Rodgers Beach

Rodgers Beach sits round the headland from Baby Beach at the southeastern tip of Aruba, a sheltered crescent of sand with calm water and fishing boats drawn up at one end. What makes it unusual is the backdrop: the refinery at San Nicolas stands directly behind, a mass of pipework and stacks that has dominated this end of the island since 1928 and which built the town. Whether that ruins the view or makes it interesting depends on the visitor. The water is calm and shallow, there is a beach bar, and it is quieter than Baby Beach next door because most people do not get past the first car park.

History

The beach is named after Captain Robert Rodgers, who ran the oil refinery at San Nicolaas, and in the 1950s the Aruba Esso Club of the refinery's Lago Colony was built at Baby Beach immediately to the south, with a restaurant, a dance floor and a baseball stadium (Wikipedia, Rodgers Beach, Aruba).

The landscape

• The sheltered crescent - calm shallow water at the island's southeast tip.
• The refinery backdrop - the plant that built San Nicolas, directly behind.
• The fishing boats - drawn up at the eastern end.
• Baby Beach - round the headland, five minutes away.

When to go

Year-round. Weekdays are quiet. The refinery has been through repeated shutdowns and restarts and its state changes; the view varies accordingly. Mornings are calmest before the wind.

Things to know

The refinery immediately behind the beach is not to everyone's taste and there have been air quality complaints in San Nicolas over the years when the plant is running. Facilities are one bar. The beach is small. It is 40 minutes from the hotel strip with no easy public transport.

Nearby

Baby Beach is five minutes; San Nicolas and its murals are ten minutes north.

Key facts