Sunset sails have become one of our favorite vacation activities. We’ve done them before in Key West and Kauai, we decided to try the De Palm Sunset Sail in Aruba during our recent trip.
We booked this sail as a relaxing way to get out on the water and see a different side of the island.
The sail left from Palm Beach, near Aruba’s main resort area, with hotels like the Hilton Aruba, Hyatt Regency Aruba and St. Regis Aruba nearby. Since we were staying in Oranjestad at the Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort, this also gave us a chance to visit another part of the island we hadn’t really spent much time exploring.
Booking Our Aruba Sunset Sail
We booked the Sunset Sail through De Palm Tours. You can reserve directly on the company’s website, but we actually arranged ours through our hotel concierge, which made things especially easy.
That’s worth mentioning because Aruba is one of those places where booking direct isn’t always the only option. If you’re staying at a resort, the concierge may be able to handle the reservation for you, answer questions about transportation and tell you whether the sailing conditions look good that day. At our hotel, the “concierge” seemed to be a sales desk for the tour company, but since that’s all we needed, I was satisfied.
We paid $99 per person for the excursion, which was the usual published price, so no markup for booking at the hotel.
Basic Info About The Sunset Sail
The De Palm Tours sunset sail operates on the Palm Pleasure catamaran. The sailing itself lasts about two hours and departs from the De Palm Pier on Palm Beach, between the RIU Palace and Hilton Aruba. Check-in is handled at the Coconuts retail store on the pier. The company says guests should check in about 15 to 45 minutes before departure and recommends light clothing and flat shoes.
If you’re staying elsewhere on the island, it’s a good idea to leave extra time to get to Palm Beach, especially around the late afternoon when the resort area can get busy.
Our Experience On The Sail
Since we had spent much of our trip near our hotel, this was our first visit to Aruba’s major resort area. Even before we got on the boat, it was interesting to see a busier, more built-up part of the island with the big beachfront hotels lined up along the water.
Once we boarded, the vibe was exactly what you’d want from a sunset sail. This wasn’t a party cruise, but it was social and relaxed. People were finding their spots and settling in as the catamaran pulled away from the dock.
The crew served drinks throughout the sail along with light snacks. Nothing fancy, but enough to make it feel like a proper outing rather than just a boat ride. Most of the trip consisted of sailing back and forth along the coast, giving everyone a chance to enjoy the views from different angles as the light started to change.
From the water, Aruba’s resort skyline looked completely different from what it did from land. The big hotels stood out along the shoreline, and the further we moved from the beach, the more the island itself seemed to fade into the background.
Of course, the main event was the sunset.
That’s always a bit of a gamble on any sunset cruise. You can book the boat, get the drinks, get the perfect spot on deck — and then clouds decide how much of a show you’re actually going to get. In our case, the evening started out a little gray, but the sky eventually opened up enough to give us the kind of colors everyone had been waiting for. I took these before I knew this trick to take amazing sunset photos with my iPhone.
There’s something about being out on the water at that hour that makes even a simple excursion feel a little more memorable. You’re away from the crowds, watching the sky change by the minute, and for a while, the only real agenda is to look around and enjoy where you are.
Was It Worth It?
I think so.
If you’re looking for a high-energy excursion, this isn’t it. But if you want an easy, low-stress way to spend an evening in Aruba, the sunset sail delivers exactly what it promises.
It gave us a different perspective on the island, let us finally see the Palm Beach resort area up close, and ended with a beautiful view from the water. Sometimes that’s all you really need.
Final Thought
Our Aruba sunset sail was one of those simple vacation experiences that just worked. It was easy to book, easy to enjoy and a nice way to do something a little different without overplanning the day.
For us, it was a relaxing two hours with drinks, snacks, coastline views and a sunset at sea — and that’s a pretty solid way to spend an evening in Aruba.
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