Fontein Cave at Arikok National Park (focus on the roads)

[kateg]

Recommended for staying ALL DAY at the Park/You rented a 4X4/ You are on a Tour and someone else is driving.  Otherwise I don't recommend this.

 

My daughter researched Aruba and decided she wanted to go see a cave.  We were headed to the Quadirikiri Cave  but our journey was so harrowing that we gave up and went to Fontein instead.  For the record my husband and I both drive 4 wheel drive vehicles because we live in the mountains (US) and live about 2 miles out on dirt and gravel private (poorly) maintained roads that wash out and have huge ruts etc.  Sooooo I didn't heed the warnings about driving into the National park.  PLEASE heed the warnings.  This is what I never read....  The roads aren't bad.  Way nicer than what I drive to get to my house...BUT they have these little wash out areas...I assume that's what they are for...placed at VERY frequent intervals along the road...these are basically deep little ravines or ditches...and they are so steep that if your vehicle isn't lifted (like a Jeep) you will bottom out and scrape the heck out of your car and possible tear off your bumper-especially if you are in a low riding car-think mini van or some sedans.  The other caveat-the distance to the cave isn't far...but if you are driving a low riding vehicle...you have to go so slowly to attempt to avoid tearing off your bumper....that it will take much longer than you expect to get into the park.

 

That being said-the area of this cave you can see/tour is small.  We were fortunate that a large tour group left as we were arriving and the tour guide let my daughter go pretty far back.  The cave is very deep-the guide said 4 soccer fields deep.  But it quickly gets very low so that you would have to crawl for most of that depth.  Obviously, they only let you go a little ways back.  My daughter was able to go back far enough to see the bats.  Unlike caves I have been to which are underground...this cave is above ground (it used to be below sea level) and it was very very warm.

 

Fontein was interesting to see-so If you are already in the park and want to spend the day and have an appropriate car-its worth seeing.  But if seeing this cave is  your only reason for heading to that side of the island -and you are only in Aruba for 1 day and especially unless you rented a Jeep-it isn't wroth the drive.