The city of Oranjestad (pronounced “or-juhn-staat”), the capital of Aruba, is small enough you can easily explore it on foot in about an hour. But hey - who wants to walk when there is a fun and unique alternative? Yes, I’m talking about the Aruba tram, that eye-catching, open-air streetcar that crawls through the narrow downtown streets.
Oranjestad offers a distinct blend of European design and Caribbean influence. Its biggest draw, beside the tram of course, is its meticulously restored Dutch colonial architecture with pastel-toned facades.
While Aruba’s trams may look old, they are in fact quite new: built in California in 2012-2013 by TIG/m Modern Street Railways, the company that manufactures one of the world’s greenest trams. The technology is actually very impressive: they run on lithium batteries with hydrogen fuel cells as a backup, so no overhead wires are needed. Not that I’m against the wires, but it just makes sense in Aruba’s case.
There are four trams in total: two double-deckers and two single-deckers. The route is short, just 1.9 km / 1.2 miles with 9 stops, but when I was there, in April 2025, the route was even shorter due to ongoing construction.
The trams mostly cater to cruise ship passengers as opposed to addressing transportation needs for locals. The trams take tourists from the port of call straight to the Renaissance shopping mall.
While in Aruba, consider skipping the rental car and relying on Arubus, the island’s public bus system, instead. That’s what we did, and it worked out great. We stayed close to downtown, and buses ran frequently to the beaches and to Queen Beatrix International Airport.
And you’ll definitely want to explore Aruba’s beaches: let’s be honest, that’s the main reason most people come to this island. Aruba gets very little rainfall, so its ocean water isn’t diluted by mud carried in from rivers and streams. Its location in the southern Caribbean, north of Venezuela, is also a big part of why it’s considered a safe, enjoyable destination year-round, even during hurricane season ∎.
Very interesting article and beautiful photos, thank you
Not sure how old your kids are, but had I done this trip 6 years ago with mine, they would have been pretty chuffed to see that the tram from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is real!