About

An Aruba travel guide written on the island

One Happy Island is an independent Aruba travel guide, written and edited from the island itself. The site exists because most of the “best of Aruba” content online was put together by people who’ve never actually been here — recycled lists, AI-generated guides, ten-year-old reviews still ranking on Google.

The goal of this Aruba travel guide is simple: an honest, current, locally-informed take on what’s actually worth your time when you visit — from the catamaran tour that’s worth the money to the restaurant tucked in Oranjestad that locals actually eat at.

Who runs this Aruba travel guide

I’m Siddharth Daswani, the editor of One Happy Island. I also run ArubaWear.com, an apparel brand featuring designs from local Aruban artists.

I’m based in Aruba, work with operators and hotel teams across the island, and have spent enough time on every beach, in every neighbourhood, and on every kind of tour to have actual opinions about which ones are worth booking.

How we choose what to recommend

Every recommendation in this Aruba travel guide falls into one of three categories:

1. Personally visited or experienced — most restaurants, beaches, tours, and hotels we’ve actually been to and can describe first-hand.
2. Verified through trusted local sources — places we haven’t personally been but have confirmed quality with operators, hotel staff, or local guides.
3. Researched from verified bookings — for properties we haven’t visited, we rely on aggregated guest reviews from major booking platforms (Agoda, Expedia, Booking.com) combined with what we hear on the ground.

Where a place falls into category 2 or 3, we say so. We don’t pretend to have been somewhere we haven’t.

Independence and how we make money

This site earns from affiliate commissions when readers book hotels, tours, or rental cars through links on the site. We work with Viator (tours), Agoda and Expedia (hotels), and Discovercars (rentals).

This affects nothing about what we recommend. A few specific commitments:

• The order of recommendations is never set by commission rate. The Ritz-Carlton tops our luxury list because it’s the best luxury hotel in Aruba, not because it pays us more (it doesn’t).
• We have no exclusive paid partnerships. We’re not “official partners” of any operator.
• We don’t accept payment, free stays, or comped tours in exchange for coverage. Where we have been comped (rare), we say so on the page.
• If a place we previously recommended drops in quality, we update the page or remove it. Old recommendations expire.

For a full breakdown of how affiliate links work on this site, see our Affiliate Disclosure and Editorial Policy.

What you’ll find in this Aruba travel guide

• Tours and experiences — honest rankings of catamarans, jeep safaris, snorkelling, sunset cruises, water sports, and day trips
• Beaches — guides to every beach worth visiting, with practical info on parking, facilities, snorkelling conditions, and crowds
• Hotels — every category from budget guesthouses to the Ritz-Carlton, organised by area and price
• Restaurants — 50+ individual reviews covering every cuisine and price point, from $10 fried fish at Zeerovers to tasting menus at 2 Fools and a Bull
• Trip planning — itineraries, weather, when to book, what to pack, how to get around

Get in touch

For corrections, recommendations, or anything you think we’ve got wrong, email hello@onehappyisland.com. We read everything.

For business or partnership inquiries — also email, with “Partnership” in the subject line.

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Last updated: May 2026

We earn a small commission from affiliate links at no extra cost to you. This never affects our recommendations.