Perfect places in Aruba for vacations with children

Aruba has so many vacation spots and entertainment for adults, but what about the kids? Many families vacation together these days, which means more kid-friendly attractions are needed. Attractions, games, hotels and restaurants suitable for children. In Aruba, that also means keeping an eye on your children at all times, since they are almost always near water. Make your trip to Aruba not only a safe vacation, but one your kids will remember forever.

The most unfortunate part of swimming in Aruba is that there are no lifeguards officially on duty due to a lack of funding and organization. Therefore, parents need to be proactive and keep their children in safe, shallow water. Don’t let children go into too deep water or they could get caught in the undertow and pull out farther. To go the extra mile, it wouldn’t hurt if parents and older siblings were trained in basic CPR and First Aid. It is important to note that in the last 15 years, drowning deaths in Aruba have only exceeded ten people in a year once.

Scary part aside, there are more exciting activities to pursue. Most resorts and some hotels offer kids’ clubs. Some of them are even free. Some of the resorts offer zero entry pools, also known as beach entry pools. These pools are ideal for anyone with a little one who isn’t sure about the water yet. They offer gradual sloping entry from the beach without the salt water stinging the eyes or the waves knocking them over. All resorts offer freshwater pools as well as sea salt and algae free options.

One of the resort’s best kid-friendly features is the One Happy Family Vacation Package. This package is open to all children 12 and under staying at a participating resort in a room with a paying adult. Each qualifying child receives a souvenir and a children’s cocktail upon check-in at your resort or hotel, and free breakfast each morning from the children’s menu at your hotel. Participating families receive all kinds of coupons and discounts for activities and other events on the island. Each child receives a VIK, Very Important Kid passport, which has empty places to fill in at different locations on the island. Once completed, each passport is awarded to be entered into a raffle to win a seven-day family trip for four, including airfare.

Aruba has a couple of great places for kids and their families with an interest in animals and bugs. The butterfly farm is open year-round and will allow you and your children to see butterflies at various stages of life from all over the world. Once you make your first trip to the Farm in Palm Beach, your ticket will give you free admission for the rest of your trip. Take the kids back several times throughout the day to see different butterflies in different stages of flight and life. What a wonderful lesson on the cycle of life.

The Donkey Sanctuary is another place to take the kids for a lesson on animals. This sanctuary became a safe haven for the donkeys on the island that no one needed once cars became the main mode of transportation. There is no admission fee to enter the Donkey Sanctuary, but donations are highly accepted. If you arrive at the sanctuary early enough, you can help with daily chores like feeding and cleaning the donkeys. If these tasks aren’t your thing, you can grab a drink or snack at the concession stand and sit back and watch the action.

If you get the idea that Aruba is not for kids, let that thought wash away with the sand. From the programs established by the island resorts to the farms and animal sanctuaries, there is always something for the kids in Aruba. You just have to be small enough to find them.

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