I am heading back to Aruba for a THIRD time. My first time was on a cruise so I only spent a day, but even in that short amount of time, I fell in love with the island’s beautiful beaches and laidback vibe (similar to other Caribbean islands). My second experience with the island was with my husband a few years ago for a couple’s getaway, and the most recent one was with the whole family. Both times we were looking for somewhere to go and it was the cheapest option, especially during Christmas break. Both experiences were very different (as expected with a couple’s trip vs. travel with a toddler and tween) but the island proved to be the perfect getaway each time. Side note: my adventurous spirit longed for more activities but here is a rundown of what we did do:
Sea bob: We booked this activity through Seabob Aruba and actually did it both times we went. Will and I first experienced a “sea bob” on our trip to the Maldives (see Dubai and Maldives post) and fell in love with it there. So what exactly IS a sea bob you wonder? Well, picture a smaller version of a jet ski that you can use underwater. It is pretty powerful and allows you to explore above and under the water in a non-traditional way. It was a new activity for my oldest son Avery to try and he LOVED doing it as much as we did. Note: there is an age requirement which I believe was at least 8 years old.
Trike tour: My husband Will and I did this tour on our couples trip and absolutely loved it. We booked it through Trikes Aruba. Again, you are probably wondering, “what the heck is a ‘trike’?” Well, a “trike” is a mix of a motorcycle front with the rear end of a sports car. It is a little pricey at almost $200 (includes both driver and passenger) but was a great way to explore Aruba in a 3-hour timeframe. We were able to see the California lighthouse as well as other attractions on the way.
Renaissance Island: Will and I stayed at the Renaissance Hotel which gave us free access to Renaissance Island where the flamingos and iguanas are located (if not, we would’ve had to pay at least $100 per person for a day pass). There is a family section and adult section of the island, and restaurant where you can get food and drinks. I would highly recommend a visit to this beach if you are staying at the hotel; otherwise, I don’t think it is worth the $125 price tag for a day pass. There are plenty of free beaches in Aruba!
There also were a couple of activities that were on my list but we didn’t get a chance to do:
- De Palm Island: this is an all-inclusive private island that you’ll need to take a private ferry to get to. The all-inclusive price is on the expensive side ($115 for adults and $95 for kids) but includes quite a bit: boat ride by ferry, access to lunch buffet, open bar, snack corner, snorkel equipment, kids aqua play water area, body drop slides, snorkel adventures, and unlimited banana boat rides. It also offers more unique water activities like SeaTrek (an underwater experience that allows you to walk the sea floor wearing specially designed diving helmets) and SNUBA (similar to scuba diving but without the heavy dive gear and no certification needed) but that comes with an additional fee.
- Day trip to Curacao or Bonaire: With these islands only a short flight from Aruba, I toyed with the idea of squeezing a day trip into the itinerary. However, ultimately decided against it both times for various reasons. There are several flights per day from Aruba, though note that if you have your eyes set on Bonaire, you’ll still need to land in Curacao first. Both islands I’ve heard are a diver’s paradise and less crowded than its bigger ABC island neighbor. Other than that, I wanted to see the pink lakes and salt flats in Bonaire and the Hato Caves in Curacao.
So what else did we do in Aruba? Well, let’s just say with two kids in tow, we visited ALOT of beaches! Here is a snapshot of some of them:
- Manchebo beach: We didn’t set out to visit this beach but did a quick visit as it was located right outside of Matthew’s Beachside Restaurant where we had breakfast one morning. It was pretty quiet and did not have too many people.
- Boca Catalina beach: Another beach that wasn’t on our radar so wouldn’t have ventured here on our own but we had to meet here for the sea bob activity…and it turned out to be perfect for my youngest son, CJ. The water was calm and it wasn’t crowded. The biggest and only downside is there are no places to get food or drink nearby so you have to make sure you bring it all with you.
- Eagle beach: This is a super popular and crowded beach. It is said to be the widest beach in Aruba. The sand was soft and the water was warm BUT between the crowds and having to venture pretty far for drinks (though that may have been because of where we sat), we didn’t stay here too long.
- Baby beach: I had heard good things about this beach so it was at the top of my list to visit. It is located pretty far away in Sint Nicolas in the south of the island and takes about 30-40 minutes to drive to from the city center. I guess word about this beach was out because it was definitely more crowded than I expected. We spent $60 for a little umbrella shade, two chairs, and a bathroom ticket (which we found ridiculous). On the upside, the water was super blue and really really shallow for a good distance out. It also had a restaurant right on the beach called Big Mama so we were able to get something to eat and drink without having to relocate. The food was edible (the sauteed conch was a bit tough) but the drinks were really good (I had a passion fruit mojito that was refreshing). Even though it started raining, we had a hard time getting the kids to leave at the end of the day!
- Palm Beach: This was another beach that was on the list. Like Baby Beach, the prices were like Europe! Tip: we entered where it said “De Palm Pier” and first went left when we reached the beach, but they were renting their umbrellas for $55 and chairs for $10 each! Thankfully, we then went right and got the last umbrella for $35 and two chairs for $10 each. We enjoyed the water but it was pretty breezy and cool that day so didn’t stay as long as anticipated. There was a restaurant close to where we were on the beach with decent food and reasonable prices.
Speaking of restaurants, we tried a number of different ones on the island (some better than others).
- Matthew’s Beachside Restaurant: We had breakfast here one morning and it was really good. They have a champagne breakfast (i.e., mimosas) for $22 and we were able to get 4 glasses out of it (compared to $9.50 for just 1 glass!). Avery and CJ had the fresh pineapple shake (which just looked like a smoothie) but both drank theirs up so must’ve been tasty!
- KFC: Yes, you’ve read that right! I usually LOVE KFC (outside of the US). It is usually sooo delicious (for some reason, the chicken always tastes different in the Caribbean) but the one in Aruba definitely fell short. Both the chicken and fries didn’t have any taste…and actually, neither did the mashed potatoes. Definitely a fail 😦
- The West Deck: On the other hand, The West Deck was a definite winner! So much so that we went there twice in 3 days! It is located on a beach giving beautiful views of the ocean. There was a steel pan playing when we went in the evening. The drinks were good (I had the raspberry mojito) and the food was out of this world. Since we couldn’t decide on what we wanted, we just ordered a bunch of appetizers, including calamari, ribs, “trocadero garlic shrimp”, beef tenderloin and plantain skewer, jerk wings (though they weren’t spicy), and fries. We all thoroughly enjoyed it…so much so that little CJ ate about 5 ribs with fries! I didn’t even order the tres leches cake that I had my eye on because I was so stuffed. Of course, we have no photos of the food which only means we ate everything quickly so you know the meal was slamming!
- Local Store Aruba: We had breakfast at this restaurant one morning. When we arrived, there were no customers (ok, one random person) so that should’ve been a sign…oh well. We stayed and ordered fresh local juices (the tamarind for me and the passion fruit for Avery) as well as breakfast dishes: plantain French toast, waffles, and a chicken and waffle sandwich with gravy. We also ordered a side of “home fries” and “crack bacon” (which was a little spicy). On top of taking over 30 minutes to receive the breakfast (which I never complain about since everything in the Caribbean tends to be a bit slower), when they brought it out it was wrong. The “home fries” resembled French fries, we didn’t get one of the orders of bacon, my French toast was dense, the chicken was dry and had no taste, etc. And, on top of all of that, they also got the check wrong. I originally had high hopes for this place but after my experience, would NOT recommend!
- Iguana Joe’s: The restaurant is in a great location, just a short walk from the Renaissance Hotel. The food and drinks were pretty tasty, and the restaurant offered a nice view of the strip below.
- Flying Fishbone: This is one of my favorite restaurants in Aruba! Will and I had eaten here on a previous trip to Aruba and it was amazing so definitely had to add it to the itinerary for this most recent trip as well. I originally requested a feet in the water table but they told me that it was unavailable until the end of January. However, to my surprise when they seated us, they took us right to a table in the water! Avery was very surprised. It was a cool experience…until it started to rain so we had to relocate to a different table. I had a lychee martini (well 2) which was so good. My first bowl of the creamy corn soup tasted a bit burnt so they exchanged it for me. I also had the lamb rack with sweet onion sauce over truffle mashed potato which was excellent and melted in my mouth. Will had the surf and turf and Avery had the skirt steak and French onion soup. There wasn’t a single crumb left behind because everything was so good. The food, the ambiance, the views! This is definitely my top restaurant recommendation!
- Bugaloe Beach Bar: Located on Palm Beach, we had lunch and cocktails here when we were at the beach. Offering pretty standard beach bar fare, we had the loaded nachos which were decent and the mixed grill with steak, chicken, and ribs which we enjoyed (despite there being only 2 ribs). The restaurant is pretty crowded but a fun atmosphere.
- Screaming Eagle: Located in Palm Beach, we had dinner here one evening. It is definitely more upscale (which I didn’t realize when I made the reservations) with the prices to match. I had an old-fashioned cocktail with all of the smoke fanfare (not realizing it cost $23!). I had the pork belly to start while Will and Avery both had the lobster bisque which was delicious. The “bread” they gave first was just a piece of toast. For our entrees, Will was going to order the ribeye but it was $235 so he settled for the short rib instead which he said needed more seasoning. Avery had the dumplings which he said was lackluster. I had the king clip fish which came with truffle risotto and spinach. It was SOOOO good. I just wish it was a bigger portion! Avery had the profiteroles for dessert which he demolished. Overall, the restaurant was decent, but food was a bit inconsistent so didn’t warrant the high price tags.
While I probably won’t be heading back to Aruba anytime soon, here are some tips/lessons learned from this last experience (that is applicable to travelling in general):
- We experienced a 5-hour delay at JFK. They gave our aircraft away to another flight so we had to wait for another one to arrive from another location (oh the joys of travelling around Christmas!). What was it like to be stuck in an airport for 5 unexpected hours with an almost two year old AND then have to get on a plane for another almost 5 hours with said almost 2 year old? A nightmare! And, of course, when we finally arrived in Aruba, it was about 10pm (way past our original 5pm arrival time) and the rental car places were closed. The taxi from airport was $21 (it was a set price to Oranjestad even though we were only a few minutes from the airport). We called the rental car place the next day, but despite our reservation, they had given our car away…le sigh. On the bright side, we were able to randomly find a rental car when we went to Matthew’s for breakfast which was perfect because you definitely need a car in Aruba! Taxi prices add up very quickly, especially if you want to venture out to different beaches and restaurants. In the future, I would call ahead to the rental car agency, letting them know about any delays to see if they are able to hold the reservation.
- Arrive at the airport 2-3 hours ahead of time. This one seems like a “duh” tip but came in handy, especially in Aruba. We didn’t realize that immigration and customs were done in Aruba (not in the US) so the lines were pretty long since you had additional checks to go through (in addition to security). The bright side? When you arrive in the US, you can go straight to baggage claim (or if you only have carry-ons like us, you can go straight home!).
- For family vacations like this one, I would book a hotel instead of an Airbnb. It is a lot more convenient, comfortable, and doesn’t feel as secluded. Also, in case of any flight delays, you could still get something to eat at a hotel! This time because it was the Christmas period and we booked so late, there were no decent hotels available (which is why we opted for the Airbnb).
All in all, despite the hiccups, it was a fantastic trip and enjoyed by all family members (from the biggest Welch to the littlest Welch!).
Toya's Travels 