Accessible Companion: Oranjestad & Natural Bridge

OVERVIEW

This excursion is for guests that use a cane/walker, have limited mobility issues or for companions of those guest that have booked mobility equipment tour.

Those guests that are fully dependent on their mobility device please book: ORJ_A2 ACCESSIBLE Mobility Equipment- Oranjestad & Natural Bridge.

Tour includes step-free routes, shorter distances and no stairs. Accessible restrooms with wide doors for wheelchairs are present along the tour route. Vehicles are adapted with an access ramp (or lift where available) to accommodate a limited number of wheelchairs and/or mobility scooters. Guides are not allowed to push wheelchairs; therefore, guests needing special assistance must be accompanied by an able-bodied.

Explore the lively capital of Oranjestad and admire Aruba’s natural beauty for a remarkably comprehensive look at the island. A brief but panoramic drive along resort-rimmed Eagle Beach, Druif Beach and Arashi Beach will bring you to the California Lighthouse. The island’s oldest lighthouse, it offers unparalleled 360° vistas of Aruba’s northwestern tip. A few miles farther down the coast, you will find the abandoned Bushiribana Gold Mill, a reminder of the gold fever that swept Aruba after gold was discovered in 1824. More than three million pounds of it were eventually processed, much of it at Bushiribana. You will also see the Ayo Rock formations, a cluster of boulders on which the indigenous Arawaks created petroglyphs, and the remains of the Natural Bridge, a rock arch that collapsed into the sea in 2005. The allure of Oranjestad is quite cosmopolitan, especially if you are interested in shopping during free time.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Enjoy a scenic drive along Druif Beach, Eagle Beach and Arashi.
• Take in the unparalleled views while driving along the coast to the California Lighthouse.
• Delve into the history of Aruba’s little-known gold rush at a 19th-century gold mill.
• Pause for photos of the Natural Bridge and see how the pounding surf has affected it.
• Enjoy free time in Oranjestad browsing the shops and other appealing areas.
• See the Ayo rock formations, described as Bedrock City in the animated show, the Flintstones.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.