Aruba, anyone?

[Fairy]

Looks like we're taking a last minute trip there. I am not that enthused, I kinda wanna stick with what I know, which is Vegas. But DH really wants to go, so we're going. Right before Xmas. We'll be staying at one of the Marriott's, that's for sure. Should we stay in Oranjestad, or is it better to go to Palm Beach? It looks like there is just a shade more to do in the Oranjestad location than in the Palm Beach one; there is a mall and more kids activities there. I think. I know NOTHING about Aruba other than that it's part of The Netherlands. Is it small enough to drive from the one city to the other if we rented a car? Should we even rent a car? I dunno how secure I feel about doing that in a foreign country. We'll be there four days. Anyone have any advice?

[arivecchi]

My advice is pass. Out of all the Caribbean islands, Aruba is kinda boring IMHO. What about St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. John's, Puerto Rico?

[hillview]

We did Aruba with DS1 before DS2 was in concept mode. It is nice and all but I wouldn't go back. I'd stay in the main town area -- the rest is pretty empty. We stayed at the Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino which worked out well for us (walking to many restaurants).
/hillary

[TwinFoxes]

I got engaged in Aruba. The island is tiny, it's 27 miles long I think. We rented a little Suzuki (not so fondly known as Mr. Shaky) and had fun. We were there for 7 days, which is too long. We did every possible thing there was to do. We hiked, went horseback riding, laid out, drove the entire island, drove to this cute little church, got the jeep stuck in sand. We had a blast, but like I said, we got engaged there, so nothing could ruin that trip (including DH's food poisoning the night we got engaged...and no I didn't take it personally!) Palm Beach is pretty, and a little quieter. Oranjestad is the main area, and isn't especially pretty, and there aren't any really nice beaches. But everything is so close together, it's a 10 minute drive to Palm Beach I think (although I can't remember if there's access to the beach if you're not staying at a hotel). We stayed in Oranjestad, but our hotel had a private beach, I think we had to take a boat to it (it was 10 years ago.)

If I had a choice of Vegas or Aruba, I'd pick Vegas. Unless you're trying to escape winter, because Vegas get's chilly. You don't strike me as the lay around the beach type, so honestly, I think you might get bored. There are casinos there though.

One last thing, the flight is LONG. It's not really in the Caribbean, it's off the coast of South America, you can see Venezuela on a clear day.

ETA: Driving was very easy. The funny thing is, people toot their horns all the time, not in anger, but just as a greeting to cars they pass!

[Fairy]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it! I didn't have a chance to check back after reading arrivechi's & hillview's reply, so I missed yours before DH booked the flight, Twin. We're going ahead with Aruba, tho we haven't chosen a hotel yet (we're leaning toward the Marriott in Oranjestad). We tried for all the places suggested in this thread in the Carribean, but the flights were too expensive for three people on those dates. We are not used to paying for flights and use the huge amount of miles DH has amassed; but there were blockout dates, so this time we've got to pay, and it was a $3k difference, so Aruba it is. We were THISCLOSE to Vegas, but Aruba ended up working out, and DH really wants to go. So, that's the deal.

Thanks so much for the feedback. If you guys have good ideas about what to do wtih a 6yo in tow, lemme know. And I am NOT looking fwd to the flight to Aruba from NY. That'll be a whole dose of dramamine for sure.

[resipsaloquitur]

I took 5 year old DS to Aruba. We had a great time. We did a lot of the beach, plus walked up and down Palm Beach trying different hotel pools! We even spent two days in town looking and jewelry- he loved that because a lot of the shops have little treats (even some tiny inexpensive gems) that they give out to the kids. I felt like it was reasonably safe and that there were a lot of good food choices.

Hope you have great time.

[clc053103]

We honeymooned in Aruba and would go back in a heartbeat- loved that it was safe and easy to travel by taxi (the rates were fixed and posted at the hotels). People are SUPER friendly. Wonderful restaurants. We are laid back travelers and love to lounge, dine, drink cocktails and even gamble on occasion so we had a great time.

We stayed at Marriot Stellaris on Palm Beach. Loved it. I want to say the other Marriot you have to take a bus to the beach, so check that out and if that bothers you, then go with Stellaris.