Aruba Catamaran Questions, Answered

It depends on the trip. Basic sunset sails such as the Dolphin Catamaran cruise cover drinks, snacks and sailing time, while the Red Sail Sports Appetizers and Open Bar trip adds food. Dinner cruises, like the Sunset Sail Dinner Cruise with Open Bar, seat you for a full meal at sea. Each listing states exactly what is served.

Shared trips run from $50 per person for the Banana Adventure Tropical Sunset Sail up to $199 for the lobster and champagne sails on Shamwari. Dinner cruises sit between $109 and $199. Private charters, including the Delphi Watersports Adventure Cruise at $2500, are priced per group rather than per person.

If you want drinks, open water and the closing light over the Caribbean without getting wet, a sunset sail fits well, and with ten options listed there is a wide spread of price and style. Snorkel sails suit travelers who want to swim at reefs and shipwrecks. Several Spronk trips combine both, pairing turtle snorkeling with a sunset BBQ.

Yes, and Aruba is built for it. Nineteen of the trips listed here are snorkel sails, with stops at the Antilla shipwreck and turtle sites, and most include snorkel gear. Trips like the Dolphin Catamaran Snorkel and Sail add an open bar and a water slide between stops.

Aruba sits in steady northeast trade winds that blow year round and strengthen from February into July, and catamarans are stable, twin-hulled boats that handle those conditions comfortably. Operators here favor the sheltered leeward west coast, where seas stay calmer. If you are prone to seasickness, a morning trip before the wind builds is the safer pick.

Skip hard-soled shoes, heavy denim and anything you would hate to splash, since boarding involves a wet transom and sails get breezy. Pack a cover-up, a hat that secures, and non-slip sandals or bare feet. Use reef-safe sunscreen too; several snorkel stops are at living reef and turtle habitat, and Aruba law bans sunscreens containing oxybenzone.