic surf have rounded and polished the stones. It sits on a remote stretch of Aruba's North Coast reachable only by off-road vehicle, so it is almost always quiet. Park your UTV or ATV and walk the black-stone shoreline. Footwear matters here, as the stones shift underfoot and can be slippery when wet. Swimming is not advised at Blackstone: the current is strong, and the shore drops away quickly. This is a stop to look, walk, and photograph, not to swim.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• Ayo Rock Formations (Pass by)

  On the return leg, you ride past the Ayo Rock Formations, huge tonalite boulders that rise straight out of Aruba's desert floor near the village of Ayo. Some are the size of a house, stacked in shapes that look deliberately balanced, and the island's original Arawak inhabitants used the site as a lookout, leaving petroglyphs on the rock faces that are still visible today. Your guide will point them out and tell you the story as you pass. This is a scenic pass-by rather than a stop, but it is one of the most photogenic backdrops on the entire route, and the cactus-covered terrain around it is a complete contrast to the coastline you have just ridden.

  Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
• This tour takes you across Aruba's rugged North Coast on rough, bumpy off-road trails - expect to get dusty and dirty along the way
• The driver must be 18+ and have a valid driver's license (digital or physical) to drive an UTV or ATV in Aruba

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