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.
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.
