Sea Glass Island, Aruba: what it is and how to get there

Ask ten visitors what they remember about Aruba and you will hear about beaches. Ask the ones who made it to the south coast, and a few will lean in and tell you about a small island where the sea has been polishing broken glass for longer than anyone can say. This page covers what Sea Glass Island actually is, how you reach it, and how to visit it well.

What is Sea Glass Island?

Sea Glass Island is a low, quiet islet in the sea off Savaneta, Aruba's old fishing village on the south coast. What makes it worth the trip is underfoot: along its shoreline, decades of waves have tumbled old glass until the sharp edges are gone and the surfaces turn soft and frosted. Greens, browns, gentle whites, each piece started as something broken and ended as something you turn over in your hand.

Two honest notes before you go. First, the glass changes with every tide, so no two visits look the same, and that is half the charm. Second, this is a natural place, not an attraction with a gate and a gift shop. It rewards people who arrive slowly and look closely.

Where is it, and how do you get there?

The island sits offshore from Savaneta, on the calm side of Aruba. There is no bridge and no ferry schedule. To stand on Sea Glass Island, you cross the water.

Boats can make the trip, but the crossing is short enough, and the water inviting enough, that most visitors who love the place got there the quiet way: by kayak, launching from the Savaneta waterfront near the Flying Fishbone restaurant.

Why a kayak is the way to arrive

A kayak puts you at the height the south coast was meant to be seen from. You watch the bottom change color under your hull, you hear water instead of an engine, and you arrive at the island the way the fishermen's children always have: under your own power, a little proud of yourself.

The crossing is also why a guide earns their keep. Wind and current on this coast are honest, but they have opinions, and a guide who has paddled here for years reads them before you feel them: which line to take, when to cross, when to wait a few minutes and let the gust pass. You paddle at the group's pace, and the group is never a crowd.

Our Sea Glass Island kayak tours

Vale's Rambo Adventures runs guided kayak and snorkel tours to Sea Glass Island three times a day, every day: 8:30 AM, 1:00 PM, and the 5:00 PM sunset departure. Each tour lasts 2.5 hours and is capped at 10 guests, so your guide knows your name by the time you launch.

We meet at Savaneta, near the Flying Fishbone. Our guides are local and speak English, Spanish and Papiamento. The tour was founded by a veteran Aruban ranger with decades on Aruba's south coast, and every guide on the crew learned these waters from him.

Adults pay $89.99 at our summer rate. Children from 6 to 12 pay $69.99. Booking online confirms instantly, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure. Questions first? WhatsApp us at +1 786 971 2221.