It was a great hike. Excellent guide!





Spanish Lagoon Mangrove Tour & Bird Watching Explore the serene Spanish Lagoon, a protected wetland rich in history and wildlife. This guided tour takes you along a scenic mangrove trail to discover ancient Amerindian shell middens, the historic Balashi Gold Smelter Ruins, and the mysterious Frenchman’s Pass. Bird watchers will delight in spotting Aruba’s iconic burrowing owl (Shoco), vibrant tropical birds like the troupial and bananaquit, and migratory species such as egrets and sandpipers. Learn about the mangrove ecosystem and its unique biodiversity from expert guides. Highlights: Unearth Aruba’s ancient history, enjoy bird-watching opportunities, and experience the beauty of the island’s only inland water area. Perfect for nature lovers, photographers, and history enthusiasts alike, this memorable walk offers a fascinating glimpse into Aruba’s natural and cultural heritage.
Prices change with the date; the lowest is shown.
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 3.
We start at the Local TV sender, TeleAruba in Pos Chiquito, and from there we start the hiking along the Spanish lagoon and go upstairs to the old bridge and have the view of the begging of the Spanish lagoon
After passing the new bridge under, then we hike along the Spanish lagoon mangrove trail. We will pass along one of the oldest Aloe Farms at the top before we head back down to meet the trail again. At that point, you will see one of the 7 shell middens located at the Spanish Lagoon that has been carbon-dated between 1465 - 1280 BC Proceeding inland along the mangrove trail you will see quite different flora and fauna as this is our only inland water area on the island. You will also see a point in the trail where they loaded the barges with the gold to take out to the ships over 100 years ago. At the end of this amazing trail we will pass by the protected “Shoco” nest area. If we are very lucky and very quiet we can see these amazing creatures. Aruba’s national symbol is the Shoco. This burrowing owl is only found in Aruba and is the most photogenic animal on the planet. A true pleasure to see.
We visit the ruins of the Old Balashi Gold Smelter Ruins. Right next to the old French men's pass. There is a great story of the haunted Frenchman’s Pass that you will hear first as it is located next to the head waters. Then we will show you the old ruins of the Balashi Gold smelter. Much it is still there to see. From there we will hike up along the ridge overlooking the whole Spanish Lagoon area. Best spots for your vacation sightseeing pictures. The Bushiribana smelter was built in 1825 by the Aruba Island Gold Mining Company to extract gold from the ore that was being mined in the nearby hills of Ceru Plat. It operated for ten years. The site has beautiful views and rich history also a great view of the Spanish Lagoon
Important Information for Your Tour - Hotel Pickup: Pickup from your hotel will be scheduled 30 to 45 minutes before the departure time, depending on your hotel location. - Towels Required: All guests must bring towels. Passengers without towels will not be allowed to board the transportation. - Punctuality Matters: Please arrive on time—the driver will wait a maximum of 10 minutes. If you miss the pickup, transportation will be at your own expense. However, if you manage to arrive at the departure point on time, you can still join the tour. Booking Confirmation: After booking, always confirm your pickup location to avoid delays. - Cruise Ship Passengers: The pickup point is at the "I Love Aruba" sign, located outside the cruise terminal, near the gas station. Pickup is scheduled 45 minutes before the tour departure time. We look forward to seeing you on this adventure!
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For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Spanish Lagoon Mangrove Trail & Bird Watching lasts about 2–3 hours. The itinerary has 3 stops.
Prices start at $90 per person for this Oranjestad experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There are 3 booking options, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs every day, starting at 7:30 AM.
Children aged 5–12 pay from $85, adults from $90.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
Yes, pickup is offered. Important Information for Your Tour - Hotel Pickup: Pickup from your hotel will be scheduled 30 to 45 minutes before the departure time, depending on your hotel location. - Towels Required: All guests must bring towels. Passengers without towels will not be allowed to board the transportation. - Punctuality Matters: Please arrive on time—the driver will wait a maximum of 10 minutes. If you miss the pickup, transportation will be at your own expense. However, if you manage to arrive at the departure point on time, you can still join the tour. Booking Confirmation: After booking, always confirm your pickup location to avoid delays. - Cruise Ship Passengers: The pickup point is at the "I Love Aruba" sign, located outside the cruise terminal, near the gas station. Pickup is scheduled 45 minutes before the tour departure time. We look forward to seeing you on this adventure! Pickup points include Coconut Inn, Apartment With Pool.
The experience is available in EN, NL, ES.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 10 participants.
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 4.7 out of 5 across 22 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by Aruba Nature Adventures.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
It was a great hike. Excellent guide!
Enzon was a great guide. Picked us up at our resort and gave us a personal tour. Saw 3 owls which was a highlight of our trip. Enzon spotted a boa in a tree branch above our trail and krpt us safe.
Mick was our knowledgeable & patient guide. We learned a lot about cacti, mangrove trees, fish, & birds. Highlights were burrowing owls, bare eyed pigeons, and sampling red cactus fruit. Highly recommend this tour & tour guide.
Since I live on Aruba as a pensionado (2017) the wetland Spanish Lagoon has become one of my favorite nature spots to visit. It's incredible how many different animals live in the small area, especially birdwatchers will be delighted. I highly recommend to visit the Spanish Lagoon before sunrise and then experience how nature awakes, often with a wonderfully colored sky. Keep in mind that it can be very hot when you walk in the sun, use special lotion.
The hike was very calm and didn’t require much effort besides a few small areas. Our tour guide Jason was very kind and knowledgeable on the native history and names for everything we saw. Overall, the experience was great and I would recommend it if you are on the fence with it.
We went on a nature hike and finally got to see Shoco Owls! I wasn't expecting to see so much wildlife or learn so much about plants and the Island history.
Early morning pick up with Meck?? (Spelling). Very charming and entertaining professional and knowledgeable guide. Amazing sights and sounds of the area and tons of early morning birds including and owl. Meck made the tour for us most enjoyable. A great early morning learning experience.
Hiking tour and appropriate comfortable clothing and bug spray important. Binoculars if available could also be helpful.
We had a wonderful hike through the Mangrove forest and the mine ruins. Jorge was a wonderful guide! We hiked with kids ages 8 & 6. The 6 year old was a bit tired, and required an occasional piggy back ride. Our 8 year old walked the entire way. Closed toed shoes are a must! I highly recommend bug spray which we forgot! This was an incredible morning seeing the wonderful nature of aruba including cactus fruit!
Aruba Nature Adventure Tours was an incompetent disgrace that made the Spanish Lagoon and Mangrove Trail Half-Day Hike with Private Guide as unpleasant as it could possibly be. We paid $200, albeit through Viator as middle company, for this hike. On our way to the rendezvous point for the hike, we called the point person at Aruba Nature Adventures. He told us that nobody was there to meet the us, the hike customers, at the appointed 7:15 a.m. time and hung up on us. How do you not know the day, time, and location that your paying customers are scheduled for the hike and make preparations for this?! After Aruba Nature Adventures hung up on us and we turned our cab around to go back to our hotel, then their man called us back and wanted to reschedule for another day. After some back and forth about that, he later said he had someone to guide us on the hike, after all. We then had to turn the cab around YET AGAIN, to meet at the rendezvous point! Thankfully, Rambo, our guide, who later said he was called in on spur of the moment on his day off, was the MAJOR high point of the hike. He was AMAZING and only his wonderful guidance through this made the hike worth it! He knew every animal, tree, bush, shrub, rock, river, lake, fish, and path in the park, as well as the history, back story, and entire life story of them all, too! He went beyond the call of duty in not just his knowledge, help and making the hike as easy as possible for us (this was an intermediate level hike); but he also went out of his way to drive us to the main Oranjestad Bus Station after our hike. So, although our marvelous guide, Rambo, would get more than 5 stars, if possible, this company Aruba Nature Adventure Tours would get ZERO stars! All the initial rudeness and back and forth was too much problematic inconvenience for us as customers. I would not recommend Aruba Nature Adventures to my worst enemy. The company is bad. Avoid it like the plague.
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Spanish Lagoon Mangrove Trail & Bird Watching | 2–3 hours | 4.7 (22) | $90 | |
Island Jeep Safari with Natural Pool Baby Beach and Lunch | 8 hours | 5.0 (10,266) | $139 | View |
Aruba Natural Pool and Indian Cave Rugged Jeep Safari | 4h 30min | 5.0 (9,716) | $99 | View |
Aruba UTV & ATV Adventure | 4 hours | 4.9 (9,000) | $162 | View |
Aruba UTV Adventure to Natural Pool Jeep Transfer | 6 hours | 5.0 (7,214) | $349 | View |
Aruba UTV Off-Road Driving Experience North Coast Stops | 4 hours | 5.0 (5,983) | $279 | View |
Aruba UTV Adventure: Animal Garden, North Coast & Andicuri Beach | 4 hours | 4.9 (5,451) | $122 | View |