The rules we write by
Our editorial policy
Aruba Playbook is written and maintained by a small team that plans real trips on this island, our own and our friends'. The whole site rests on one bet: that being straight with you converts better than tricking you ever could. Here is exactly how that works in practice.
How a recommendation earns its place
Tested ourselves
The beaches, restaurants, and experiences in the core guide are places we have been, eaten at, swum at, or booked. When we say the fish at Zeerovers comes off the boat behind the building, it is because we stood there.
Verified live data
Tour ratings and review counts come straight from the Viator API, restaurant ratings from Google, each labeled with its source. We never write a rating ourselves and never display one we could not verify on the live listing.
Researched and sourced
Logistics guides (entry requirements, taxi rates, weather, events) are cross-checked against official and primary sources. When an event date is unconfirmed, we say "dates TBA" instead of guessing.
What we never do
- No fabricated reviews, testimonials, or star ratings. If a number cannot be verified, it is omitted.
- No countdown timers, fake "3 people are looking at this" pings, or invented scarcity. Any seasonal note reflects real booking patterns.
- No pay-for-placement. Nobody can buy a spot in our rankings, and no partner sees a draft before you do.
- Commission never decides ranking. Some links earn us a commission (disclosed on every page it applies), but what pays us more never outranks what we would pick for a friend.
- No renders of real named hotels or businesses presented as photos. Where a specific property matters, you see the partner’s own live listing.
Freshness, dated in the open
Where you see a checked-on date, it is the day we last put that fact back in front of its source, not the day we tidied a sentence. Rewriting copy does not move a date here. Below is the list of facts we keep on a schedule: what each one says right now, where it came from, who checked it and when it falls due again. A restaurant that closes comes off the site, it does not linger for traffic.
| Fact | What it says now | Source | Checked | Next check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renaissance Island Pass price at the default one-adult selectionPasses | $125.00, taxes and fees included. No separate child price is displayed on the booking page; the guest-count widget uses Adults, Children 0 to 5 and Children 6 to 12. | Renaissance Island Pass booking page | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| When Island Passes are releasedPasses | Every Saturday at 9 AM, covering the upcoming Sunday through Saturday week. Maximum 5 guests per booking. | Renaissance Island Pass booking page | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| What the Island Pass does not includePasses | Food, beverages and cabana rentals are not included. Outside food and drink are not permitted, and the island is cashless. | Renaissance Island Pass booking page | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| How you reach Renaissance IslandTransport | The water taxi is included with the pass. First boat 7:00 AM, departures every 15 minutes, last boat leaves the island at 6:45 PM. A valid pass is required for each guest to board. | Renaissance Island Pass booking page | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| Who may use Flamingo Beach, and whenEligibility | Guests 18 and over throughout the day. Children may visit only between 9:00 and 10:00 AM and must be supervised by an adult. Iguana Beach is family friendly, all ages, all day. | Renaissance Island Pass booking page | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| De Palm Island entry ticket pricePasses | Walk in: $119 adult 18 and over, $119 teenager 10 to 17 (alcohol free), $95 children 3 to 9. With transport: $129 adult and teenager, $105 children 3 to 9. Children 0 to 2 free. Walk-in ticket sales and check in at the ferry terminal close at 2:00 PM. | De Palm Island entry ticket page | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| Whether Sea Trek is part of De Palm Island admissionPasses | No. Sea Trek is a separately paid upgrade that requires an entry ticket first: $65 adult 13 and over, $55 child 8 to 12, minimum age 8. SNUBA is likewise an extra. | De Palm Island Sea Trek page | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| Flamingo access on a standard De Palm Island ticketEligibility | De Palm Island does keep flamingos. A standard entry ticket allows viewing from a distance only; getting close to them requires a VIP Palapa, Premium Seating, a Private Cabana or a Beach Cabana. | De Palm Island entry ticket page | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| The Aruba sustainability feeFees | $20, mandatory for all non-residents entering Aruba, paid while completing the ED card. Fully enforced since December 6, 2024. Generally non-refundable, including when a trip is cancelled; refund requests close 60 days after travel. | AWSS sustainability fee FAQ | September 12, 2026 | March 12, 2027 |
| Who is exempt from the sustainability feeEligibility | Residents of Aruba, children under 8, transit passengers staying under 24 hours under a transport agreement, travellers returning under a transport agreement within one year, on-duty crew, and repeat travellers re-entering within one year of their last visit. That last one is a rolling year from the previous visit, not a calendar year. | AWSS sustainability fee FAQ | September 12, 2026 | March 12, 2027 |
| How far ahead the ED card can be filled inFees | The official sources disagree: aruba.com says within the 7 days before travel (and, separately, one week before departure), while AWSS says up to 6 days before the flight. The form site itself states no window. Publish it as about a week and link both sources rather than asserting one number. | aruba.com online ED card page | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| US State Department travel advisory level for ArubaEligibility | Level 1, exercise normal precautions, issued August 20, 2026. The travel guidance section of the same page carries an August 13, 2026 date; quote August 20, 2026 for the level itself. | US State Department Aruba travel advisory | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| Who can pay a balance by ZelleCancellation | Zelle needs a US bank account on both sides. A Canadian account does not qualify. Guests without one say so in the form and settle with the crew on arrival instead. | Zelle international FAQ | September 12, 2026 | March 12, 2027 |
| Deposit, balance and refund terms across the direct offersCancellation | The guest picks a date, we send the deposit link, and the booking is confirmed once the deposit is paid. The balance goes to the crew on the day (cash at the beach or the dock, Zelle the day before for the Eagle Beach sessions and the sunrise hike), never to us. Cancel 48 hours or more ahead: full deposit back. Inside 48 hours: the deposit is not refunded, and we move the date where it can move. Crew cancels for weather or an unmet minimum: full deposit back, or a rebook if the guest prefers. | Our own booking protocol, agreed with each crew | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| Published totals for the five deposit-model direct offersPasses | Parasailing $70 per flyer ($20 deposit, $50 on the beach). Private boat charter $900 for up to 10 guests, three hours ($180 deposit, $720 on the day). Sunrise Natural Pool hike $60 per person ($12 deposit). Beach yoga $30 per person ($6 deposit). Sound healing $40 per person ($8 deposit). The national park conservation fee on the hike is $10 per adult and is not included. | The crews' own rate sheets, confirmed directly | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| Jeep rental base rate and the charges added to itFees | From $259.99 a day for the Wrangler and from $279.99 a day for the Gladiator, before tax. A 15 percent tax and fee is applied after booking, separate from the base rate. Optional damage cover is $24.99 a day with a $3,500 deductible. A $500 security deposit is held on a credit card at pick-up. Minimum driver age 23. Late return $25 an hour. | The Jeep crew's own booking platform and FAQ | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| Where a Jeep can be picked up and returnedTransport | Returns at the Oranjestad office only. Airport returns are not available. The booking window may show a Cruise Port return option and a UTV time-limit banner; neither applies to a Jeep. The operator's own FAQ and its Jeep page disagree on free airport drop-off and on the one-way luggage fee ($29.99 on the FAQ, $40.00 on the Jeep page), so publish neither number as settled. | The Jeep crew's own booking platform and FAQ | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
| Beach access, parking, shade and facilitiesTransport | Walked and checked on the island by the team. | On-island check by the team | August 4, 2026 | February 4, 2027 |
| Tour ratings, review counts and listing statusPasses | Pulled from the live Viator listing, never written by us. Where a rating cannot be pulled, none is shown. | Viator partner API | August 11, 2026 | November 11, 2026 |
| Event dates on the island calendarSeasonal events | Checked against the official island calendars and independent listings. Only confirmed events carry a concrete date and Event structured data; annual events without published dates are shown with no date at all. | Aruba Tourism Authority calendar and independent island listings | June 14, 2026 | September 12, 2026 |
| What the Natural Pool offer actually is, and how you get thereTransport | Viator 6841POOL: a guided open-air 4x4 safari to Conchi, the Indian caves and Dos Playa, not a hike. About 100 steps down to the pool, and the operator advises against it in pregnancy or with spinal or cardiovascular trouble. Pickup from the operator's own hotel list about 45 minutes before departure, meeting at the office otherwise. Carnival cruise passengers are not accepted. The walking alternative is our own sunrise hike at /direct/sunrise-natural-pool-hike-aruba. | Viator partner API | September 12, 2026 | December 11, 2026 |
Where two official sources disagree, we publish the disagreement rather than pick a side. The rows checked with a crew directly carry no outside link, because we do not put the operator's name on a page we send you to book through.
Who checks this
A small team, and we keep it that way on purpose: a byline with a stock portrait would tell you nothing. The beaches, restaurants and tours in the core guide are places one of us has walked, eaten at or booked. The crews we book direct with are people we deal with by name off the page, which is why their rates and rules sit on the list above with a date next to them. The passes, government fees and official sources are held by the editorial side and rechecked on the cadence shown. Nothing on this site is published by a script without a person having read it first.
How the site makes money
Some outbound links are affiliate links (Viator tours, hotel and flight search, car rental, insurance) and some services are our own (trip planning, the Aruba Threads label). Booking through our links never costs you more, and the full list of partners lives on the affiliate disclosure page. The editorial rule above still governs everything: the recommendation comes first, the link second.
Spotted something off?
A price that moved, a spot that closed, a detail we got wrong: mail us with the page and what you saw. A person reads it, usually the same week. If you are right we recheck the fact against its source, correct every page that carries it, and only then move the checked date on the list above. If we cannot verify your version, we say so and tell you what we found. That loop is a load-bearing part of this policy, not a contact form.
info@arubaplaybook.com