Aruba Glass Bottom Kayak Tour through the Mangrove Forest

Badge of Excellence

Aruba

1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.6

· Trixie_R ·

Jul 2025

I’m glad we had the opportunity to experience this excursion. This was a more intimate time with our family and very island educated. The view was amazing as always in Aruba. Mango Alto is now my favorite beach. Oh and yes it is a workout but also very worth it!

· Ray_A ·

Apr 2025

Great experience, very fun. Our expert guides recommended against clear kayaks due to strong winds and choppy seas. Instead paddled to a small “out-dock” and snorkeled in crystal clear water. Amazing tropical sea life everywhere. Great workout as well. Our guides, Arvin and Darwin fun, personable and accommodating. Will do this again.

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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 Mangel Halto Beach for some swimming and snacks.

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.

Itinerary

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

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

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

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Trixie_R

Reviews

4.6

based on 220 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Great experience

MicheleFox_F, Jul 2025

Had a great time. The guides were friendly and knowledgeable. The mangroves was really not what i expected to see but we really just booked the trip for the kayaking experience. I would highly recommend.

Zenon is great.

SHARON_R, Jul 2025

ZENON WAS SO PLEASANT AND PROFESSIONAL. It helps to have some kayack experience and the endurance for the current to optimize the experience.

I’m glad we had the...

Trixie_R, Jul 2025

Super kayak tour

Kathryn_L, May 2025

A fun kayak adventure with wonderful snorkeling. Really great guides, Arvid and Drake. Highly recommend.

Great Experience

Ray_A, Apr 2025

Poor communication and misadvertised

Nick_R, Mar 2025

You don’t kayak through the mangroves. You go out to sea a little bit and kayak BY them. Our guides also did a poor job given the rough conditions. Our kayak took on some water (my fault, we weren’t faced properly into the waves) and then continues to take on water as we approached shore. The guides didn’t help and I ended up jumping out of the kayak once it was shallow to prevent it from sinking. The guides also didn’t communicate that the meeting spot was down the road from where it actually started.

Great Kayak trip

Nigel_C, Feb 2025

This was a really lovely kayak trip. Just the right length - couple of hours - strenuous enough but not a marathon and following the wind and current along the coast. Really well organised and guided - the mangrove lagoon was really interesting. Thoroughly recommended and Mangel Halto is a lovely location worlds apart from the high rise hotel areas

Kayak Adventure

Cindy_T, Feb 2025

We felt completely safe and Mick was a great tour guide! He was informative and made the experience fun!!!

Mick is the man!

Karlene_T, Feb 2025

A wonderful experience with our new friends and expert, friendly guide Mick. He provided a well informed, safe and kind tour. Thank you Mick!!

There is not a huge...

Beata_K, Jan 2025

There is not a huge mangrove forest, it is a simple kayak tour with snorkelimg at a reef. The glass bottom is not that clear anymore, very scrached. We tried to contact to the tour operator, but has never asnwered. However the tour guide, Mick, was really nice, told a lot about the area, and tried to do his best. I

Clear bottom Kayak Trip

MaryAnne_C, Jan 2025

This was a beautiful paddle over the amazing colored clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. We paddled out to a pier and got out to get some awesome pictures. It was a little rough coming back but our wonderful guide Mick helped us paddle back with his kayak hooked to ours! He was so kind and very knowledgeable!! He kept our phones safe in a water proof bag and took many pictures of us on the kayaks. We could not see fish through the clear kayak bottom but my husband did spot a few little ones in the Spanish Lagoon. It was still a lovely time! Both guides were helpful - Thank You Mick and Aiden.

Sunset tour

Brian_F, Jan 2025

Had a great time kayaking around some historical areas in Mangel Halto. Our guides were friendly and funny and made the trip extremely entertaining for us. Definitely a workout and well worth it. Saw some beautiful sea life and coral while kayaking through some really gorgeous views. Even caught the start of the sunset.

Such a beautiful...

Logan_Q, Jan 2025

Such a beautiful experience with the 2 best guides, Mick and Daniel! There was another couple with us and our guides were very talkative and helpful!

Horrible experience!

Tinnette_H, Nov 2024

I had a terrible experience! I booked my tour over a month in advance only to arrive and be told that they were over booked and moved my tour from 9am to 3pm. Really?!? They should have just canceled and refunded my money. To ad insult to injury we spent $72 in taxi fees and wasted our time!! The tour guide said he texted me, but I never received the text. He said he called. No missed call on my phone. He didn’t even bother to leave a message. Then he said he messaged me in the app. Well, if I did not respond, I did not get the message. Not to mention, he messaged me at 10::31pm. The night before. This is unacceptable. To date I have not received a refund. I need to be compensated for 72 dollars I spent round trip on the taxi and the $140 dollars I paid for our tour.

The guides were very...

Barbara_T, Sep 2024

The guides were very attentive and helpful, we were novices at kayaking and towards the end the water was a bit rough but we were able to complete with the guides help.

Extraordinary experience

Maria_N, Aug 2024

Excellent experience, I was afraid of the deep water, but I was able to manage. Excellent tour guide and the experience was extraordinary- I definitely recommend this tour.

Fun experience!

Monica_R, Jul 2024

This was a fun experience and our guide, JD, was super nice and shared some interesting stories. The water was a little choppy but it wasn’t too hard to navigate. We saw a conch, some upside down jellyfish and lots of beautiful coral. Would recommend!

Clear Bottom Kayaking

Phillip_H, Jul 2024

Fun, adventurous, great guides and fellow kayakers! Good equipment provided. On time, good instructions.

Great way to spend a morning.

Laura_B, May 2024

JD and Cesar were great. We had a rare weather day which made some of our planned trip a bit challenging for our novice experience. They found us a safe route that allowed us a relaxing tour. They clearly cared very much about our safety, while ensuring that we had an enjoyable experience.

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.