
The Caribbean is full of incredibly beautiful islands with white sand beaches, mountainous landscapes and coral reefs to explore but it can be hard to figure out where to go. If you’re debating on going to Antigua vs Aruba, there are some slight differences to consider when choosing which island.
There are a lot of Caribbean islands to choose from and it can be hard to know which island is more your style. Living in south Florida, I’ve been to quite a few islands as it’s an easy, direct flight into most places.
And while I’m definitely a tropical person, everyone has their own preferences and travel style to consider.
Antigua vs Aruba
If you’re debating a Caribbean vacation to Antigua vs Aruba, here are some of my observations and the main things to take into consideration when choosing which island to visit!
Getting There
Both islands are pretty easy to get to as they both have an international airport. And the flight time is about the same as well even though they are located in slightly different areas of the Caribbean.
It takes about 3 hours to reach either island. For Aruba, you’ll fly into Queen Beatrix International Airport and for Antigua, you’ll fly into V.C Bird International Airport. From south Florida, I had a direct flight into both islands.
Getting Around
The islands are a bit different in size. Aruba is a smaller island being about 69 sq. miles while Antigua is 108 sq. miles. Both islands have taxis available if you don’t rent a car but both are fairly expensive to get around.
Aruba has regulated taxi zones with set rates, but unless you know which zone you’re going to, you can still get scammed. For Antigua, taxis can be pretty expensive because of the layout of the island. To get across the island, you’ll likely have to drive through the capital and it can take 25-45 minutes to get to different areas.
Renting a car in Aruba is easy– car rentals are located right outside of the airport, driving is on the right hand side of the road and you can use your US driver’s license. The roads and routes are easy to get used to and driving around is more economical and convenient.
I’ve driven in quite a few Caribbean islands and I think Antigua might have been the worst thus far. The capital, St. John’s, has very narrow roads in which cars will park on the side or stop on the side at random, and you then have to take turns weaving in and out of parked cars while cars are driving at you.
Then there’s bikers, pedestrians, animals, and my favorite: large concrete holes on the side of the narrow roads that can swallow your car if you drive too far left (driving is on the left hand side). I got used to it since I was on the island for a while, but the first 3-4 days were white-knuckled.
You’ll also need to pick up an International Driver’s License from the police station for $20 before you can drive anywhere.
Affordability
In terms of affordability, I found both islands to be pretty similar which is to say, neither is going to be a cheap vacation. They are both pretty expensive islands when it comes to accommodation, dining and transportation. We did Aruba on a budget (as much as one can), but there’s not a big difference here between islands.
However, one thing I did notice was the price for activities. Aruba seems to have more options for boat trips and sunset cruises which are a lot more affordable than the few I found for Antigua. The activities in Antigua that I found were about double that of some of the other islands I’ve been to, including Aruba.
Beaches
Aruba is known for its powdery white sand beaches (and flamingoes) while Antigua boasts 365 beaches to visit. Antigua has some beautiful areas–scenic coves with mountainous views and longer beaches with calm, turquoise water. Dickenson Bay and Jolly Beach are two of the popular beaches to go to in Antigua.
I like a less chaotic beach myself and while I did find a few less crowded beaches here, a lot of them had chair/umbrella rentals, activities and resorts on them. And the water was pretty but wasn’t as clear or turquoise as some of the other Caribbean islands I’ve been to.
Aruba on the other hand has some fantastic beaches with incredibly turquoise water. The island has some long stretches of white sand and beautiful coves with really clear water. It’s hard to beat the beaches here in terms of white sand and turquoise water.
Palm Beach/Eagle Beach is Aruba’s most popular area. The beaches are long stretches of sand, very scenic and are along a more touristic area so there are lots of places to stay along the beach here. One of my favorites was Baby Beach which is located at the southern tip of the island and is a beautiful cove with shallow water.
Weather
While both islands are tropical and typically have hot temperatures, you will see a slight difference in weather on the islands. Because of Antigua’s location, it does have a hurricane season which is between June and November. During that time, you’re more likely to see some tropical storms.
Aruba is so far south that it’s actually outside of the hurricane belt, so you’re more likely to have great weather year round. You may still get some rain during those months but more mild.
Another things about Aruba’s weather is that it has trade winds going across the island and can get very windy. While it can be a nice reprieve from the heat, my hair was super tangled and it does blow the dust around the mostly flat island.
The wind in Aruba actually causes the trees to bend in the direction of the wind, so you can always tell which direction you’re in if you can find divi divi or fofoti trees.
Capital City
Oranjestad, Aruba is a cute city with colorful Dutch colonial buildings along the water. It’s enjoyable to walk around and has lots of high end shops and restaurants as the cruise port is right there. The capital in general is nicer and more taken care of compared to St. John’s in Antigua. Not to mention easier to get around.
As I mentioned before, St. John’s is probably one of the worst places I’ve driven in the Caribbean lol. There is a shopping area off of the cruise port called the Heritage Quay Complex. And it does have some colorful buildings and shops but Aruba is much more built up.
St. John’s is quite hectic to walk and drive through to explore. And after driving through it every. single. day. and being routed on different streets each time, I came to the conclusion that there isn’t much to stop there for.
Landscape
When it comes to the landscape of these islands, they are very different. Antigua is a mountainous island with rolling green hills and stunning views of the harbors. It does have some flat areas though and the driving is through a lot of those areas and sort of goes around the mountainous areas. (It’s not like driving in St. Thomas where it’s pretty steep with lots of curves.)
Aruba on the other hand is a flat island and you won’t get the views like you would in Antigua. But one of the main differences is the terrain.
Aruba has a much more desert-like landscape with dry grass, rocks and lots of cacti covering the island. It’s pretty unique as some of the cacti are extremely tall. Photo for reference haha.
Activities
Antigua
Both islands have beautiful beaches and a lot of the activities available are water sports and boat trips. One of the top things to do in Antigua and Barbuda is of course visit their beaches (all 365 of them). Nelson’s Dockyard is a historical harbor you can walk around, there are numerous forts to explore and Shirley Heights has a fantastic view and bbq Sundays to enjoy live music.
Apart from the normal beach activities like kayaking, paddle boarding and jet skiing, I didn’t find that there were too many excursions on the island. You can take a Stingray City tour just off the coast to swim with stingrays or you can take a snorkeling tour to Bird Island and Paradise Reef.
It seemed like there were less tour options for Antigua and the ones I did find, were definitely more expensive than tours I’ve taken on other Caribbean islands. It might have been because of the 45-minute transit across the island from the west coast or the remote access that required additional fees for taxis that would consider taking the remote roads (that you definitely don’t want to take your rental on).
Aruba
There are similar things to do in Aruba but it just seemed a bit easier to explore and do activities here. A popular excursion is an ATV tour to the north coast to explore cave pools and the rocky coastline of Arikok National Park. You can also visit the Casibari Rock Formations, the California Lighthouse and the Donkey Sanctuary.
There are also numerous snorkeling tours and dive sites to explore like the Antilla Wreck (you can also snorkel here!). And let’s not forget the famous flamingoes you can see on a day pass at the Renaissance Hotel.
While the activities are fairly similar, Aruba seemed to have more options for tours and they were a bit more affordable than Antigua.
Safety
Both islands felt very safe to explore. Aruba was easy and enjoyable to get out and see things, and we never felt any sort of discomfort. Likewise in Antigua (except for the ‘easy to get out and about’ part–see my driving woes above ha).
While I wasn’t solo in Aruba, I did travel solo to Antigua. But both islands have a lot of tourism and a lot of resorts and I had no problems with safety or feeling like I shouldn’t be somewhere.
A general tip for any Caribbean island though is to never leave anything valuable in your car. And if you do go to a more remote place on the island, keep your doors unlocked with nothing in the car.
I didn’t have this issue, but it’s always a smart rule of thumb in remote areas. And it’s usually a tip I receive from a local or the car rental place. Better to have an open car than a broken window.
My Opinion
You can probably guess which island I prefer just from reading my observations above. Aruba is an easier island to explore and has a lot more things to do than Antigua. In my opinion anyway.
Full transparency, there were a few things going against Antigua for me. I ended up getting sick on the 2nd day I arrived so I was a bit miserable for 4 days (I was there for 12).
I was also in Antigua for Christmas and so were a lot of other people. I’m sure it’s not so much a holiday thing, but more of a peak season thing. But a lot of the ferries and activities were booked out well in advance which threw off my planning as I had not booked in advance. (Very much my fault–this was an impulsive trip.)
Even taking those things into consideration, Antigua stressed me out trying to navigate. I love when an island is low key and super easy to drive around (like Virgin Gorda in the BVI). Having to drive through St. John’s every day was not enjoyable for me and I didn’t love how most of the beaches had resorts and an abundance of amenities (totally a personal preference).
Aruba was just a little more laid back, easy and enjoyable. I like getting out and exploring an island–I’m not someone who can stay on a resort for long. And I found that Aruba suited that more for me. If you’re a resort and amenities type of person, you’ll be able to find great spots on either island.
Both islands have a lot of great beaches and things worth seeing so it comes down to what kind of traveler you are and what you enjoy most.
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