Noord, Aruba: The District Behind the High-Rises
Where the strip's staff live, its best restaurants hide, and the kitesurfing is.
Why Go
Noord is the district that sits behind Palm Beach and stretches north to the lighthouse, and it is where Aruba stops performing. Ordinary streets, a village church, supermarkets priced for residents, and — this is the part visitors miss — a run of restaurants as good as anything on the beach at noticeably lower prices. It is also where the wind is: the kite and windsurf schools work the shallow water at the northern end. Stay here if you have a car and want value; stay on Palm Beach if you want to walk to the sand.
The Experience
The district has no centre in the way a town does — it is a spread of residential streets, small plazas and businesses either side of the road running north, with the Santa Anna Church at the village and the Alto Vista Chapel out on the windward side above the coast. Behind it the land is dry and low, all divi-divi trees and rock, and the further north you go the emptier it gets until you reach the lighthouse and the water at Malmok and Arashi. The pace is domestic rather than touristic: school runs, hardware shops, people eating dinner at seven. What that buys you is space, quiet at night and prices that are not set for a resort, at the cost of needing to drive to almost everything, including the beach. It also means you see a version of Aruba that the strip does not show anyone, which is either the appeal or the drawback depending on why you came.
What to Try
Eat here rather than on the strip. Casa Nonna Aruba and Bogart's chef's table Aruba are the bookings worth making, The Stone by Le Petit Cafe Aruba and Azar Aruba cover the middle, Texas de Brazil handles the churrascaria appetite, Kalin's Mexican Cuisine is the honest cheap one and SANTOS Coffee With Soul at The Cove is the morning. Mimo's Ice Cream Rolls is for the children. On the water, the northern end is the island's wind belt: Aruba Kitesurfing School, Armando's kite shack and Aruba Active Vacations teach and rent at the shallow water, while SUP Aruba and Aruba surf and paddle school cover the calmer version and Divers of Poseidon Aruba the diving. T.H. Palm & Company runs the beach side of things and Sunset Snorkeling Boat Aruba and Monforte Luxury Cruise take you out in the evening. Aruba Tours To-Go is the one to call if you would rather not drive.
Insider Tip
Book a table in Noord and drive to it. The same standard of cooking costs meaningfully less a few streets back from Palm Beach, the restaurants take reservations more easily, and parking is free and available — three things that are all difficult on the strip. If you are here for the wind, go to the northern shallows in the afternoon, when the trade breeze is at its most reliable.
The Practical Stuff
Noord is about twenty minutes from Queen Beatrix airport and five to ten from Palm Beach and Eagle Beach, which is close enough that a car turns the whole north-west of the island into your neighbourhood. You will want that car: this is a district you drive in, the Arubus routes serve the hotel strip better than the residential streets, and the lighthouse, Alto Vista and Arashi are all further out. Parking is easy and free almost everywhere. Supermarkets and shops here keep local hours and prices, closing on Sundays, and the district is quiet at night in a way the strip never is. Driving is on the right. Aruba lies outside the main hurricane belt, and the trade wind that makes the north coast good for kitesurfing blows steadily most of the year.
Common Questions
Should you stay in Noord or Palm Beach?
Noord for space, quiet and lower prices, provided you have a car. Palm Beach if you want to walk out of your room onto the sand and into a bar, and you are willing to pay for it.
Do you need a car in Noord?
Yes. It is a residential district rather than a strip, the beaches are five to ten minutes away, and the bus routes are built around the hotels rather than the streets people live on.
How far is Noord from Palm Beach?
Five to ten minutes by road. That closeness is the whole argument for staying here — you get the beach and the strip without paying beachfront rates or dealing with beachfront parking.
Where do you kitesurf in Aruba?
At the shallow, breezy water at the north-western end of the island, reached through Noord, where the schools and rental operations are based. The trade wind blows steadily most of the year and is strongest in the afternoon.
Is Noord cheaper than the beach areas?
Noticeably, for food and for shopping. Restaurants a few streets back from Palm Beach charge local prices, and the supermarkets here are stocked and priced for residents rather than visitors.
Is there a beach in Noord?
The district itself is inland, but its northern edge reaches the coast at Malmok and Arashi, where the water is calm and clear and the snorkelling is among the island's best. Palm Beach and Eagle Beach are minutes south.
Pair It With
- Casa Nonna Aruba — The dinner that justifies leaving the beach.
- Aruba Active Vacations — Kite and windsurf gear at the windy northern end.
- Divers of Poseidon Aruba information and reservation Point — Diving off the north-west coast.
