The last quarter of the year is a great time to visit One Happy Island: culinary festivals, the start of Carnival season, and a Caribbean-style holiday season with warm weather instead of snow. Here’s everything on the calendar from now through New Year’s Eve.
October 2026
October 3–11 — Autentico Aruba Culinary Festival. A restaurant week with more than 40 participating restaurants, capped by a street festival with top chefs in Oranjestad. Happening now.
October 31 (Saturday) — Halloween. Costume parties, trick-or-treat events, and themed nights at resorts and venues island-wide.
November 2026
November (dates TBA) — Aruba Beach Tennis Open, Eagle Beach. An international beach tennis tournament drawing top players. Check the tournament website for exact dates.
November 11 (Wednesday), 11:11 AM — Carnival season opening. At 11:11 on the 11th of the 11th month, the official schedule for Carnival 73 is announced and the new season begins.
December 2026
December 5 (Saturday) — Sinterklaas / St. Nicholas’ Eve. Saint Nicholas arrives by boat at the Oranjestad harbor to greet Aruba’s children.
December 25 (Friday) — Christmas Day and December 26 (Saturday) — Boxing Day (both public holidays). Festive markets, parades, resort holiday dinners, and beach celebrations across the island.
Late December — Dande season. Traditional Dande singers go from house to house with gaita music to ring in the new year.
December 31 (Thursday) — New Year’s Eve. Pagara firecracker strings, fireworks displays, live music, and parties island-wide.
Planning further ahead? See our Aruba Events Calendar 2027 for the full year — including Carnival, the KLM Aruba Marathon, and Hi-Winds.
Sources: In-Aruba.com events calendar · Public holidays in Aruba (Wikipedia)