Half of Aruba has no road worth the name. The cunucu, the dry countryside of cacti, boulders and goat trails between the hotel strip and the north coast, is where the island stops being a resort, and the honest ways in are a 4x4, your own two feet, or a horse. This guide is about the horse: a ride we book directly with a ranch a short drive from the Palm Beach strip, at a walking pace, to a cove on the northeast coast where the waves hit the rocks. What it costs once the tax is in, who can ride, where the pickup goes, and how it compares with the beach rides you see on the tour platforms. Current pricing and riding requirements are recorded on our Urirama Cove ride page.
Why a horse, and why the cunucu rather than the beach
Most horseback tours sold for Aruba are beach rides: a trail to the sand, a walk along the water, a photograph with the surf behind you. They are lovely, and the one we list is on our activities page. This ride is a different animal. It leaves from the ranch, crosses the cunucu where the iguanas and the donkeys have the trails to themselves, passes an old quartz mine, and comes out on the northeast coast at Urirama Cove, where the sea arrives with force against the rocks. There are no streets and no traffic anywhere on the route.
The pace is a walk, the whole way. No galloping on this ride, by the ranch's rule, which is exactly why it works for people who have never sat on a horse.
Horseback Riding on the Beach
75 minutes · from $95 per person. Live prices, dates, and the honest details, one page.
The ride, start to finish
About an hour and a half in the saddle. A waiver, a few minutes of instruction, a helmet, and a horse matched to how much you have ridden. Then the trail: the cunucu first, the quartz mine, the coast, a stop at the cove for photographs, and the ride back to the ranch. There is a country bar at the ranch for a cold drink afterwards, sold separately and cash only.
Three departures a day, Monday to Saturday: 7:00 AM, 10:00 AM and 2:30 PM. The 7:00 AM ride is the coolest hour of the day. On Sundays the horses rest.
What it costs, tax included
The fare is $115 per rider. The listed 15 percent tax is $17.25, which puts the total at $132.25 per rider, and that is the figure our page carries so nothing appears at the ranch that you did not see when you booked.
Included: the guide, the helmet, and round-trip pickup from the covered hotels or the cruise meeting point. Not included: bottled water, so bring your own; snacks for the horses and drinks at the bar, which are cash only; and gratuities for the guides, which are not in the price and, when you leave one, are cash.
One line to read twice: paying the balance at the ranch by credit card carries an additional surcharge, confirmed before you pay. Cash avoids it.
Who can ride
- Weight. No more than 200 lbs, about 90.7 kg, per rider, for the horses' comfort and health.
- Fitness. Every rider is in good physical and mental condition and can mount and control their own horse. That is the ranch's own condition, and the form asks you to confirm it before a deposit is ever requested.
- Children. They ride on the same terms: their own horse, mounted and controlled by themselves. Tell the ranch each child's age and riding experience when you request the date, so suitability is settled before any payment. Helmets are mandatory for riders under 15 and are provided.
- Not recommended during pregnancy or with back, heart or other serious medical conditions.
- Experience. None needed. The horse is matched to your level and the pace never rises above a walk.
Pickup: which hotels, the cruise meeting point, your own car
The free pickup covers the hotels from Renaissance Ocean Suites up to The Ritz-Carlton, which is the whole Eagle Beach and Palm Beach run. Reconfirm your pickup time with the ranch and wait outside your lobby. Cruise passengers meet outside the food shop at the Citgo gas station and also reconfirm the time. With your own car, arrive 20 minutes before your ride and park for free; the ranch address comes with your confirmation.
Capture it: a golden-hour photoshoot
A private sunset session with a local pro, candid and edited. 4.9 stars, from $125pp, free cancellation.
Booking direct, and the terms
Pick a day and a time, count the riders, tell the ranch how you get there, and confirm the fitness condition. We set the ride with the ranch, then a secure deposit link arrives by email: $23 per rider, 20 percent of the fare, out of the price rather than on top of it. The booking is confirmed once the deposit is paid, and the voucher that follows is your ticket for the day.
The minimum. A departure needs 2 riders and carries at most 6. A solo rider can request a date; the ride is confirmed once the departure reaches the minimum, and if it never does, the deposit comes back in full, or we move you to a departure that has.
Cancellation. Cancel 48 hours or more before the ride and the deposit comes back in full. Inside 48 hours it is not refunded, but the date can move or the booking can transfer to someone else in your group. If the ranch cancels, for weather or anything else, you get every cent back, always. The full matrix is on our refunds and cancellations page.
The balance. $109.25 per rider, tax included, paid at the ranch before you mount, in cash or by credit card. Card payments carry the surcharge above.
Beach ride or cunucu ride
If the picture you want is hooves in the surf, book a beach ride; the one on our activities page is the platform version with its own terms. If the picture you want is the island as it was before the hotels, cacti to the horizon and a coast nobody drives to, this is the ride, and the cove at the end is the reward. Couples tend to pick the 7:00 AM departure and have the trail to themselves; it is the ride we point to first in our romance guide.
What to wear and bring
Long pants, closed shoes or sandals that stay on, sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat that stays put at a walk. Your own water. Cash for the extras and, if you want to avoid the card surcharge, for the balance. A camera: the cove is the picture.
The photographs on the ride page are the ranch's own, on this route.
