Aruba Santa Cruz Self-Guided Driving Tour

Tour Details

Type
Driving
Duration
2 - 3 Hours
Audio Stories
29
Deep Dives
5

Welcome to the Aruba Santa Cruz Self-Guided Driving Tour

Are you ready to turn your phone into a personal tour guide? This app offers a fully-guided experience of Aruba- just like a local giving you a personalized, turn-by-turn tour.

About the Tour

Ready for a swashbuckling excursion through paradise? This driving tour shows you the island’s most beautiful beaches and dazzling vistas, all while filling you in on the piratical adventures. Discover gold mines and ancient relics! Go on a Santa Cruz adventure with this self-guided driving Aruba tour.

What You'll See

Welcome
Welcome to Aruba! This tiny island is full of exciting history: I’m talking pirates, conquest, and an ongoing fight for independence!
Bushiribana Gold Mill
Welcome to Bushiribana Gold Mill! Pause here. * The Spanish first came to Aruba seeking gold, but they didn’t find anything. Of course, their presence meant that pirates roamed these seas too, looking for the same thing. But they also thought Aruba was deserted.
Not So Uninhabited After All
Early island visitors thought Aruba was deserted. But they couldn’t have been more wrong -- humans have lived here for 4,000 years! These early inhabitants called themselves the Arawak. Archaeologists guess they migrated from Venezuela
Spanish Occupation
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Spain sent expeditions all over the Caribbean in search of gold. This meant lots of galleons crossing these seas ladened with lots of gold -- perfect for pirates on the hunt! Thank goodness they didn’t find gold here -- it would’ve just put a giant target on this beautiful island.
Natural Bridge & Hurricanes on the High Seas
Welcome to Natural Bridge! Ahead, pull in and pause. * Few phrases would have struck more fear into a sailor’s heart during the 17th and 18th centuries as someone saying: “a storm’s coming.” Even with today’s technology, storms at sea routinely destroy ships and drown sailors. So just imagine how frightening they must’ve been to someone in a wooden boat!
Francis Drake vs Spanish
During Spanish occupation, Aruba often served as a place for merchants to hide when they feared pirates were chasing them. These merchants feared one pirate in particular above all others: Sir Francis Drake. Drake was an English privateer knighted as a hero by the queen. “Privateer” basically means “state-sanctioned pirate”!
Pirate vs Privateer: What’s the Difference?
So what’s the difference between a pirate like Black Bart and a privateer like Drake? It’s pretty simple, actually. A pirate plunders for themself. A privateer plunders for whichever nation has sponsored them. Think of privateers like naval mercenaries. If England wanted to cripple Spain’s economy without declaring war, they couldn’t actually send their navy to directly attack Spanish ships. That would surely result in open warfare. So they’d hire people like Drake to do it for them.
Dutch & the Golden Age
Spain’s control over Aruba didn’t last forever. A war an ocean away brought an end to that. The Thirty Years’ War raged across central Europe during the first half of the 17th century. The war killed over 8 million people, and no clear winner emerged at its conclusion. To secure peace, the nations involved used conquered territories as bartering chips, as if they were goods to be traded. That’s how the Dutch assumed control of Aruba in 1636
Pirate Myths
What do you picture when you imagine a pirate? Peg leg, eyepatch, hook hands, skull and crossbones, a parrot on the shoulder… Turns out that actual pirates almost certainly looked nothing like this! This mythologized image comes entirely from famous artist Howard Pyle. Pyle wrote and illustrated popular young adult books in the 1800s like The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. His pirate imagery emerged in the swashbuckling tale, Who Shall Be Captain?
El Nino & La Nina
Not all years around the equator deliver the same punch. That’s thanks to the El Niño Southern Oscillation cycle. Basically, the ocean goes through phases, about every four years, where the water will be either unusually warm or unusually cold. These extremes dramatically alter weather patterns during the following year.
Shipwrecks - Antilla
All this talk of pirates might have you picturing shipwrecks littering the waters around Aruba. As a matter of fact, that’s not too far off. Along Aruba’s coastline, you’ll find a ton of wrecks, though most don’t date back to the age of pirates. Seasoned scuba divers can don their masks and flippers to explore the cracked foundations of boats from the past couple of centuries.
Donkey Sanctuary
We’re at one of Aruba’s cuter attractions. It’s a donkey sanctuary! Now you might be saying: “Wait a minute, how did donkeys get on a desert island?” To answer that, let’s think back to the Spanish occupation. When they arrived on this island, they came prepared for exploration and gold digging. What better animals to bring than donkeys? These hardy animals can carry a ton of weight, don’t need much water, and can traverse the difficult terrain with ease.
Franse Pas
Continuing down this road will take you right between two coral cliffs. The tree canopy covers the narrow passage, providing a shady respite from the hot sun. This otherworldly part of the road is known as Frenchman’s Pass.
Pirates of Frenchman's Pass
According to the legend, French pirates attempted to invade Aruba through this pass during the Golden Age of Piracy. They sailed into the shallow harbor of the Spanish Lagoon. The pirates thought they had an advantage, having already made it far inland by sailing into the lagoon rather than landing on the beach. All they had to do now was surprise the locals with a devastating sneak attack
Buried Treasure in the Spanish Lagoon
The tale of Frenchman’s Pass isn’t the only spooky pirate legend on this part of the island. You’re now face-to-face with one of the largest lagoons in the Caribbean: the Spanish Lagoon. A local legend tells of a pirate who buried his gold on the shores of this lagoon. The captain and his assistant rowed a small boat ashore to hide a bag of treasure. The assistant dug a hole wide and deep enough that the gold could be uncovered by neither creature nor weather. Together they hefted the treasure into the ground. But the captain knew that as long as someone else knew his hiding place, his treasure would never be safe. So he then drew his sword and decapitated his assistant! The captain threw the body into the hole along with the gold. The assistant never knew he was digging his own grave.
Balashi Gold Mill
Of course, following ghosts wasn’t the only way to find gold back in the day. You’re now at Balashi Gold Mill, another relic of the nineteenth century gold rush. As the other mill we visited enjoyed its golden years, another company built this mine, this time with some slightly better planning. Its proximity to the railway line made it super easy to transport unrefined gold. A spot right next to the Spanish Lagoon meant it also had easy access to the sea for international trade.
Airplane Wrecks
It’s not just boats under the water here. Aruba features some unique airplane wrecks as well! There’s no Bermuda Triangle-esque mystery behind these wrecks, though. Aruba intentionally sank both of them to create homes for marine life! One of them even has some distinctly piratical history behind it.
Beach Sanctuary
Hope you packed your rackets! Aruba hosts the world’s biggest tournament of… beach tennis! Players play the sport like a usual doubles match of tennis, with the twist that they play on the sand. The sand might make it a little more difficult to maneuver, but it’s also softer on the joints.
Aruba’s Many Languages
Aruba still bears the marks of its many colonizations. You can see this in the island’s languages. Three-quarters of Aruban locals speak a Creole language called Papiamento. The language combines elements of Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch, culminating in a completely unique tongue that’s only spoken on three Caribbean islands. The language itself is a historical record of the countries that left their handprint on the island
Hooiberg
Hooiberg is a huge rocky formation rising 541 feet above sea level. The name is derived from the Dutch word for haystack. From a distance, you can see why they picked this name hundreds of years ago. For long-ago sailors in the Caribbean, this would have been an essential landmark. Before GPS, people could get turned around pretty easily, and nobody wants to end up lost at sea. Hooiberg showed sailors exactly where they were.
Conclusion
You’ve now seen that Aruba is a small island with a big history! Centuries of piracy and colonization have dealt the island a rough hand, but it’s come through it all with a powerful sense of independence. The history of seafaring adventure still lives on this island to this day.

Preview the Tour

Stop 1 : Welcome

Stop 2 : Bushiribana Gold Mill

How It Works

Additional Information

What do we do?

Simply put, Action Tour Guide is an audio guide, map, and tour book – all in one app! We are a GPS-enabled app-based tour that narrates information based on your location right on your phone. You can experience our driving and walking tours at your own pace and literally at any time of the day!

Lifetime Validity

Changing travel date? No worries! All individual tours come with lifetime validity.

No Network Needed

The tour works offline which means you do not need your phone network to enjoy the tour. However, we do suggest you download the tour at your home, hotel, visitor center, etc before you head out for a completely immersive experience.

Not an Entry Ticket

This is not an entry ticket.

Aruba Santa Cruz Self-Guided Driving Tour

Tour Details

Welcome to the Aruba Santa Cruz Self-Guided Driving Tour

About the Tour

What You'll See

Welcome

Bushiribana Gold Mill

Not So Uninhabited After All

Spanish Occupation

Natural Bridge & Hurricanes on the High Seas

Francis Drake vs Spanish

Pirate vs Privateer: What’s the Difference?

Dutch & the Golden Age

Pirate Myths

El Nino & La Nina

Shipwrecks - Antilla

Donkey Sanctuary

Franse Pas

Pirates of Frenchman's Pass

Buried Treasure in the Spanish Lagoon

Balashi Gold Mill

Airplane Wrecks

Beach Sanctuary

Aruba’s Many Languages

Hooiberg

Conclusion

Preview the Tour

Stop 1 : Welcome

Stop 2 : Bushiribana Gold Mill

How It Works

Additional Information

Reviews

Tour Details

COMPANY

SUPPORT

CONTACT US

Aruba Santa Cruz Self-Guided Driving Tour

Tour Details

Welcome to the Aruba Santa Cruz Self-Guided Driving Tour

About the Tour

What You'll See

Welcome

Bushiribana Gold Mill

Not So Uninhabited After All

Spanish Occupation

Natural Bridge & Hurricanes on the High Seas

Francis Drake vs Spanish

Pirate vs Privateer: What’s the Difference?

Dutch & the Golden Age

Pirate Myths

El Nino & La Nina

Shipwrecks - Antilla

Donkey Sanctuary

Franse Pas

Pirates of Frenchman's Pass

Buried Treasure in the Spanish Lagoon

Balashi Gold Mill

Airplane Wrecks

Beach Sanctuary

Aruba’s Many Languages

Hooiberg

Conclusion

Preview the Tour

Stop 1 : Welcome

Stop 2 : Bushiribana Gold Mill

How It Works

Additional Information

Reviews

Recommended Tours

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Aruba Oranjestad Horses Bay Self-Guided Walking Tour

Aruba Noord Self-Guided Driving Tour

COMPANY

SUPPORT

CONTACT US