Aruba is a Caribbean paradise. It is part of the Dutch ABC islands. (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao)

My boyfriend and I decided to go after our trip to Curacao last year. We learned that Aruba is much smaller and more Americanized. It is also more of a tourist attraction. But both places are beautiful and unique in their own ways. The best part, is that these islands are outside of the hurricane belt. So you can enjoy perfect weather year-round without worries.

Getting There and Around.

 We booked through JetBlue Vacations My boyfriend is a Mosaic member, (Benefits Here) and sis! Let me tell you! Get you a man with Mosaic status or equivalent, because our airport experience was a breeze! And your girl now only wants to fly on the first 3 rows of the airplane after this trip! Lol. But all jokes aside, we got a great deal with JetBlue and were able to catch a direct flight from JFK to Aruba. They also threw in free airport transfers in the island, which was very helpful and saved us some money and planning.

Since our main goal on this trip was to relax, we didn’t do much exploring and didn’t rent a car. But we most likely will next time that we visit.  We took taxis and the fares ranged between $8 and $15 USD. But we also stayed in Palm beach, which is close to many things. See next section.

Where to Stay:

I am not one to bash businesses, even if I have a bad experience. I just write them an honest review and keep it moving.  We were not too happy with the place where we stayed. It was outdated and we had other issues, so I’d rather not give them any free promotion by mentioning their name. But I will share other tips about staying in Aruba.

Aruba is surrounded by beautiful beaches. If you are looking to stay at a beachfront hotel, there are 2 popular tourist areas. Aruba overall, is a very safe place. But when I traveling, I personally feel the safest in the tourist neighborhoods. The 2 locations are nicknamed High-Rise and Low-Rise hotels. The High-Rises tower hotels are mostly in Palm Beach. They are all lined up next to each other. The area is very active and behind the hotels you will find a long strip with lots of restaurants, shops and night life. There are many water sports activities to choose from in the beach area.  The Low-Rises are more spread out hotels and more low-key. The area is much more quiet, and you will get more privacy. Most of these hotels are located in Eagle Beach. There is also the capital, Orajestad, where you will find hotels with a mix of both.

There are hundreds of places to choose from. It all comes down to your budget, and the type of vacation that you’re looking to have. There are All-Inclusive options as well, which I wouldn’t recommend. Aruba has endless options of amazing restaurants. The gastronomy experience alone is a reason to visit. Next time that we go back, we would most likely stay in one of the following 3 places in the areas that I mentioned above.

Palm Beach (High-Rises) – Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino

Eagle Beach (Low – Rises) – Airbnb – (Click Here) for a discount on your next Airbnb stay.

Orajestad (Capital) – Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino

What to Do:

There is so much to do in Aruba, but as mentioned above we chose to mostly relax. Besides eating our lives away, drinking multiple mojitos a day, and napping by the beach, we did partake in some #Litivities.

Flamingo Beach – My favorite and most exciting activity on this trip! I received a lot of questions about visiting this place, but it is not as easy at it seems in pictures. First and foremost, it is a private beach owned by Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino. The only way to get there is by a boat from their lobby in the main land. There are 3 ways to visit the beach.

• Be a guests at their hotel. It can be a bit pricey, but I think its worth it. You can choose to have partial stay there if you have another place in mind, and enjoy the private beach for a day or 2.
• Get a day pass. This is not a guaranteed option and it can get expensive. The day pass costs $125 per person. It includes the boat ride, lunch and a frozen drink. The only thing is that you can only buy it the day before (Here).  It becomes available at 7am and its first come, first serve. They can sellout fast depending on the season. In the summer, within minutes. If the hotel is fully booked, they may not even become available at all.
• Book a massage. This is what we ended up doing. You can book a massage at their spa, which has a hut on the island. But it’s not a full spa with amenities. You literally go at the time of your massage and hang out in their private cabana. This gives you access to the island all day. You also have the option to add lunch and a drink to your spa package. Their massages can add up, because they charge you extra fees if you’re not staying with them and for extra services. They will email you a breakdown when you make the appointment to see if it’s within your budget. Overall, It was beautiful and relaxing experience.

California Lighthouse – This lighthouse stands tall at Aruba’s most northern point and offers 360 panoramic views of the island. It is considered a landmark and national treasure. For a small fee, you can climb to the top, but keep in mind that it gets really windy. We didn’t get to go up because it had rained the day that we visited and it was slippery. But the view alone from where we stood was worth the trip. They have a few food vendors around, and an Italian restaurant next to it with a spectacular sight of the sea where you can also catch the sunset.

Palm Beach Strip – Walking around this strip is an experience on it’s own. It is live with restaurants, shops, bars, nightlife, you name it. We celebrated my boyfriends birthday at a bar there, did souvenir shopping, visited an exclusive liquor showroom and took some limited edition bottles home, just to name a few.

Where to Eat & Drink

 Breakfast/Lunch:

• Dushi Bagels & Burgers
• Chicken and Lobster
• Pelican Pier

Dinner:

• Cuba’s Cookin’ – Favorite food place overall.
• Passions on the Beach – Romantic Sunset dinner by the beach.
• The Lazy Turtle Aruba – Awesome food! But let your server know if you have any allergies before ordering.

Drinks:

• The Lazy Turtle – We literally tried mojitos everywhere that we went. But hands down the best were made by Nelly at The Lazy Turtle Cocktail Bar. We went back a few times.

FYI Tips

• They take US dollars everywhere so no need to exchange money. You can also use your cards.
• Fill out and print the ED-Card (Embarkation-Disembarkation Card) before going. It will save you some time going through immigration when you arrive there; and you won’t have to go nuts looking for a pen in the airplane. (Find Form Here)

There is much more that we would love to experience in Aruba, so we will certainly be back. If I missed anything, please ask below. If you have any suggestions, feel free to share as well. Hope that this guide was helpful.

Mari

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