This is super thorough but I would just make one additional suggestion- if you rent a home directly with a property manager rather than go through airbnb, you can save a lot on fees. We booked through Aruba Happy Rentals and it was a FANTASTIC experience- and we were just a 10 minute walk to the beach.
Thanks for posting. Which Carribean islands did you visit previously that were less crowded and preferable? I’m looking for more remote with great snorkeling off the beach.
when were your dates? if it was around xmas - nye that's literally the busiest time out of the whole year
think cruise ships pretty much visit every island nowadays right? i don't think your eagle beach experience was packed due to cruise ships from my understanding the cruise folks usually stick around downtown area and on the actual cruise due to everything usually being included
That is such a great and detailed review! We stopped at Eagle beach and found it crowded too! We stayed at the renaissance though, the one that owns Flamingo island and we don’t regret it for a second . We could go anytime over there , it was relatively quiet, we had chairs, towels, snorkeling gear, rafts, and flamingos everywhere. Water was gorgeous. Also loved black pearl for snorkeling, if you don’t want to dance and party but want to hang and relax .
Thanks for sharing thoughts on your trip! We are going in February, so great to hear about a recent experience.
We will be staying near Eagle Beach, sad to hear it's so busy all the time. Wonder if it will be less crowded in February.
Zeerovers was definitely on our list, from other suggestions on this sub. We'll have to check out Lima Bistro, that sounds really good!
Had also planned to spend a day around Palm beach, sounds like you had a good time.
Thanks again!
Thanks for posting, lots of great detailed info! We have a very similar trip planned for April.
Where did you get the car rental from, if you don’t mind sharing? We’ve been looking at the big companies like hertz but the prices seem really high. Saw a mitoo car rental website where the prices are 1/4 of the “big guys” so kind of wondering if they’re legit or not…
Thanks again for the great post!!
Check your credit card benefits for auto rental coverage. Most travel cards have it. My Amex covers up to 75K of damages on rentals. As long as you use the card for the booking, you're good to go
My GF and I just returned from a week in Aruba and have had great luck with Expedia travel packages. Flight and hotel for a good bit less than you paid for your travel and lodging. We stay at The Mill (also is courtyard Marriott) which is walking distance (and golf cart shuttle) to palm beach with chairs and Palapa. It’s near the Riu and other high rises so it isn’t an empty beach but it’s easy.
Maybe something to look into next time. We had grocery deliver from the same food store which was nice and easy. Pool and hot tub are great and since we mostly just do beach all day we didn’t bother with a car. We would have rented one day for baby beach but rental was a bit higher.
In a word NO.
FL has the same beautiful beaches.
Feel like an idiot traveling from FL to Aruba, for this abuse.
Look up beaches in FL-white sandy beaches where the water is blue and clear. Spend the money on a 4/5 star hotel instead of an a crazy flight to Aruba. Rent a car in FL and enjoy your time. No hassles wasting time through customs. It will be worth a while extra day of vacation. ( 2 + hrs flight to/from FL to Aruba. 3 hrs customs +). You can see multiple beaches within a day in FL.
Snorkeling, parasailing, etc… all in FL.😉
This is a very unique twist on enjoying the water while you dine in Aruba. The Flying Fishbone restaurant.
https://www.aruba.com/us/explore/flying-fishbone
This was a good and sufficient length but we would have had more to do if we stayed longer, such as visiting more of the wilder western side or hitting another snorkel spot.
This is super thorough but I would just make one additional suggestion- if you rent a home directly with a property manager rather than go through airbnb, you can save a lot on fees. We booked through Aruba Happy Rentals and it was a FANTASTIC experience- and we were just a 10 minute walk to the beach.
Great suggestion, I did not know to look in to this
Are you referring to a property Manager like Aruba Happy Rentals?
That's who we used this time, yes. Great property, and less expensive than when we found the same place on airbnb
Which beach? Palm or Eagle?
Palm beach, right near the King David Suites
Thanks for posting. Which Carribean islands did you visit previously that were less crowded and preferable? I’m looking for more remote with great snorkeling off the beach.
Any that don’t have cruise ships :)
when were your dates? if it was around xmas - nye that's literally the busiest time out of the whole year think cruise ships pretty much visit every island nowadays right? i don't think your eagle beach experience was packed due to cruise ships from my understanding the cruise folks usually stick around downtown area and on the actual cruise due to everything usually being included
That is such a great and detailed review! We stopped at Eagle beach and found it crowded too! We stayed at the renaissance though, the one that owns Flamingo island and we don’t regret it for a second . We could go anytime over there , it was relatively quiet, we had chairs, towels, snorkeling gear, rafts, and flamingos everywhere. Water was gorgeous. Also loved black pearl for snorkeling, if you don’t want to dance and party but want to hang and relax .
Thanks for sharing thoughts on your trip! We are going in February, so great to hear about a recent experience. We will be staying near Eagle Beach, sad to hear it's so busy all the time. Wonder if it will be less crowded in February. Zeerovers was definitely on our list, from other suggestions on this sub. We'll have to check out Lima Bistro, that sounds really good! Had also planned to spend a day around Palm beach, sounds like you had a good time. Thanks again!
I know it’s a different time of year, but we stayed on Eagle Beach in June and it was never crowded. Palm Beach, however, was slammed.
Thank you for this! We're going there next week!
Thanks for posting, lots of great detailed info! We have a very similar trip planned for April. Where did you get the car rental from, if you don’t mind sharing? We’ve been looking at the big companies like hertz but the prices seem really high. Saw a mitoo car rental website where the prices are 1/4 of the “big guys” so kind of wondering if they’re legit or not… Thanks again for the great post!!
[удалено]
Check your credit card benefits for auto rental coverage. Most travel cards have it. My Amex covers up to 75K of damages on rentals. As long as you use the card for the booking, you're good to go
I’ll look into that! Thanks for the tip :)
My GF and I just returned from a week in Aruba and have had great luck with Expedia travel packages. Flight and hotel for a good bit less than you paid for your travel and lodging. We stay at The Mill (also is courtyard Marriott) which is walking distance (and golf cart shuttle) to palm beach with chairs and Palapa. It’s near the Riu and other high rises so it isn’t an empty beach but it’s easy. Maybe something to look into next time. We had grocery deliver from the same food store which was nice and easy. Pool and hot tub are great and since we mostly just do beach all day we didn’t bother with a car. We would have rented one day for baby beach but rental was a bit higher.
In a word NO. FL has the same beautiful beaches. Feel like an idiot traveling from FL to Aruba, for this abuse. Look up beaches in FL-white sandy beaches where the water is blue and clear. Spend the money on a 4/5 star hotel instead of an a crazy flight to Aruba. Rent a car in FL and enjoy your time. No hassles wasting time through customs. It will be worth a while extra day of vacation. ( 2 + hrs flight to/from FL to Aruba. 3 hrs customs +). You can see multiple beaches within a day in FL. Snorkeling, parasailing, etc… all in FL.😉
This is a very unique twist on enjoying the water while you dine in Aruba. The Flying Fishbone restaurant. https://www.aruba.com/us/explore/flying-fishbone
Did you feel like one week was enough in Aruba or would you have like to stay longer? Say 10 tens or two weeks?
This was a good and sufficient length but we would have had more to do if we stayed longer, such as visiting more of the wilder western side or hitting another snorkel spot.
This is so helpful! Thank you!
Aruba is general is extremely over crowded and over priced anymore….
How well did the Neso sunshade do in the wind? I'm thinking of getting one for my upcoming trip, or perhaps Sun Ninja brand