# Aruba - - First Timer's Trip Report



## Conan (Jun 14, 2009)

Mine was the “Final Countdown—Favorites Wanted” thread and here we are, back already!

Much of this will be old news to TUG’s many Aruba regulars, but here’s a first-timer’s take on Aruba. I’ll review Aruba Beach Club separately in the members-only section; suffice to say it we were very happy with it.

Weather: Reliable high ‘80s (30C) sun or scattered clouds every day; gusty trade winds high 20s mph (45 kph) take getting used to but keep you comfortable temperature-wise. We were told March-July is dry/windy season and August-February is humid/calmer season.

People and Culture: Locals are less ‘foreign’ than you find in French- or Spanish-speaking destinations. Almost everyone speaks English, Dutch and Papiamento/Spanish. People were friendly enough for the most part but a 100,000 population that serves 1,000,000 visitors yearly has to see us mainly as mouths to feed and bodies to transport. There’s also coolness in the Dutch side of the national character. And there’s no shortage of American culture, meaning Subway, McDonalds, Wendy’s, etc. Oranjestad has the usual cruise ship shopping choices. I’m not complaining; just trying to be factual.

Crimes Against Property: The Island has a serious unemployment problem and lots of abandoned housing on the refinery end of the island (the refinery is closing again later this year). Not that we weren’t warned, but we foolishly left a camera with our towels in a beach bag on the shore at Malmok beach while we snorkeled (I had my money, glasses and car keys with me in the water). We noticed and thought nothing of a group of young men hanging out on land, so we were shocked and distressed that they and our camera were gone when we came in. The next day, we overheard a local person in the tourist trade (a third generation Aruban) talking on his cell phone about troublemakers in his neighborhood - - and making an appointment to install an alarm system in his home ("I'm glad I have my flare gun," he said). And under the heading of environmental ‘crime’ the toasty burning smell you may notice in the low-rise hotel area is coming from uncontrolled fires at the landfill about five miles down the coast on the far side of Oranjestad.

Snorkeling and Beaches: Except for the loss of the camera, these exceeded our expectations. We saw a good number of fish, a huge moray eel, and schools of squid at Malmok. The water was comfortably warm and not too choppy despite the wind. We also toured with Tranquilo down the coast beyond Oranjestad to a very handsome coral area unspoiled at 20 feet (7 meters) depth under especially clear waters. There’s a current there so the dinghy leads the way and then takes you back upstream to the boat when you’re done. Overall the beaches and water reminded me of the south coast of Kauai, and the Aruba water was warmer.

Food, Shopping and Restaurants: The Ling & Sons Supermarket (a couple of miles from the low-rise hotels in the direction of Oranjestad, in back of the supermarkets you see from the main road) was amazingly well stocked and the prices were fair enough (since everything but some baked goods, snapper and grouper, and Balashi Beer is brought in via container ship). We also spent time walking and shopping in the high-rise area. People staying there get more of a resort experience than we got in the low-rise area, but the high-rise also had more cars and people than I care to see. We had mixed feelings about the restaurants were visited (Moomba Beach, Madame Janette and Flying Fishbone) - - prices seemed excessive (U.S.$25 to $40 for a plate of fish?). Overall the scenery was better than the food but I also think we didn’t make the smartest choices.

Transportation: No complaints about the airport—we knew to leave plenty of time on departure not just for check in and security, but also because U.S. customs and immigration is handled in Aruba before you board your plane. We rented a car from Optima, which operates out of the Toyota dealership along the road to the airport. No complaints there either but I wonder if we would have seen the Island better via tour bus and taxi for the same money, since my do-it-yourself navigating/sightseeing was somewhat spotty.

Will We Go Back? Maybe. It’s a big world, and of the places we’ve already been I’m more likely to return to the Yucatan Coast and Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman. But I’m glad we went and I understand why Aruba is high on most peoples’ list.

Thanks to all for your help in planning our trip.


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## jaym (Jun 18, 2009)

Seems some recent visitors to Surf Club provided comments on TripAdvisor regarding the beach. 
It was mentioned the shore was "slimy" but it seems from reviews on TUG and others, Marriott has largely resolved the sludge/slime issue (??).
 Would you please comment on your recent experience at the Surf Club beach? Did it seem worse than other beach bottoms you visited on the island? thnx.


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## Conan (Jun 18, 2009)

We did our actual snorkeling and swimming at Malmok and in the low-rise area.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=malmok+Beach%E2%80%8E,+aruba&sll=12.59557,-70.044708&sspn=0.029192,0.038109&ie=UTF8&ll=12.601077,-70.050861&spn=0.00378,0.004764&t=h&z=18&iwloc=A

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...40583,-70.061016&spn=0.0073,0.009527&t=h&z=17
(click to see maps)

We only walked along the beach in the high-rise area (Playa Linda to Holiday Inn to Moomba Beach to Marriott).
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...2.579193,-70.044976&spn=0.00378,0.004764&z=18
(click to see map)
The sea there is bounded by piers that stick out so the water is much calmer and potentially not as clean, also there are substantial numbers of small boats anchored outside the swimming area and the sand beach is pretty narrow and available to be used by hundreds (thousands?) of people who stay in the high rises.

So I wouldn't be surprised if the water were less than ideal. But I can't answer for the state of the sand bottom there.


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## tombo (Jun 19, 2009)

We recently returned from our first trip and loved it. Did you drive through the national park with the wild donkeys and the tall cactus everywhere. There were some nice caves with ancient petroglyphs on the walls and cliffs wth huge waves crashing on them. The blowing hole was a good visit as was Dos Playa beach where it was too rough to swim but a great sand beach to lay on and watch the huge waves crash on the cliffs on both sides of you.

One side of the island is virtually deserted and that is where the wind and waves make swimming unsafe (but beautiful). The other side of the Island is where all of the resorts are. On the resort side the wind is constantly blocked by the island so there are almost no waves.

I didn't go in the water by the Marriott, but from the walks we took in front of the Marriott on the beachfront sidewalk the beach looked great. Malmok beach was my favorite snorkeling but Baby beach had good snorkeling too and was a great place to spend part of a day. I saw a lot of fish right in front of the Divi Phoenix when I snorkeled around the jetties but nothing close to the number and variety of fish I saw at Malmok and Baby Beach.

I never felt unsafe or like I was in a bad area except when I was exploring the town over by the refinery (St Nicolas). Keep driving through that town towards Baby beach and don't take any side streets in downtown. I saw a sign for world famous Charlies bar and went to look for it. The sign said follow the refinery wall. That was not a good move and one I advise against. I never found Charlies bar and if I had I feel sure that I wouldn't have stopped or even slowed down. That area is very seedy but the hookers seemed friendly enough and they waved at my wife and myself as we drove by at 10 AM. 

I love to explore and I left no main roads and few dirt roads unexplored. I covered the whole Island in my Yaris including many miles of rocky dirt roads that were better suited for Jeeps. We saw the natural bridge which has unfortunatelly fallen, Arikok National Park, the Ostrich Farm, the lighthouse, the rock formations, Lourdes Grotto, and many more things. We made stacks of coral rocks to make wishes which everyone does everywhere on the back side of the island. Everywhere you drive you will see rock piles where people have made wishes. Many people come back years later and find their piles still standing. I loved the wilderness areas and rough cliffs overlooking the ocean on the deserted side. In fact the only place on the Island I didn't go was the natural pool. I started up that road but it was just not possible in a Yaris.

I liked Aruba a lot because there is little chance of rain ruining your day since it is a desert island. I also liked the clear water with the turquoise glow everywhere on the horizon as you looked out to sea. I like the lack of waves, the breeze that keeps you cool (not the gusts that blast you with sand), the white soft sand, the food (not the prices), the people, and especially the snorkeling. I will go back again for sure but i have already booked St Maarten for next year and since we are down to one trip a year out of the country, so that will be our big one for 2010. Will I go to Aruba, St Maarten, The Caymens, St Johns, St Kitts, or another destination in 2011? I don't know yet but Aruba was so much fun it could become an annual trip.


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## ecwinch (Jun 19, 2009)

tombo said:


> The sign said follow the refinery wall. That was not a good move and one I advise against. I never found Charlies bar and if I had I feel sure that I wouldn't have stopped or even slowed down. That area is very seedy but the hookers seemed friendly enough and they waved at my wife and myself as we drove by at 10 AM.
> 
> Will I go to Aruba, St Maarten, The Caymens, St Johns, St Kitts, or another destination in 2011? I don't know yet but Aruba was so much fun it could become an annual trip.



Yeah - the red light district in Aruba is not something that most tour guide books go into. But when you figure that Aruba follows Dutch law, and they have Amsterdam, it all falls into place.

Spend a week at St. Thomas before you lock onto Aruba for an annual trip. Having been to both, I doubt we will ever go back to Aruba. And I would kill to be able to get a week in St. Johns.  

But I have not been to the Caymens or St. Kitts, maybe in a year they will be the best choice.


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## ecwinch (Jun 19, 2009)

rklein001 said:


> We also toured with Tranquilo down the coast beyond Oranjestad to a very handsome coral area unspoiled at 20 feet (7 meters) depth under especially clear waters. There’s a current there so the dinghy leads the way and then takes you back upstream to the boat when you’re done. Overall the beaches and water reminded me of the south coast of Kauai, and the Aruba water was warmer.[/FONT]
> 
> Will We Go Back? Maybe. It’s a big world, and of the places we’ve already been I’m more likely to return to the Yucatan Coast and Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman. But I’m glad we went and I understand why Aruba is high on most peoples’ list.
> 
> Thanks to all for your help in planning our trip.



Was not the Tranquilo a great treat! And I agree with your assessment of Aruba.


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## tombo (Jun 19, 2009)

ecwinch said:


> Yeah - the red light district in Aruba is not something that most tour guide books go into. But when you figure that Aruba follows Dutch law, and they have Amsterdam, it all falls into place.
> 
> Spend a week at St. Thomas before you lock onto Aruba for an annual trip. Having been to both, I doubt we will ever go back to Aruba. And I would kill to be able to get a week in St. Johns.
> 
> But I have not been to the Caymens or St. Kitts, maybe in a year they will be the best choice.



I am going to St Maarten next year for the first time and it is my parent's favorite. If you have been there how did you like it compared to St Johns? 

On Trip Advisor's 2008 top 100 destinations in the world Phiilipsburg was voted 3rd most popular and Marigot was 21st. Cruz Bay on St John was voted 7th best while Oranjestad in aruba was 47th. 

On top 25 in the carribbean Phillipsbrg was voted number one, Cruz Bay St Johns Us Virgin Islands number 4, Marigot on St Maarten hit the number 7 spot,  Oranjestad number 10, St Johns (Antigua and Barbados) ranked 13th, and Palm Beach /Eagle Beach in Aruba was only 23rd.  

http://cdn.tripadvisor.com/pdfs/tca/TCDestinationsAwards2008.pdf

As much as I liked Aruba it's top ranking was 10th in the Carribbean and 47th in the world as voted by readers of Trip Advisor. Phillipsburg St Maarten was voted 3rd most popular destinaton in the world and number one in the Carribbean. Perhaps I will find a new favorite Island destination (currently Kauai) after my trip to St Maarten in 2010. If not I guess it is on to St johns, St Kitts, the Caymens etc until I find my favorite.


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## TomR (Jun 19, 2009)

Phillipsburg is just a town.  While it has cleaned up its act in recent years with a nice walkway along the beach and a renovated Front Street, it is not really a tourist destination except for some pretty decent shopping.  It is also a major cruise stop, which probably accounts for its high ranking.  Getting to town can be a problem depending on where you are staying and when you go as traffic can range from stop and go to just stop.   On the Dutch side, most of the action centers around Simpson Bay and Maho.  Marigot is a different story.  It has a very French feel to it and is worth a visit just to sit in an open air cafe in the Marina watching the world go by and enjoying a relaxing lunch. 

I have timeshares in St. Maarten and Aruba and enjoy both islands. Both have their  pros and cons but I think  St. Maarten has more of a Caribbean feel to it than Aruba does.  And access to French St. Martin is icing on the cake.  Enjoy your vacation there next year.

Tom


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## Conan (Jun 19, 2009)

tombo said:


> I am going to St Maarten next year for the first time and it is my parent's favorite. If you have been there how did you like it compared to St Johns?
> 
> On Trip Advisor's 2008 top 100 destinations in the world Phiilipsburg was voted 3rd most popular and Marigot was 21st. Cruz Bay on St John was voted 7th best while Oranjestad in aruba was 47th.
> 
> ...


 
I haven't been to St John's but I have an opinion about St. Martin/Maarten vs. Grand Cayman and more vs. Aruba

The south half of St. Martin is Dutch; the north half is French. The south half is where all the timeshares are; it has cruise ship-style shopping, a few cool bars (mainly Sunset Beach Bar where you watch the planes skim the beach on the way in) and some casinos. The north half has many good beaches including beautiful Orient Beach (and nudist colony), french restaurants far superior to what Aruba offers, and a good dose of foreign-ness. Formerly I'd have said the risk of having your car broken into in St. Martin was a strike against that island, but we were victims in Aruba and not in St. Martin. 

Grand Cayman (the seven mile beach side) has the best snorkeling of all and thanks to its banking industry and English connections it has the wealthiest people (maybe second to Bermuda) and the least crime.

Cozumel and Playa del Carmen/Akumal/Tulum in Mexico's Riviera Maya have snorkel opportunities second only to Grand Cayman and Big Island, Hawaii. The restaurants aren't the greatest but at least they're generally priced right. And I have great respect for the people of Mexico.

We also enjoyed St. Lucia (Windjammer Landing) for its beaches, its people and its food.

Big Island Hawaii has super snorkeling south of Kona, world-class beaches north of Kona, an amazing Volcanic area and rain forest on its east side, and Aloha Spirit everywhere.

Kauai has spectacular beauty in the north, and nifty beaches and snorkel opportunities in the south.

I've put everything I have to say about Aruba in my original post.


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## tombo (Jun 19, 2009)

ecwinch said:


> Yeah - the red light district in Aruba is not something that most tour guide books go into. But when you figure that Aruba follows Dutch law, and they have Amsterdam, it all falls into place.
> 
> Spend a week at St. Thomas before you lock onto Aruba for an annual trip. Having been to both, I doubt we will ever go back to Aruba. And I would kill to be able to get a week in St. Johns.
> 
> But I have not been to the Caymens or St. Kitts, maybe in a year they will be the best choice.



Which St Thomas is the St Thomas you are telling me I must visit? St Thomas US virgin Islands or St Thomas Antigua? I have found timeshares both places, but few of them are on the USVI. They might be one and the same but I don't think so.

Thanks, 

Tom


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## ecwinch (Jun 19, 2009)

tombo said:


> Which St Thomas is the St Thomas you are telling me I must visit? St Thomas US virgin Islands or St Thomas Antigua? I have found timeshares both places, but few of them are on the USVI. They might be one and the same but I don't think so.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Tom



St. Thomas USVI. JMO - once you visit there, Aruba will be distant memory. 

Except maybe in terms of the length of beaches, I cannot think of any category that Aruba would exceed what is available in the USVI.

It is like comparing a lush tropical island to a desert island. I know not everyone will agree with me, but having visited both Hawaii, USVI, and Aruba in the last 7 months, there is no comparision between USVI and Aruba.

I have not yet been to St. Kitts, St. Marten, or Grand Cayman. So they may jump up there. 

I love Hawaii, but USVI is easier to get to from Texas. And I like to snorkel. Maybe I have missed something, but most of the good snorkeling is Hawaii seems to be either accessible only by boat, or has a greater danger factor then I am willing to endure. The exception is the crowded cove on Oahu. The surf and tide action in Hawaii is very different than that in the USVI.


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## ecwinch (Jun 20, 2009)

rklein001 said:


> I haven't been to St John's but I have an opinion about St. Martin/Maarten vs. Grand Cayman and more vs. Aruba
> 
> The south half of St. Martin is Dutch; the north half is French. The south half is where all the timeshares are; it has cruise ship-style shopping, a few cool bars (mainly Sunset Beach Bar where you watch the planes skim the beach on the way in) and some casinos. The north half has many good beaches including beautiful Orient Beach (and nudist colony), french restaurants far superior to what Aruba offers, and a good dose of foreign-ness. Formerly I'd have said the risk of having your car broken into in St. Martin was a strike against that island, but we were victims in Aruba and not in St. Martin.
> 
> ...



Thanks for those suggestions. Hope to have investigated them all in the near future. Somehow I think we have a similar opinion on Aruba.


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## m61376 (Jun 21, 2009)

Funny- there's a similar thread over in the Marriott forum, and it is interesting to see how everyone's opinions vary. Some of us prefer Aruba, others St. Thomas, the Caymans, St. Marten, St. Kitts, St. John, etc.. Hawaii can't be beat for its tropical beauty but for many the long trip (esp. for those on the East coast) is a deterrent. Aren't we lucky to have such difficult decisions to make- between better and best, really?:whoopie: 

For us, Aruba's spectacular weather including cooling breezes, great variety of excellent and reasonable restaurants, friendly and safe environs, terrific Caribbean beaches with soft, white sand and great resorts, coupled with easy accessibility (about a 4.5 hour direct flight from the NY area) make it a perfect choice.


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## irish (Jun 21, 2009)

i didn't care for st thomas but did like st johns.


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## ecwinch (Jun 27, 2009)

m61376 said:


> Funny- there's a similar thread over in the Marriott forum, and it is interesting to see how everyone's opinions vary. Some of us prefer Aruba, others St. Thomas, the Caymans, St. Marten, St. Kitts, St. John, etc.. Hawaii can't be beat for its tropical beauty but for many the long trip (esp. for those on the East coast) is a deterrent. Aren't we lucky to have such difficult decisions to make- between better and best, really?:whoopie:
> 
> For us, Aruba's spectacular weather including cooling breezes, great variety of excellent and reasonable restaurants, friendly and safe environs, terrific Caribbean beaches with soft, white sand and great resorts, coupled with easy accessibility (about a 4.5 hour direct flight from the NY area) make it a perfect choice.



It is great to have choices. Of course USVI, has all of what you describe plus more - the US flag, great scenery, more variety, affordability, better snorkeling.

I am not saying that Aruba is a bad choice. Just that their are better choices. But one man's poison is another candy.

It is just that most people I have personally spoken to that rave about Aruba, have never visited the USVI.


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## Larry (Jun 28, 2009)

m61376 said:


> For us, Aruba's spectacular weather including cooling breezes, great variety of excellent and reasonable restaurants, friendly and safe environs, terrific Caribbean beaches with soft, white sand and great resorts, coupled with easy accessibility (about a 4.5 hour direct flight from the NY area) make it a perfect choice.



I was just about to respond with my own opinion but you said it all for me. As you can see we Just love Aruba since we now own seven weeks at different resorts throughout the year.

I will be retiring this year so I figured owning several weeks in one of our favorite spots is better than buying a second home in Florida, where many of our friends bought a few years ago right before the real estate market crashed. So far we are going for two weeks in January.

Any weeks that we don't use in Aruba in 2010 we will easily rent out.


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## lvhmbh (Jun 28, 2009)

We own a timeshare in St. Thomas but have not been there for years and years.  We spend a lot of time in Aruba, however.  Guess that shows how we feel re St. Thomas.


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## pharmgirl (Jun 28, 2009)

lvhmbh said:


> We own a timeshare in St. Thomas but have not been there for years and years.  We spend a lot of time in Aruba, however.  Guess that shows how we feel re St. Thomas.



What is the timeshare on St T?  do you always trade?  We love the Caribbean but find it difficult to get a trade in Jan/Feb/March even with a Hawaiian week at a new resort


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## lvhmbh (Jun 29, 2009)

We deposit our weeks - it is Bluebeard's Castle and it is a fairly easy trade.  It is up on the hill overlooking Charlotte Amalie.  We have never traded Aruba and have been coming for 14 years.


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## ecwinch (Jul 2, 2009)

lvhmbh said:


> We deposit our weeks - it is Bluebeard's Castle and it is a fairly easy trade.  It is up on the hill overlooking Charlotte Amalie.  We have never traded Aruba and have been coming for 14 years.



If I owned at the Castle, I would probably like Aruba more also.


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## lvhmbh (Jul 3, 2009)

The reason we like Aruba better is StT has a very heavy crime rate (we have friends that live there and carry guns as there are so many carjackings and home invasions of the more affluent people), heavy poverty, dirty, no potable water and very high restaurant costs.  Here in Aruba I drive everywhere by myself - would not on STT.  I can go downtown (Oranjestad) at night but would never do so in Charlotte Amalie (have been escorted to a taxi by restaurant owner even though DH is with me as he said "it wasn't safe").  I was in STT 3 years ago so it isn't old news.  Our friends say it has gotten worse, not better.


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## ecwinch (Jul 4, 2009)

lvhmbh said:


> The reason we like Aruba better is StT has a very heavy crime rate (we have friends that live there and carry guns as there are so many carjackings and home invasions of the more affluent people), heavy poverty, dirty, no potable water and very high restaurant costs.  Here in Aruba I drive everywhere by myself - would not on STT.  I can go downtown (Oranjestad) at night but would never do so in Charlotte Amalie (have been escorted to a taxi by restaurant owner even though DH is with me as he said "it wasn't safe").  I was in STT 3 years ago so it isn't old news.  Our friends say it has gotten worse, not better.



Well it is now obvious that you (and/or your friends) will not be serving on the STT Tourism Board anytime soon....

I only visited STT this year for the first time. Spent almost two weeks there. I did not have any of the problems you mentioned, and we freely travelled all over the town/island and to the secluded beaches and coves. 

Maybe we were just lucky, but we did not taken any extraordinary precautions. I am not saying that STT is crime free. I know they have issues just like any tourist area does. I did not find it the crime-ridden hell hole you make it out to be.

And to make Aruba out to be a crime-free paradise is a bit of an overstatement. You can see the evidence of broken glass in the beach parking areas around the island. Though that is probably from tourists that have left their keys in the car. lol

And next time you are in Aruba, go down to San Nicolas at night and report back on how safe and crime free Aruba is.


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## lvhmbh (Jul 5, 2009)

Never said Aruba was "crime free" - as a matter of fact the crime rate has risen.  Lets just agree that "one mans heaven is another mans hell".  

I thank the OP for his review of Aruba.


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## m61376 (Jul 5, 2009)

There is no place that is "crime free" and a common mistake made by tourists is assuming anywhere is completely safe. The OP was understandably upset over the theft of his camera but, in all fairness, would you normally at home leave a camera unattended? If you wouldn't leave belongings on a public beach in the US, I don't think it is fair to assume that it would be safe on any island. Car vandalism is a byproduct of tourists leaving property in cars making it easy prey; don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the victims of theft are at fault, but just that we tend to be less vigilant when on vacation and, unfortunately, criminals know it.

That said, having been to many of the islands mentioned in the various posts, Aruba in particular feels the safest and is the only place where most areas feel safe to walk through without a heightened sense of awareness or nervousness. Although the opinions in this post vary widely, clearly the reason so many people return to Aruba year after year is because they enjoy the consistent weather, the friendliness and the safely of the island.


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## Larry (Jul 5, 2009)

*World's safest places*

We can all have our own opinions but based on statistics the ABC islands including Aruba were recently considered among the safest in the world. See the MSNBC article here;  

 msnbc msn.com id 31209850


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## tombo (Jul 5, 2009)

Larry said:


> We can all have our own opinions but based on statistics the ABC islands including Aruba were recently considered among the safest in the world. See the MSNBC article here;
> 
> msnbc msn.com id 31209850



It is great to know that the ABC group of Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) makes the list of the safest destinations in the world. Even though that is the case, nowhere is completely safe. I felt very safe everywhere I went on the Island except for St Nicholas, and I only went there because I was determined to explore the whole island. Simple solution, don't go to St Nicholas because it is seedy, and there is nothing worth seeing there anyway. I have never vacationed anywhere that my wife and myself felt safer than we felt in Aruba, and I will gladly return to Aruba again. 

On the other hand I have vacationed many place in the US that I felt very nervous for good reason (Los Angeles,New York, San Fransisco, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans etc). I have seen many fights in New Orleans and a good friend's son was robbed at gunpoint as he sat in his car at a redlight last fall. I almost had my pocket picked in New York (felt his hand and grabbed it but he ran away) and I have seen a mugging victim laying on the sidewalk after a mugger had attacked. My wife had a company trip to San Fransisco and 4 people from her company (about 1000 people attended) were mugged or robbed at gunpoint in a 4 day period, with 2 robbed within a block of the Hyatt where we stayed. They announced at the meeting that no one should travel in groups of less than 4 and the company said they would never meet there again. I had massive fraudulent charges placed on my Credit Card after I returned from a trip to Miami where someone got my CC number. A lot of the places I love to visit in the US are very dangerous, and much more dangerous than Aruba IMO. If people based their travel plans totally on the crime rates, the US would have a very limited tourism industry. Here is the USA's ratings in the same article:
 "Reading from most dangerous to least, the U.S. is the least safe of the big Western nations. The U.N. study ranks the U.S. at No. 24 in per capita murder, well head of France (No. 40), Britain (No. 46), Germany (No. 49) and Japan (No. 60)."

Sometimes we expect Utopia and a total lack of crime from vacation destinations. Nowhere is crime free, but Aruba and the Hawaiian Islands are locations where I have felt as safe as anywhere I have ever visited. If I had to choose between walking around in most major US cities alone late at night, or walking alone late at night in Orajenstad Aruba, I will bet my life on Orajenstad every time.


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## jimf41 (Jul 28, 2009)

lvhmbh said:


> The reason we like Aruba better is StT has a very heavy crime rate (we have friends that live there and carry guns as there are so many carjackings and home invasions of the more affluent people), heavy poverty, dirty, no potable water and very high restaurant costs.  Here in Aruba I drive everywhere by myself - would not on STT.  I can go downtown (Oranjestad) at night but would never do so in Charlotte Amalie (have been escorted to a taxi by restaurant owner even though DH is with me as he said "it wasn't safe").  I was in STT 3 years ago so it isn't old news.  Our friends say it has gotten worse, not better.



I haven't come across this much misinformation in one post in a long time. 

First, there is virtually no tourist involved crime whatsoever. USVI residents are well aware of who brings the money to the USVI and what it does for their livelihood. 

Heavy poverty? I've been going to STT since 1995 and haven't noticed it yet. Certainly the poor sections are no worse than the refinery side of Aruba but I wouldn't say that was really heavy poverty either. You should visit someplace like Honduras or Costa Rica or even Mexico and get a feel for what heavy poverty looks like.


Dirty? Well it's not as nice as the town I live in but then not very many places are. CA is a city, a small one but a city none the less. With the amount of daily traffic it gets from the cruise ships I'd say it's pretty clean actually.

No potable water? I don't know about that. I drink an awful lot of Gin & tonics while I'm there and I haven't run out of ice yet. They get their water from rainfall as do many Caribbean Islands but the big resorts all have desalinization facilities. Lately the USVI has been desalinating water a selling it to the resorts. I understand that Bluebeards castle has always had problems with water though. It's not a problem in other resorts.

High restaurant prices? As compared to Aruba, surely you're kidding on that one right?

As to the gun issue I can't say I've ever seen or heard of anyone carrying one outside of the Police. There are definitely some areas of the Island I would not chose to visit in the wee hours but nowhere that a tourist would likely want to visit. Your friends probably feel very threatened in some of those areas and that's why the like the comfort of a personal weapon. Permits to carry are hard to come by in the USVI so they must carry a lot of valuables.

I guess you tell that I'm not an Aruba fan. I don't have anything bad to say about it but I much prefer the USVI. I do have one critical comment. Don't ever visit any of the Aruba Marriott's during week 3.


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## tombo (Jul 28, 2009)

*crime rate articles*

A couple of articles about crime on the USVI. I am not scared by what I have read and still have the USVI on my future travel wish list. I routinelly visit some of the most dangerous vacation spots in the world, and they are big cities on the US mainland, so why would I expect total safety in the USVI? 

If you want to go to the caribbean to experience real crime and real fear, go to Jamaica "Mon". The resort's safety introduction will make you excited to get on the plane and go home. When the resort welcomes you with warnings to not leave the resort area (and this was all inclusive so they weren't trying to keep us there to get our money), to never travel at night, to never travel in small groups or alone, and when they talk about areas that you will probably get hurt and might get killed, now that is a caribbean Island with a crime problem and one that I will never visit again.

This article says that St Thomas has the highest crime rate of the USVI:

http://virginislands-guide.info/travel.basics/crime/

http://www.vimovingcenter.com/island_living/crime.php

http://www.city-data.com/forum/u-s-territories/50565-u-s-virgin-islands-live.html

This article says:
As far as crime goes, the U.S. Virgin Islands experience a higher level of crime than many Caribbean islands, but still less than major metropolitan areas like New York City or London. However, a little common sense goes a long way. Keep your visit fun by following basic traveler's rules: Never walk alone at night and keep an eye on your belongings. 

http://caribbean-guide.info/why.not.go/us.virgin.islands/


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## jimf41 (Jul 28, 2009)

The articles you cite can be very misleading. The last states that the crime rate in the USVI is less than NYC. For people that don't live in the NYC area that's not very reassuring because as everybody knows New York is a dangerous place right? Wrong, of the largest ten cities in the US NYC is #7 for homicides and # 6 for violent crime in general. 

That really doesn't say much either until you realize that NYC violent crime rates are about 1/3 of Philadelphia and Dallas and about 1/2 of LA, Chicago, Phoenix and Houston.

This quote from the 2nd article you cite is interesting;

"Crimes against visitors and tourist are very low, with an infrequent occurrence of bags being stolen." Doesn't sound like a real crime infested place to me. 

As I stated in my first post I have nothing bad to say about Aruba except for week 3. I have noticed that that folks who like it there tend to bash other Caribbean destinations, STT in particular. I just like to keep the record straight and add some perspective to misleading statements.


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## Conan (Jul 29, 2009)

jimf41 said:


> I have nothing bad to say about Aruba except for week 3.


 
I was going to ask what's the issue with week 3, but I did some Googling and found it out. It seems there's a large group of Jewish Orthodox or Chabad-Lubavitch types (large families and swarms of young kids) who stay at the Aruba Marriotts every year in week 3 and pretty much take it over.

Someone posted about it on TUG in indelicate terms ("the little hats they wear") which led to painful accusations of intolerance and prejudice. Maybe I should mention I have a cousin who converted from typical Jewish-American to Lubavitch. She had eight children, all boys as it turned out, shocking our family. On the other hand most of them are now doctors and she's a University professor so you could say they've had the last laugh.


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## jimf41 (Jul 29, 2009)

rklein001 said:


> I was going to ask what's the issue with week 3, but I did some Googling and found it out. It seems there's a large group of Jewish Orthodox or Chabad-Lubavitch types (large families and swarms of young kids) who stay at the Aruba Marriotts every year in week 3 and pretty much take it over.
> 
> Someone posted about it on TUG in indelicate terms ("the little hats they wear") which led to painful accusations of intolerance and prejudice. Maybe I should mention I have a cousin who converted from typical Jewish-American to Lubavitch. She had eight children, all boys as it turned out, shocking our family. On the other hand most of them are now doctors and she's a University professor so you could say they've had the last laugh.



Do some more research. The disaster of the annual week 3 visit has nothing at all to do with race, religion or politics. It has to do with an incredibly rude and destructive group that uses the Marriott facilities during that week.


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