Experiencing Beautiful Aruba

The Vibe

Aruba is probably one of the most relaxed places we've ever visited. When we approached the cluster of hotels on the main expressway that runs through Oranjestad, we encountered a good bit of pedestrian traffic crossing (and not crossing in a very orderly fashion to let the cars pass on the other side). My husband was visibly irritated, and as we passed by a shop owner she motioned to him to let him know not to honk despite how ridiculous of a pileup we were in. As we spent the next 4 days driving around the island on our trip, I don't recall ever hearing any other driver honk at any point in time. Even with the immense traffic at certain times of the day, road rage doesn't seem to exist in Aruba.

The demeanor of the local people (about 120,000 locals on the entire island, from what we heard from some new acquaintances) is basically the same. Laid back, relaxed, and never in a hurry which admittedly, was frustrating at times when you're used to the quick service and fast pace of the United States. Island time is definitely a real thing there. My husband and I speak Spanish, so it was a little easier to connect with a lot of the locals given that there are many Colombian descendants living in Aruba (my honey is from Cali, Colombia). We learned that many of the local people speak at least 4 languages, which blew my mind. They said that approximately 80% of the tourism comes from the US, so English is a major language that they communicate with. The majority also speak Spanish, French or Dutch, and their native language which is comprised of about 6 different languages combined! It was interesting to hear them speak to each other in this language because I could pick out certain words in English and Spanish that I know, but could not understand the sentences or phrases. It was really impressive to see people with such a capacity for language and communicating across so many groups of people.

There is strong Dutch influence in the architecture, language, and food as a former Dutch colony (The Dutch Pancake House is a must for breakfast!), but there are also strong Colombian and Venezuelan influences given the proximity to those countries and prosperous opportunities on the island. Interestingly, there is also a lot of Asian influence scattered throughout in the local businesses and food scene of Aruba.

Getting Around

Since the economy is heavily dependent on tourism, there are taxis readily available near the airport and hotel districts. The fare was about $21 USD from the airport to the closer hotels and $31 USD to the Hi Rise zone of hotels, which we thought was a bit steep. We opted to rent a car instead, which we always end up doing once we arrive instead of just booking it beforehand for whatever reason, which was still over $100 USD per day, so pretty expensive compared to most places in the United States for a standard vehicle. However, renting the car allowed us to get around without needing to wait for taxis and also gave us the ability to drive the entire island one day and see most of the tourist attractions that you would normally see on a guided tour. We did ask the tour desk at the hotel (we stayed at the Renaissance) how much it would be for a guided UTV/golf cart tour and they let us know it would be about $79/person to hit almost all of the same stops that we did on our own in the car. The tour included stops at the California Lighthouse, the Natural Bridge and Gold Mine ruins, the Natural Pool, and Baby Beach. We saw all of these attractions except the Natural Pool in one morning just driving around the island, and spent the next few days seeing as many of the seashores as we could.

What to Do

As I mentioned, the California Lighthouse, the Natural Bridge and Gold Mine ruins, and the Natural Pool are all usually on the lists of cool stuff to see in Aruba. My husband also wanted to do an off-roading trip in the sand dunes of the national park, but we didn't have quite enough time for that. At the rental center (we rented through Hertz), they gave us a map of the island with over 30 possible stops that you could make, but we really enjoyed getting off the main highway (Route 1) and seeing some of the more local areas to get an image of how the islanders live. One thing that stuck out to me is how well-kept the majority of the homes and properties are. I couldn't believe the quantity of Sherwin Williams and home improvements stores sprinkled throughout just given how small of an island it is. You can tell that the people take pride in their community and it shines through even off the beaten paths. That was something that was cool to experience which we couldn't have really seen without driving around on our own.

Best Beaches

On our last day in Aruba, we had a flight out at around 6pm, so we decided to check out Eagle Beach, which was recommended to us by some friends we made. It was definitely our favorite, although a storm swept through for about an hour while we were in the water. The sand was the softest here both on the shore and in the water, and we had the best views of the island at this beachfront in my opinion. The water was nice and warm despite the gray skies and this area of the shore was pretty wide when compared to some of the other beaches, so it really didn't feel crowded despite being a Saturday.

Our second favorite was a tie, my husband liked the Renaissance's private island a lot and I preferred the public Baby Beach as the second-place winner. The Renaissance's private island off the coast of Aruba was cool to experience since it has a lot of wildlife that roams the island comfortably. You can get to the Renaissance's island via a short boat trip if you're staying at the resort, or you can purchase a day pass at the hotel in the morning, which are first-come, first-serve for non-guests. The adults-only beach was a little rocky in certain spots and is enclosed by a barricade of larger rocks to separate the stronger currents of the open ocean into calmer, more swimmable waters. Though the waves were stronger at Eagle Beach, it didn't feel as manufactured as the Renaissance Island's beach and Baby Beach as well.

Baby Beach has similar rock barricades as well, but the crescent-like shape of the shoreline made the waters here very shallow throughout for a relaxing afternoon. We did notice that the water in both of these barricaded beaches was very cold at first, whereas Eagle Beach didn't give us the same shock when we first got in. Baby Beach also had patches of rocks and plants on the ocean floor, though the majority of the area has pleasant sand. As the tide began to change around the 5 o'clock hour, we were pretty far out, still within the buoys, but we could feel the sand start to move out from beneath our feet pretty quickly. At all of these beaches, it's imperative that you pay attention to the patterns of the water, as rip currents and shifting ocean floors are common here, especially in the early evening. We caught a fantastic golden hour sunset at Baby Beach (between 6 and 7pm), and finished off the day watching the local wild dogs lay down for a nap after a full day playing in the sun.

We also made it over to Mangal Halto Beach, but entered on the rockier side and decided to finish out that day back at Baby Beach instead. Because of this, we can't give a full opinion of this spot but rather will say that it's definitely better to check in with the locals to find the mild side to enter rather than follow the maps on your phone.

All of these beaches provide exactly what you would expect - different shades of turquoise waters, white sand, and plenty of room to camp out and crack a cold one.

Notable Stops

I mentioned The Dutch Pancake House as a great place for breakfast that reminded me of a traditional German crepe that my Grammy makes. We had breakfast there multiple times and even though they were always busy, you could tell that the owners really care about the food and the experience that their restaurant offers.

Another great restaurant that we tried was Cuba's Cookin', which had one of the best lemon drop martinis I've ever had. Every single waiter or bartender we met there was friendly and open to talking about the culture in Aruba and giving us travel tips. The food was good, and we caught some of the live music they play every night (Ramón has performed live every night for the last 19 years) and were able to dance a little bit of salsa and merengue here.

Coming In/Going Out

The customs process coming into Aruba was one of the easiest I've experienced. They have an immigration form (called an ED Card) that requires your flight information. This is checked at your departure gate (we flew out of Cartagena, Colombia) and when we got to the customs check-in in Aruba, they stamped our passports and we were on our way.

Leaving Aruba to get to the United States is a bit of a journey. You'll have your passports checked at the ticketing desk, then you'll get in line for customs to have your passport stamped. From there, you pass through the TSA baggage check and then you're out in the main area of the airport. The gates for U.S. flights are to your right, where you'll pass through a second round of baggage checks (so be sure to wear your socks). We made it through customs and TSA in about an hour or so, but some of the locals told us that Saturday departures leaving Aruba can sometimes take up to 3 hours in line. The day we left, there were 14 departure flights scheduled between 3 and 7pm, so there were definitely people everywhere.

Overall Impressions

This trip was almost a little too relaxed for our taste. We like to go out and salsa dance wherever we can when we travel, and we were a little disappointed that we couldn't really find too many places to do that. The majority of the travelers in Aruba are pretty old, so I suppose that's kind of to be expected. We would've loved to have more time to try more restaurants and stop at other bars, but we spent so much time at the beach that the days did tend to get away from us. We didn't eat anything that we didn't like, but I would stay away from the hotel food options and opt for an authentic experience eating in the local restaurants. One other thing to note - Aruba is expensive. The cost of food and alcohol there are anywhere from 1.25x to 1.5x more expensive than Columbus, OH, where we're from. You'll definitely benefit from going farther away from the hotel districts and going 10 minutes further to pack your own snacks and drinks for the beach. A fun trip in a very safe place, all-in-all, but we will probably opt to see some more lively destinations before making a trip back to Aruba.