Aruba Glass Bottom Kayak Tour through the Mangrove Forest

Badge of ExcellenceAruba

1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Explore our promoted experiences

Aruba, Caribbean

Aruba Sunset Sail — Dinner Cruise with Open Bar by Catamaran

259

from $119.00

Aruba, Caribbean

Aruba Atlantis Submarine Expedition

900

from $125.00

Aruba, Caribbean

Aruba Semi-Submarine Cruise from Oranjestad

454

from $60.00

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

Explore Aruba's rich underwater world without getting wet on this glass-bottom boat tour. See coral reefs, tropical fish, and other marine life as you glide over crystal-clear water exploring mangroves and the open water. Along the way, there's time for a stop at the secluded beach of Isla di Oro for some swimming.

Go off-the-beaten path, far from the resorts of Aruba
Get insights into local sights and culture from your guides
Includes fresh fruit: No need to bring snacks
Learn about Aruba's marine life as you glide through the water

What's Included

Guided tour by glass-bottom kayak
Use of double kayak
Fruit and water
Live tour commentary provided in English, Spanish, and Dutch
2Miles / 3.2KM of Kayaking

Food and drinks, unless specified
Snorkeling
Pick up and drop off can be arranged at an extra charge

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Mangel Halto, Aruba

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Make your own way to the meeting point on the quiet Mangel Halto Beach. Hop aboard your tandem glass-bottom kayak and head out onto the water, following the Aruba shoreline.

If sea conditions permit, stop at Isla di Oro (Gold Island) then continue to the secluded beach of Santo Largo, which is home to the largest mangrove trees on the island. As you paddle and explore the mangrove forest, your guide provides insights into the unique environment.

After paddling around two miles (3.2 kilometers), head back toward Mangel Halto Beach, home to more mangroves, coral reefs, and amazing views.

Clear Kayak Tour

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Santo Largo

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Mangel Halto Beach

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Not for travelers over 200lbs
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Jennifer_M

We had an amazing trip. Our guides were fantastic. Friendly and fun is what it’s all about! Seeing Aruba,’s land and sea from the water was special. Highly recommend using Mangrove Forest Tour for you kayaking experience!! Thanks

Reviews

4.5

187 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 187 reviews

Clear Kayak Fun

Darshita_A, Apr 2024

It was very pleasant experience doing clear kayak. The staff guided us really well and made sure we experience the most out of it :)

Fun with kayaking but needs work on execution

Chris_M, Apr 2024

The hosts were not totally clear on the meeting location and we got there and didn't know where the group was. We finally found them down a bit further. They drove some of us to the site where we put the kayaks in the water and had to go pick up some others who were late. This left us sitting in the hot sun waiting for about 30 minutes, not fun and not how we wanted to be spending out time. The kayak was tandem so this made it difficult to paddle together with my partner (we have very little experience with it). Luckily it was a calm day and we made it til the end. The hosts left again to pickup drinks and fruit and we were waiting for an other 15 minutes. It was a decent excursion but I feel like it couldve been better executed. This could be a challenging experience on a windy day with more waves.

Bit of a dissapointment

Yvonne_D, Feb 2024

The mangrove forest tour was a bit of a dissapointment. We we're the only 2 people who joined the tour. The Kayak was sinking and turned over so we had to swim to the beach starting from the sea. The rocks were also very sharp, cut my knee, had several bruses on my leg The sea was also very rough. We didn't see any fish or turtle and returned very soon. I think it should have been a better decision to cancel the trip because of the rough see and high waves. The guides were friendly but they should have canceled the trip, it wasn't worth the money.

Perfect

Scott_W, Feb 2024

The guides were fun and knowledgeable and the nature was beautiful. I'd do it again in a heartbeat! They will even walk you through everything if you are a beginner as well.

Open ocean kayaking only. No "mangrove forest or river"

Dan_H, Feb 2024

The tour guys were friendly and polite. Cool guys. BUT Definitely not what I was expecting. Based on the name mangrove forest, I was thinking more river kayaking through mangroves. Not the case at all. Open water ocean kayaking only. Just happens to be mangroves on the shore line. A clear bottom kayak are made for calm back water NOT the ocean. Kept filling with water with bigger waves. My wife was freaking out, open ocean in a kayak, not her thing. It should be advertised, open water/ocean kayaking. Then we would have known before hand. Plus you may attract people looking for that. Provide a single ocean kayak and go for it! Ride the waves. The water is not clear enough to really see anything anyway in the ocean. I seen a lot of good reviews. So if you are into ocean kayaking and okay with the kayak filling with water. Have at it. You'll be fine. Just know what your paying for.

Our guides JD and Elijah...

Cheryl_C, Feb 2024

Our guides JD and Elijah were so kind. We are older so they definitely made sure we were doing fine.

Excellent Clear Bottom kayaking!

AnastasiyaBolgova, Nov 2023

This was a unique experience discovering the mangrove forest of Mangel Halto and the coral reef further out to sea. If you love adventurous kayaking in open water with some waves then this experience is for you! Jeandrick was an incredible tour guide that went above and beyond to lead the group out to sea and give us a wonderful tour!

Great way to see the sea life!

Jarina_H, Nov 2023

Our guide was very knowledgeable and enjoyable to be with. He even went out of his way to give us a ride back to our hotel since our kayak had been submerged. I would highly this guide and trip.

Fun guided tour

Henry_W, Sep 2023

Meeting the guides was the best part of the tour! I would rather kayak on a standard kayak. The clear bottom kayak kept filling up with water in the waves. Tour was good though.

Exciting and fun

Davy_d, Sep 2023

We really had a blast during the kayaking tour. The two guides (two young guys from Aruba) were really nice, relaxed and had a lot of knowledge about the mangroves. We had the pleasure of almost becoming a submarine twice, but it didn’t keep us from having a wonderful time! I really recommend this tour and thanks to the guides (sorry for not remembering your names) for this wonderful day! Masha danki

Fun and friendly tour

Teresa_K, Sep 2023

JD and Lee were great guides and super friendly. Lee was so knowledgeable of the area and JD was great navigating our small group carefully in the slightly rough water. We didn’t expect them to also take so many fun photos of us. It was a great way to see coral reef up close.

So much fun

Lori_C, Aug 2023

Wonderful morning out on the water. Beautiful sites and the guides were great!!!! We had a great trip!

Disappointing

Amy_H, Jul 2023

Our two tour guys were very nice, but the tour itself is unorganized and needlessly drawn out. It’s advertised as being 90-120 min, our trip barely lasted 90 minutes. We spend a lot of time just floating without any directions or purpose. The glass bottom is scratched up, and dirty. The trip is on the outskirts of the Forrest so you never actually pass through. In the past people have posted pictures showing themselves touring the near by ruins, but our group never got out of our kayaks. The view itself was beautiful, but It wasn’t worth the cost of two tickets. The only wildlife we saw was a pelican, jelly fish and a possible turtle off in the distance

Awesome tour

Joan_G, Jun 2023

Lee and JD were awesome. Very knowledgeable about the area and Aruba in general. Attentive, calm, and friendly the entire trip. They took pictures for us too!

Wonderful kayak, good learning & friendly guides

Diana_R, Jun 2023

We had perfect weather for a wonderful tour along the coast to see the mangroves and some other interesting ocean life. Our tour guides were fun and knowledgeable. Waves were minimal and we have prior kayak experience so this was relaxing and enjoyable. Water provided at the end, so recommend bringing a little or drinking up before you head out. Nice time!

JD and Lee deserve raises

Miguel_Z, May 2023

It was awesome! JD and Lee were super helpful! They really cared about people having a good time but also safe.

Get JD and Mr. Lee

Therese_A, May 2023

Mr. Lee and JD were awesome! So likable and knowledgeable about the waters and sea life there. With the waves, it was quite adventurous! Would highly recommend those 2!! Upside down jelly fish were really neat!

Great morning adventure

Daniel_F, Apr 2023

This was a really memorable experience for me and my fiance. Our guides were extremely nice and knowledgeable of the area. It was for us around hour and a half overall, we got lucky it was only 4 people for that day so it felt a bit more personal. Physical work wasn't bad at all for us (early 30's), we did enjoy the whole trip as you can get plenty of rest. On our day there was not wind so waters were calm so maybe that will a tad different for others. Would certainly recommend.

Shorten trip not close to 2 hours

John_M, Mar 2023

2 hour trip was more like 50 minutes. We arrived 15 minutes early as requested, we had to wait for late arrivals. It turns out, some were not on the island. The owner was giving directives from afar. By the time the late arrivals showed, we were entering the water a 1/2 hour late. The staff was very nice, but their hands were tied. We were not offered any type of compensation.

Charming Tour Guide

Karen_G, Mar 2023

Li was a charming guide with lots of local Information shared. It was more an ocean kayak than a Mangrove Forest kayak though. Very peasant!

...

Likely to Sell Out