The Aruba red light district, with someone who knows it
Picked up at your hotel, driven the 40 minutes down, and a local beside you the whole night. Then straight home.
$385 for two hours, $770 for the full night · 1 to 6 people · replies in minutes
What the Aruba red light district actually is
Straight answers, because most of what is written about it online is wrong.
Aruba's red light district sits in San Nicolas, the old refinery town at the southeast end of the island, roughly 40 minutes from the Palm Beach and Eagle Beach hotels. However, it is not a strip of open windows like Amsterdam. Instead, it is a small cluster of bars and clubs across a few streets, most of them concentrated around Rembrandtstraat, and from the outside they look like ordinary neighbourhood bars.
The area exists because of oil. When the Lago refinery ran here from the 1920s, San Nicolas filled with workers from across the Caribbean, and in 1928 the government set up a regulated zone rather than let things run unchecked. As a result, that regulated approach never really went away.
Sex work in Aruba is legal and regulated, following the Dutch model. Therefore workers must register, and licensed venues must meet health and business requirements. Moreover, it stays confined to this one part of the island — there is nothing comparable in Oranjestad or the hotel districts.
Quiet streets, low light, and nothing signposted. Naturally that puts people off going alone. So it helps to arrive with someone who has been.
Why people book instead of driving down
Getting there is the easy part. But it is everything after that people underestimate.
- There is no Uber or Lyft in Aruba. Not restricted — it simply does not operate on the island. Getting back at 1am is the part nobody plans for.
- The buses stop. The Arubus service to San Nicolas thins right out in the evening and is not something to rely on.
- Most of it happens in Spanish and Papiamento. You will know what is being said around you, because I will tell you.
- Knowing what is normal is the whole thing. What is expected, what things cost, what to ignore. Not questions you want to ask a stranger.
- You are not driving. Aruba enforces drink-driving seriously, and a rental car in a police stop ends the holiday.
What it costs
Two lengths, one price each, agreed in writing before the night. In short, nothing changes on the day.
1 to 6 people, same price · cash in US Dollars or Florins
So six people works out at about $64 each for two hours, or $50 each once you use code PAPI. Two hours is the limit, not a requirement — seen enough after forty minutes, we go, same price.
How the night runs
Usually about three and a half hours door to door.
- Pickup at your hotel. Palm Beach, Eagle Beach, Oranjestad, the cruise terminal or a private rental. Unmarked, clean, air-conditioned.
- The drive down, about 40 minutes. Where I explain how the area works and answer anything you would rather not ask in person.
- Up to two hours there, with me. The clock starts when we arrive, not when I collect you. I walk in with you rather than waiting in the car.
- Straight back, whenever you are ready. No standing in the street trying to find a ride home.
How I work
Still worth being clear about — it is what makes the night relaxed.
No commissions, ever
First, you pay me and nobody else does. I take nothing from any bar or venue, so I have no reason to steer you anywhere. Where you go is entirely your choice.
Completely discreet
Unmarked vehicle, no logos, nothing on your hotel bill. Also, I do not discuss passengers with anyone.
Licensed and insured
Properly registered and insured, driving legally. Certainly not someone's cousin with a car.
Four languages
English, Papiamento, Spanish and Dutch. As a result, you will always know what is going on around you.
Born here
Because I grew up on this island, I know San Nicolas properly — not from a map, and not from a week of driving tourists.
Leave whenever
Not enjoying it? Then say so and we go. No pressure, no awkwardness, no argument about the price.
What the Aruba red light district is actually like
Straight description, so you know what you are walking into.
The district covers only a few streets in San Nicolas, broadly around Charlie’s Bar. In total you are looking at somewhere between fifteen and twenty small bars. From the outside most of them look like ordinary neighbourhood bars, because that is largely what they are.
However, it is nothing like De Wallen in Amsterdam. There are no lit windows, and nobody is on display in them. Instead the bars operate as bars, and the rooms sit upstairs.
When it is open
Most places run Monday to Saturday, generally from around 7pm until about 2am. Consequently the area is quiet early and busier after ten. During the day, though, San Nicolas is a different town altogether — murals, Charlie’s Bar, lunch, and Baby Beach a few minutes further on.
How the rules work
Aruba follows the Dutch approach, so sex work is legal but tightly regulated. Workers must be registered, health requirements apply, and the trade is confined to this one part of San Nicolas. Furthermore, nobody under 18 can work legally.
Because of that, there is nothing comparable in Oranjestad, Palm Beach or Eagle Beach. The island keeps it in one place deliberately, and that is unlikely to change.
Getting there, and getting back
San Nicolas sits about 40 minutes from the Palm Beach and Eagle Beach hotels. There is no Uber anywhere in Aruba. Moreover, the last bus from Oranjestad back to the hotel strip leaves at 18:10, so buses are no help for a night out. Therefore sort your ride home before you go, rather than after.
Common questions
Asked often enough to be worth answering here.
Where exactly is the Aruba red light district?
Is it legal?
Is it safe?
How do I get there and back without a car?
What does the price include?
What time should we go?
Can I book for one person?
Book a night
Pick your night below. You pay half online to hold the date and the other half in cash when I collect you.
Booking and payment are handled on onehappyisland.com. Open the calendar on its own page if it does not load here.