Renaissance Island, Aruba: The Private Island With the Flamingos
A short boat ride from Oranjestad, and the only beach here you cannot simply walk onto.
Why Go
Renaissance Island is a small private island off Oranjestad, reached by a boat that leaves from inside a hotel lobby, and it is where the flamingos are. Those birds are the single most photographed thing in Aruba and the reason the island has a reputation out of all proportion to its size. It is genuinely lovely — two beaches, calm water, cabanas over the sea — and it is also the one piece of coast on this island that is not freely public, which is worth understanding before you plan a day around it.
The Experience
The island sits a few minutes offshore and is divided in two. Flamingo Beach is the adults-only side, where the birds wander among the loungers and the cabanas stand on stilts over shallow water; Iguana Beach is the family side, calmer and greener, with iguanas instead. Both are small, both are carefully maintained, and the water on each is flat and shallow. The whole place is deliberately low-key — no jet skis, no vendors, no music beyond the bars — and the crowd is capped by the boat schedule, so it never feels overrun in the way a public beach can. The mangroves at the far end are worth walking to and almost nobody does. It is worth being clear-eyed about what the flamingos are: a small managed population on a private beach, not a wild colony you have stumbled upon. That does not make the experience less pleasant, and the birds are in good condition, but anyone imagining an untouched natural spectacle should adjust the expectation before paying for the boat.
What to Try
The flamingos are the point and they are habituated to people, so photographs are easy — but keep to the marked areas and do not chase or feed them beyond what the island permits. Walk to the mangrove boardwalk at the quiet end, which most day visitors skip entirely. Eat at Barefoot Restaurant or Reflexions Beach Bar & Restaurant on the Oranjestad waterfront where the boats come and go, or at the island's own bars. Picnic Aruba arranges the set-up version if that is the occasion. For getting on the water more seriously, High Times Charters, S.E. Aruba Fly 'N Dive, Aruba Premier Boat and Dive and Missy's Private Boat Charters all run from this stretch of coast, and Hamaka Sidewalk Café is the stop before boarding. Ruth's Cakes Aruba and Flora cover the rest of the waterfront. If the day pass does not work out — and in February it often does not — the honest alternative is to spend the money on a boat trip instead: you will see more of the coast, the water is the same, and Aruba's public beaches cost nothing.
Insider Tip
Understand the access before you build a day around it. This is private property: hotel guests get in as part of their stay, and a limited number of day passes are sold to everyone else, which sell out in high season and are not cheap. Book ahead rather than turning up, and take the earliest boat you can — the flamingos are most active in the morning, and the light for photographs is far better before the middle of the day.
The Practical Stuff
The island is a few minutes by boat from Oranjestad, with the shuttle leaving from the Renaissance hotel, about ten minutes from Queen Beatrix airport. Access is by hotel stay or a paid day pass with limited daily numbers — this is the exception to Aruba's rule that all beaches are public, because the island itself is privately held. There is nothing to bring beyond sunscreen and a camera; food, drink and loungers are on site. The boats run to a schedule and the last one back is fixed, so check it on arrival. The water on both beaches is shallow and calm year-round, and Aruba lies outside the main hurricane belt.
Common Questions
Can anyone visit Renaissance Island?
Not freely. It is private property — hotel guests have access as part of their stay, and a limited number of day passes are sold to others. They sell out in high season, so book ahead.
Where are the flamingos in Aruba?
On Flamingo Beach, the adults-only half of Renaissance Island, reached by boat from the hotel in Oranjestad. They are habituated to people, but keep to the marked areas.
How do you get to Renaissance Island?
By a short shuttle boat that leaves from inside the Renaissance hotel in Oranjestad, a few minutes each way. The boats run to a schedule and the last return is fixed.
Is Renaissance Island worth the day pass?
If the flamingos and a quiet, capped-capacity beach are what you want, yes. If you simply want sand and clear water, Aruba's public beaches are free and just as good.
What is the difference between the two beaches?
Flamingo Beach is adults-only, with the birds and the over-water cabanas. Iguana Beach is the family side, greener and calmer, with iguanas rather than flamingos.
When should you go?
On the earliest boat. The flamingos are most active in the morning, the light is much better for photographs before midday, and the island's numbers build through the day.
Pair It With
- Barefoot Restaurant — Dinner on the sand back on the mainland.
- High Times Charters Aruba — A proper day on the water from the same coast.
- Reflexions Beach Bar & Restaurant Aruba — The waterfront stop either side of the crossing.
