Rancho Daimari will pick you up at your hotel and take you to the ranch for both the horseback ride and also the ATV tour they offer. The horses were Palominos, and they were all very friendly and well-trained. Anyone can ride, even if you have never been on a horse before. Javier, our tour guide, was bursting with energy and really made the whole experience a lot of fun. We rode the horses along the Aruba desert outback, over sand dunes. There was a point in the beginning of the trail where the horses went into a trot, and later on there are a few spots (along the white sand and along the ocean) where they broke into a full gallop. It was amazing!

We stopped at the Natural Pool, where there is a corral to keep the horses while the riders enjoy some lemonade and walk down the steps to the pool. We spent quite a long time there, so if you are looking for a way to get to the Natural Pool but don’t want the stress of trying to tackle those roads by yourself in a vehicle I highly recommend the horse ride! On the way back from the Natural Pool we got to ride the horses along the ocean through the surf. The tour guide took pictures several times of everyone with their cameras, so you even get to have some good pictures. For $60 per person, it was a very good time.

This year we decided to take a horseback riding tour. The tour we opted for (see "Nature Tours – Rancho Daimari") took us through the desert outback of the island, over sand dunes to the eastern shore where the Natural Pool can be found. We had tried to reach the Natural Pool the day before in our rental, but the 4 wheel drive would not engage properly on the vehicle and please be warned – the road immediately before you arrive at the pool is in very poor condition.

On the horses it was much easier, and there are also ATV tours that will take you that looked like fun. The pool itself is small, and there were a lot of people there. It is hard to get to, as you do need to climb over a lot of slippery rocks (and even some people) to get down into it. There are fish in the pool, which was kind of neat. The water splashes down over some tall rocks and fills the pool area. It was rather breathtaking to watch the rough Atlantic waters splashing against the rocks. As the island of Aruba is very small, I recommend seeing the Natural Pool as an enjoyable nature stop.