SIBride06
Member since 4/05 7318 total posts
Wedding Date:
8/26/2006 2:00 PM
Wed. Location:
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Aruba review-Very informative!!!
I was on Aruba.com & found this trip report that might be helpful to those going to Aruba...
Let me start by saying thank you so much to all of the people before me who have posted trip reports and comments on the bulletin boards. They were extremely helpful in my research and preparation for our honeymoon in Aruba. To put this report in perspective, here is some background information on my wife and myself. We are both successful professionals in our mid-twenties who live in Philadelphia, PA. In addition to continuous domestic travel for work, we have vacationed at a variety of destinations including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Vermont, New Hampshire, Florida (East coast, West coast and Keys) and the Bahamas.
We love warm weather, outdoor activities and appreciate a nice meal. For Aruba, I had done so much research that by the time we got there, I felt like I had been there 5 times before. This report is broken into six sections: 1. Weather & Landscape, 2. Restaurants, 3. Activities, 4. Getting To, From and Around Aruba.
1. Weather & Landscape
One of the biggest reasons I chose Aruba as our Honeymoon destination was because it is south of the Hurricane belt. Although September – November is considered Aruba’s rainy season, there was barely any rain. In the nine days we were in Aruba, we had one morning where it rained for an hour and was cloudy until 1:00pm and another morning where it rained from about 7:30-8:00am and then the sun came out. The rest of the time, the weather was partly cloudy, breezy and in the 80’s. You will see some posts complaining about the breeze. Our experience was quite the opposite. The sun is so strong and it is so hot out that you welcome the breeze, even when you are in the shade. By the resorts, Aruba is absolutely beautiful. Most of the hotels take pride in the landscape of their property. However, if you do not already know this, Aruba is a desert island. When you are not on or near the beach, it is arid and desert like. The island is quickly being developed, so you will see construction. There were some empty lots that looked just like any other empty lot, undeveloped and unattractive. As you head to the north shore, Aruba takes on a much more desert feel. You see cactus and many more of the famed divi divi trees. The landscape reminds me of the Nevada desert. The north shore is absolutely beautiful. A rocky shore and rough surf made for some beautiful pictures. I highly recommend you take a tour and see what Aruba has to offer.
The downtown is very quaint and incorporates a large amount of Dutch culture. The buildings are very bright and colorful. There are some areas where if you walk “off the beaten path” you may feel uncomfortable. Some of the buildings are in disrepair and no one else may be around. Although we walked those roads on numerous occasions, nothing happened. I think it had more to do with unfamiliar surroundings.
2. Restaurants
The restaurants on Aruba are outstanding, but can be pricey. Dinner typically ran $75 - $125 for 2, including appetizer, entrée and dessert, but not drinks. With drinks, expect to add an additional $30-$50. Being on our honeymoon, we had every intention of going first class, all the way. Each restaurant described below all had excellent service, beautiful atmosphere and was memorable in its own right. There is a 20% service charge on almost everything. In reading other trip reports and posts, I received conflicting information about whether or not to leave an additional tip. To error on the safe side, I usually left an additional 10%. Sunset Grille (at the Radisson) – It was so good that after completing dinner there our first night, we immediately ran to the hostess station and made a reservation for our last night. Request the honeymooner’s table. Blossoms (at the Wyndham) – Asian cuisine. Excellent sushi and Chinese food. Hibachi style dining available. Le Dome – Excellent French-American cuisine. We told them it was our honeymoon and they gave us complementary champagne. Papimento – Authentic Aruban cuisine. The restaurant is an old manor. You can sit outside on a beautiful patio around a pool or inside. I highly recommend you sit outside. Again, excellent food. El Gaucho – Argentinean Steakhouse. It was very tasty, but I felt it was slightly overrated. We will most likely try the French Steakhouse when we return. Flying Fishbone – If you have not heard of this place before, here is the detail…Your table will be on the beach! We were literally 5 feet from the surf. It had to be the most beautiful atmosphere I have seen. The service was outstanding. The biggest drawback is its distance from the hotels (@$25 each way by taxi) and the price of the menu. Still, I highly recommend for it is an experience you will never forget. Madame Jeanette’s – French cuisine. If there is one restaurant I didn’t like, it would be this one. The food was very good, but it was very busy, loud and hot. Although there is outdoor seating available, we were removed from that area. The tables seemed close together.
3. Activities Aruba Safari
The one activity we did and I highly recommend is the DePalm Tours Aruba Safari. They offer half and full-day tours. You are riding in well-traveled Land Rover Discoveries. If you know how to drive manual transmission, you can even drive. After the obligatory stop at some aloe factory, you head to a Donkey Farm, the Natural Pool and the Natural Bridge. The full-day tour takes you to DePalm Island, which we did not do. After you leave the Donkey Farm you also leave any semblance of roads. Without exaggeration, you drive on what can barely be described as a trail. You negotiate boulders as well as steep inclines and declines. Bring clothes you don’t care about and a bathing suit. You will get covered in dust. To get to the Natural Pool is surprisingly difficult. You have to leave the truck at the top of a hill, walk down a steep path and then negotiate some slippery and sharp rocks. However, the end result is well worth it. The natural pool is about 50 feet in diameter and contains beautiful marine life. It is calm amidst rough seas. The Natural Bridge is not as beautiful, but also a rememberable sight. While driving back from the Natural Pool, we saw a similar tour, but they were on All Terrain Vehicles. I think I may try those when we go back.
Shopping
When we first got downtown, it seemed like every other store was either designer (i.e., Fendi) or bargain basement. As we navigated, we found plenty of outlet stores you would find in a local mall. Although items are cheaper in Aruba, don’t go there looking for an amazing steal. If a Rolex watch in the US is $2500, you might find it in Aruba for $2100. Again, cheaper, but not peanuts. Even some of the clothing was only modestly cheaper. Gambling To my knowledge, every high-rise hotel has a casino. For those not familiar with Caribbean gambling, don’t go their expecting Atlantic City or Las Vegas. The casinos are typically small with 1-2 of each table game and some slots. Other We did not have a chance to go on any party boats or buses. However, every time we saw one coming or going, it looked like everyone was having a great time.
4. Getting To, From and Around Aruba
We booked our hotel through MCM Tours (1-800-64 ARUBA or www.aruba4u.com) and used frequent flier miles to purchase our flights. We worked primarily with Amy, but talked with other staff on occasion. MCM is extremely knowledgeable about Aruba, its many hotels and activities. They were very helpful when I was first researching hotels and also provided valuable information about Aruba. Their website is very informative as well. In addition, they offer very competitive prices. I found that they offered the best rates at the Radisson, when compared to other travel agencies, www.expedia.com and www.radisson.com. We flew US Airways to and from Aruba. Originally, for our outbound flight, we were booked on a flight connecting in Charlotte, NC. This flight was delayed, so they were very accommodating in booking us on a direct flight that departed Philadelphia a few hours later. Given the lead-time of approx. 3.5 hours, you would think that they would have time to move our luggage. Not so. Unfortunately, our luggage arrived in Aruba 24 hours after we did. This was extremely frustrating because we hadn’t planned ahead and taken a change of clothes and necessities (toiletries, contact solution, etc.) on the plane (lessons learned). Ultimately, we were compensated for our inconvenience, but it did not cover the total expenses laid out. Plus, it was very annoying to have to run around an hour before the stores closed our first night there to buy unnecessary clothing and supplies. Thankfully, the flight home was direct and error free. Waiting in the Aruba airport to come home was depressing though. There was not one happy face in the bunch :).
There are 3 primary ways to get around in Aruba: rental car, taxi or bus. We decided not to get a rental car because we knew that most days would be spent at the Radisson. We relied on taxis to get around save one time we took the bus. Buses come pretty regularly, stop at most/all hotels and are very reasonable to get downtown. Taxis are more expensive, typically an $8-10 ride to get downtown from the Radisson. However, all but one taxi was very friendly and provided great insight about Aruba and areas of interest.
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