#1 of 9 things to do in Santa Cruz

Donkey Sanctuary Aruba

★★★★½4.6 out of 5 · 1,114 reviews

cultural

1.5h

outdoor

Photo: © 864marlenm via TripAdvisor

About

At a glance

Category: cultural
Duration: 1.5 hours
Price: $0
Minimum age: None
Intensity: ●○○○○
Setting: outdoor
Booking partner: direct
Product ID: —

Photos

Visiting in June?

June offers warm weather and calm seas ideal for snorkeling and water activities. The island feels moderately busy with activity but not overwhelming crowds. Tours and restaurants are active, and many visitors report excellent experiences exploring both the beaches and rugged interior during this month.

Based on 150 traveler reports

Recent Pulse

What travelers are saying.

New

Low confidence

Travelers say the Donkey Sanctuary offers a surprisingly fun break from beach days, with free admission and the chance to hand-feed donkeys for just $1-3 per bucket of pellets. The breezy visitor center patio provides shade and seating while you interact with the herd, plus bonus peacocks, chickens, and cats roaming the grounds. Visitors appreciate learning about donkeys' history in Aruba, though some wished for more structured guidance beyond the self-guided experience.

Standing out

Hand-feeding donkeys from the shaded visitor center patio for $1-3 per bucket
4 mentions
“One large bucket for three dollars lets you hand-feed many donkeys from the breezy patio”
Free admission with optional low-cost feed purchases
2 mentions
“No entry fee and just three dollars for a large bucket of pellets”
Additional animals including peacocks, chickens, and cats on the grounds
2 mentions
“Several peacocks and chickens add unexpected variety to the donkey interactions”

Watch-outs

No guided tours or staff-led educational programming available
1 mention
“Wished for more interactive experiences with a guide rather than just self-feeding”

Tips from travelers

Bring apples and carrots from Ling & Sons Market instead of buying pellets
Wait until you reach the visitor center patio to feed rather than at the entrance gate
Budget $3 for a large bucket if you want to hand-feed many donkeys

Maybe skip if: Skip this if you need structured animal encounters with expert commentary rather than casual self-guided feeding.

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Source: TripAdvisor · view on TripAdvisor →

Photos by individual contributors as credited above.

Synthesized review summaries are LLM-generated from public reviews.