Stand on Palm Beach any morning and you can watch the whole industry leave for work: a pirate-looking schooner from the MooMba Beach side, catamarans slipping out from Pelican Pier and De Palm Pier. Most first-timers assume they are all the same tour at slightly different prices. They are not, and picking by vibe rather than by price is the single best move you can make with an Aruba sail day.
One honest framing note before the comparison: these three fleets mostly visit the same water, the Antilla shipwreck, the largest wreck snorkel in this part of the Caribbean, and the calm reef coves at Boca Catalina and Malmok. The fish do not know whose boat you came on. What differs is the deck under your feet, the crowd around you, what lands on your plate, and how the bar is run. All prices below are the operators' own published rates as of August 2026; they move with the season, so treat them as a snapshot for comparison rather than a quote.
Jolly Pirates: the schooners with the rope swing
The boats are the point here. Jolly Pirates sails twin 85-foot teak and mahogany gaff-rigged schooners, handcrafted in Brazil, and they are the most photogenic things on the water in Aruba. Trips leave from MooMba Beach, between the Holiday Inn and the Marriott, with check-in beside the MooMba Bar.
The lineup: a 4-hour morning sail (9 am to 1 pm) hitting all three signature stops (Malmok, Boca Catalina, and the Antilla wreck) with a BBQ lunch and unlimited open bar, listed at $98 for adults; a 3-hour afternoon sail with two stops and open bar at $76; a 2-hour sunset cruise at $59; and an adults-only Grub and Grog sunset dinner cruise with BBQ dinner and a DJ at $110.
The personality: the rope swing is on every single trip, the cocktails have pirate names, and the crew works the party angle hard. Day trips are genuinely family-friendly and all ages; the dinner cruise is deliberately not.
Fits you if you want the sail itself to feel like an event: a big beautiful ship, a swing off the boom, a loud happy deck. Skip it if your ideal boat day is quiet, or a rowdy bar crowd at 10 am sounds like work.
Snorkeling the Antilla Shipwreck
3 Hours · from $79/pp. Live prices, dates, and the honest details, one page.
Pelican Adventures: the widest menu on the water
The operation: family-owned since the 1980s, sailing custom catamarans from Pelican Pier (between the Holiday Inn and Playa Linda), plus a luxury schooner for its premium trips. It is the operator with a product for every mood rather than one signature.
The lineup: the core 2.5-hour sail and snorkel (Catalina Bay plus the Antilla wreck, snorkel gear, unlimited drinks, and snacks) listed at $70 for adults and $50 for kids 4 to 11, the best published price of the three fleets' flagship snorkel trips; a 2-hour sunset cruise at $82 with an optional four-course dinner add-on at the Pelican Nest restaurant on the pier; themed Carnaval and Havana sunset cruises; a 4-hour champagne brunch sail from $95, which we cover in detail on our morning brunch sail page; and two adults-only premium trips, a 5-hour Luxury Lagoon cruise at $155 with guided snorkeling at the Spanish Lagoon barrier reef and its own rope swing, and an exclusive dinner cruise from $180.
The personality: polished and a notch more elegant, more handcrafted-cocktail than pirate-punch, with the widest price ladder from budget afternoon to luxury charter territory. Kids are welcome on the core trips (the sail and snorkel takes ages 4 and up).
Fits you if you want to match the trip to your group precisely, want the cheapest solid snorkel sail, or want a premium adults-only option that is not a party boat. Skip it if you wanted the theatrical big-ship experience; a catamaran is a platform, not a pirate ship.
De Palm Tours: the big polished platform
The operation: Aruba's oldest and biggest tour company, sixty-plus years in, and the only EarthCheck-certified operator on the island. Sails run on the Palm Pleasure, a 70-foot by 40-foot catamaran, from De Palm Pier between the RIU Palace and the Hilton. It is the same company behind the De Palm Island day pass, the submarine, and half the excursion desks on the island, and the sails carry that same big-operator polish.
The lineup: a 4-hour morning snorkel adventure (9 am to 1 pm) with snorkel stops including the Antilla wreck and Boca Catalina, lunch, snacks, and open bar, listed at $109 for adults and $89 for kids; a 3-hour afternoon sail at $69 (no lunch, snacks and bar only); a 2-hour sunset sail at $95; an adults-only full-moon Starlight sail from $99 on select dates; and private charters from $2,100 for a half day if you are bringing the whole group.
The personality: the most mainstream and the most structured. The boat is wide and stable, the operation runs on rails, and the copy leans safety and sustainability rather than party. No rope swing on any sail; the water toys live at their separate island attraction.
Fits you if you want the largest, steadiest deck (good for mixed groups, grandparents, nervous swimmers), a morning with lunch handled, or the reassurance of the biggest operator on the island. Skip it if you want character over polish; this is the Toyota of Aruba boat days, meant as a compliment.
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The quick comparison
| Jolly Pirates | Pelican Adventures | De Palm Tours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Departs from | MooMba Beach (Holiday Inn / Marriott) | Pelican Pier (Holiday Inn / Playa Linda) | De Palm Pier (RIU Palace / Hilton) |
| Boat | Twin 85 ft teak schooners | Catamarans + luxury schooner | 70 ft Palm Pleasure catamaran |
| Flagship snorkel trip | 4 hr morning, 3 stops, BBQ lunch, $98 | 2.5 hr, 2 stops, snacks, $70 | 4 hr morning, lunch, $109 |
| Shorter option | 3 hr afternoon, $76 | Same trip is the short option | 3 hr afternoon, $69, no lunch |
| Sunset option | $59, or $110 adults-only dinner | $82, dinner add-on available, plus themed nights | $95, plus $99 full-moon adults-only |
| Rope swing | Every trip | Luxury Lagoon trip only | None on the sails |
| Vibe | Festive, pirate, party | Polished, flexible, family to couples | Big-operator, steady, all ages |
Prices are each operator's own published adult rates in August 2026.
Our honest take
There is no wrong boat here; all three run professional operations to the same beautiful stretch of reef and wreck. Choose Jolly Pirates for the experience of the ship itself, Pelican for fit and value across the widest menu, De Palm for size and predictability. If you are still weighing morning against sunset, or want the trip matched to specific boats we have vetted with live ratings and free cancellation, our snorkel cruise comparison sorts the individual sailings, and every boat trip we vouch for lives on the activities page.
