Here is my Aruba review from my wedding review.
I was finally able to upload my pictures so here is my detailed HM review!
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There are also pictures
in my community album DH and I knew that we wanted to spend our HM relaxing. We ultimately decided on Aruba. We booked a deluxe room at the Wyndham Hotel with an ocean view. This was a great decision. Each morning we woke up, the first thing we did was go out onto the balcony and soak in the sun. When we arrived at the Wyndham, check in was easy. Our room wasn’t ready yet so we went downstairs and had some lunch at the
Terrace Restaurant . The food was good and filled us up. Finally our room was ready. We were greeted by various hotel staff and everyone knew we were on our HM. Once inside the room, DH and I couldn’t have been happier. It was a really big room with a nice seating area. We had a great view of the ocean, pool, and the whole island.
View from our room
After we dropped off our things, we went downstairs to the concierge to book dinner. I highly recommend using the concierge service in your hotel. They were wonderful booking activities for us and making sure that everyone knew we were on our HM. They also gave us our One Cool Honeymoon card to present to get discounts and free stuff. Before dinner, we went to one of the hotel bars for happy our. The bartender was nice enough to tell us what was free (wine) and provided us with free wine even after happy hour was over.
We decided to book dinner at
Pago Pago , located in the Wyndham. Dinner here was delicious! I had tuna steak and it was incredible. They also gave us complimentary champagne for being honeymooners.
After dinner, we went into the casino for a bit. Most of our days were spent by the pool and swimming in the ocean. We never did get a palapa, as we refused to get up early to wait in line. We sat by the pool and walked a few feet to the ocean when we wanted to go in for a swim. This was the best decision, as we were able to sleep late and still take in the sun! During the day, the staff at the Wyndham will walk around and clean off your sunglasses, provide you with fresh cold fruit and spritz you with water. It was great to be waited on like that! They will also bring you drinks or food.
Our second night we ate at
Blossoms , again in the Wyndham. It is a Chinese restaurant with a Japanese Hibachi. We ate in the Chinese restaurant and really liked the food. Our waiter knew we were on our HM and brought us free dessert. We didn’t eat 3 meals day because usually we woke up closer to lunch. When we did make breakfast we ate at both the
Terrace and Greenhouse restaurants. The first time we ate breakfast, we didn’t realize that the Greenhouse is a buffet and more expensive. If you’re looking for a buffet, then the Greenhouse is the right place. Otherwise, go outside and eat at the Terrace. It’s a la carte.
We finally decided to venture out of the Wyndham and went to dinner at
Flying Fishbone . This place is breath taking!! It's far from all the hotels but well worth the cab ride. The food is really good and the sunset is like nothing I've seen. We sat right at the edge of the ocean and had the best view in the house. This restaurant is definitely a must do!
View from our table
Gasparito , which serves Aruban cuisine, is such a great restaurant. It is also an art gallery that displays local artists’ work. The food here is spectacular! The maitre’d saw me taking a picture of DH so he came out and took a picture of the both of us. The staff brought a free bottle of wine to celebrate our HM. This is one of my favorite
restaurants.
DH's dinner- keshi yena- shredded chicken smothered with melted cheese- DELISH!
After the Kukoo Kunuku bus tour, we were hungry at decided to eat at
Café Baci . DH and I were disappointed with the food. While it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t incredible.
Texas De Brazil , a churrascaria, was yummy. There was so much food and not enough room in our bellies to eat it all! At one point, we told the waiter that we were finished and he wouldn’t let us leave! He told us to just relax and wait awhile, as we’ll be hungry again.
Me trying to jump off the balcony because they wouldn't let us leave!
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Towards the end of our HM, we ate at
El Goucho . I highly recommend this restaurant. The food was delicious and the portions large. The restaurant was packed on a Monday night and when we left, there were many people still waiting to be seated.
On our last day there, DH and I ate at
Papiamento . This is my other favorite restaurant. The restaurant is in an old 19th century manor that is full of charm. You eat outside poolside under huge trees. It is so beautiful. DH ordered lamb on the stone and he absolutely loved it. I had one of the specials and thought my food tasted amazing.
Our 3rd day there DH and I booked the
Sea Trek Adventure through De Palm Tours. De Palm has its own island, where all of the water activities take place. Sea Trek is awesome! You’re walking underwater on a walkway with all these incredible fish swimming by. It’s amazing. There was a photographer underwater taking pictures and video of everything going on. Once it’s over, you can purchase a CD with all of the pictures and video. We bought one but I can’t find it right now… oops!
After Sea Trek, we went snorkeling around the island. This was so incredible. There are so many fish and coral to see. We loved it. De Palm also gives you free breakfast, lunch and an open bar while on the island.
We also did a full day Jeep tour. We used
ABC Tours . ABC has the best price and sees the most sites out of all of the full day Jeep tours. We also used to book the tour that we got in Aruba Nights tour book, located at the hotels. ABC picked us up from our hotel in the morning and dropped us off in the afternoon. We stopped at California Lighthouse, Wish Garden, Chapel of Alto Vista, Shark's Mouth, Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins, Ostrich Farm, Natural Bridge, Arikok National Park, Indian Caves, San Nicolas and Swimming and snorkeling at the famous Natural Pool and Baby Beach. I am so glad we did the tour and got to see pretty much the whole island. The only down side is that DH and I didn’t get to go swimming in the natural pool. It was too rough that day and we couldn’t even go down the stairs to be close to it.
Fallen Natural Bridge
Us at Baby Beach
I knew that I wanted to do to the Kukoo Kunuku bus tour even before I got to Aruba. I read so many things about it and it seemed like so much fun. DH was a little skeptical but reluctantly agreed to it. I loved this tour! It was so much fun. There was a wide age range and everyone had a good time. The bus driver, Victor, and tour guide, Carlos, really know how to entertain! We went to 4 bars and had dinner at the house of the former Ambassador of Protocol. We purchased the thermos, which allowed us to get more drink for less money… always a good thing!
Former Ambassador's house
Carlos, our tour guide
I loved Aruba and would go back anyday. Our HM was relaxing and amazing. It was the perfect way to begin our lives together as husband and wife.
