Andicuri and Dos Playa

The north coast of Aruba is the opposite of the hotel side: limestone cliffs, constant wind and surf breaking hard on the rock, with a handful of coves cut into it. Andicuri is a sandy bay with cliffs at both ends, popular with bodyboarders and reached down a rough track; the famous Natural Bridge that stood beside it collapsed in 2005, and a smaller one remains next to the rubble. Dos Playa, inside Arikok national park, is a pair of coves in a bowl of dunes and cliff with nobody on them. Both look inviting and both have currents that make swimming a bad idea.

What you actually see

• Andicuri - a sandy cove with cliffs, used by bodyboarders.
• The collapsed Natural Bridge - the rubble and the smaller bridge beside it.
• Dos Playa - two coves in a bowl of dune and cliff inside the park.
• The windward coast - surf on limestone with no development at all.

When to go

Year-round. Mornings are calmer and cooler. The tracks are rough and a four-wheel drive or a tour is the practical way in. The park charges entry for the Dos Playa side.

Honest expectations

Currents at both are strong and swimming is genuinely dangerous; people drown on Aruba's north coast. There are no lifeguards and no facilities. The tracks in are rough enough to defeat ordinary hire cars and hire agreements often exclude them. There is no shade.

Nearby

Arikok park surrounds Dos Playa; the Natural Pool is further along the coast.