anyone ever been to Aruba?

Watch out for the Vandersloots

Traveled there about 8 years ago. There are the typical hotel row type setups with restaurants and bars. Excursions can be island exploring, snorkeling, shipwreck diving, etc. There is a casino in town, as well. It's a very small island and can be traversed by rental car in a day. They speak english and papiamento, a native language which is a combination of three languages. There was a steakhouse we visited that had some delicious free range beef and awesome wines, but the name escapes me. I'll have to do some research to find the name. All in all, a good trip. Also, it's windy as hell all the time!

I prefer more lush Caribbean destinations, but it was fine.

I went and wouldn't go back. Nothing is "wrong" with it, but SW flies to better places. Puerto Rico, Cancun, Cabo, and Belize are a few that I would prefer.

quote:

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Aruba?

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Jamaica
OOOO I wanna take ya

Are you considering because it is a cheaper Caribbean option? It is definitely a step up from the DR or Jamaica but there are better options for similar price point.

Does SW fly to Grand Cayman? Would go there a hundred times again before Aruba. What about Barbados?

The lesser Antilles are the best islands (St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Martinique, Dominica, Grenada, etc) but to get a decent flight to those islands you need to book far in advance unless you have a private plane. You usually have to connect on St Maarten and get on a prop plane to go there due to the small runways. Even six months out you are looking as a 20-23 hour transit time from Atlanta to St. Vincent.

A direct flight from Atlanta to Grand Cayman is around 3 hours. Almost six to Barbados.

It was a nice trip a few years ago. Though it is a desert island. Everything is a short drive away from wherever you're staying. Going up to see the lighthouse was neat. And wandering around the beach on the Atlantic side was fun. Though for the love of God, do not trust the rental car people. If you ask for a 4-wheel drive, make sure the jeep actually is 4-wheel drive before you take it out on in the dunes.

One neat place off the beaten path we went to was Kamini's Kitchen. We were pointed there by some old guys from Baton Rouge. Apparently Aruba is a big semi-retirement destination for former Exxon employees. There is a big Valero refinery in Aruba where they work.

I went a while back and it happened to be about two weeks after Natalie Holloway went missing...Needless to say the locals were not very friendly and everyone was on edge. Went to St. Maarten a year or two before that and loved it

Also, that's a long arse flight. Too many equal or better options that are much closer.

Oh, and eff that wind, too.

The Marriott in Aruba is nice but up-grade to stay at the Tradewind hotel within the Marriott. Dining at the resort. Aruba is known for it diving, so do that.

There are other excursions but I wouldn't feel very safe outside of what the resorts offers.