Aruba!

[tomich]

Alright, going to Aruba for Christmas! Yes, I wish it were Bonaire, but there wasn't a family timeshare available there.

Any recommendations for diving, or anything else to do on the island?

[loudgonzo]

I was in Aruba a few months ago and dove with Clive of Dive Aruba. Runs a small operation, 6-7 divers max, excellent all around, you will have no regrets.

Dive Aruba - Scuba Classes, Dive Trips and Equipment Rentals

[tomich]

Originally Posted by loudgonzo

I was in Aruba a few months ago and dove with Clive of Dive Aruba. Runs a small operation, 6-7 divers max, excellent all around, you will have no regrets.

Dive Aruba - Scuba Classes, Dive Trips and Equipment Rentals

thanks very much!

[bsktcase93]

i was down there for my honeymoon last september and did 2 days of diving with unique sports of aruba....the dive masters on the boat were excellent...i had no complaints with them at all..

[Skred]

It has been a few years ago, but when we were last there we dove with S.E Aruba fly'n dive. Great bunch of folks and some pretty good diving. My favorite dive was the wreck of the Antilla. If you really want to go to Bonaire, you can probably arrange a charter flight with John. That what the 'fly' part of fly'n dive is all about.

Have a great trip and don't forget to tell us all about it when you return.

SEAruba Fly 'n Dive - diving in the Dutch Carribbean

[mike_s]

Originally Posted by tomich

Any recommendations for diving, or anything else to do on the island?

eat, eat, eat!

great places to eat on the island. lots of Argentina or Brazilian steakhouses.... very good.

rent a jeep one day and go bouncing along the dirt trails on the north coast. you can't get lost, just follow everyone else. if you fear getting lost, the island is only like 6 miles wide and maybe 16 miles long, so you can't get that lost.

Originally Posted by loudgonzo

dove with Clive of Dive Aruba.

Originally Posted by bsktcase93

diving with unique sports of aruba......

Originally Posted by Skred

we dove with S.E Aruba fly'n dive. Great bunch of folks and some pretty good diving. My favorite dive was the wreck of the Antilla.

All of the above I've heard nothing but good things about. 2nd the idea of diving the Antilla. In fact, it's so big, plan on diving it at least twice.

[snhrph]

You can do just about anything that you may want. I would recommend Red Sail at Hyatt - I had a great experience with them. Antilla should definitely be on your dive list.

Renting a jeep and hitting the back roads is a great idea. Or, if you are more adventurous, rent a dirt bike. If you do, make sure you always maintain eye contact with it

My personal favorite restaurant is Chez Matilde. You MUST make reservations. A meal there is an experience, and their wine list is very impressive.

On the other hand, there are more familiar MacDonald's and Burger King, although I heard that BK is no longer there.

One thing is for sure - Aruba is one of the more expensive islands, so make sure your credit card company is aware that you are going overseas, otherwise they will try contacting you at your phone in US, and may decline transactions.

Oh, yeah, then there is duty-free shopping... But that is an entirely different subject...

[mike_s]

Red Sail at the Hyatt is the "cattle boat" operation on Aruba. They cater to all the cruise lines.

I've heard mixed reviews on them. most of them decent, but about half that the boat was overcrowded with a bunch of people off the cruise boat and was just a problem because of those issues...


The duty free shopping is ok.. but not great. I mean it's mostly duty free on alcohol, jewelry, perfume, etc. Aruba shopping is like any other cruise boat port. same stores, often with the same names. All the other stuff can be bought in designer stores in the US or elsewhere.

The only "local shopping" is t-shirts and trinkets. Of course the t-shirts are made elsewhere and maybe screen printed the word Aruba on the tropical scene that may or may not be printed on the island. The trinkets often will have Aruba on the front, but "made in tawain" on the bottom. they are just trinkets.

If you really want to get some good local products, get the Aloe Vera creams and lotions. 90% (or something like that) of the worlds Aloe products come from Aruba. so good things to bring people as a gift from there in my opinion.

ditto on the above if you never travel out of the country, call your credit card company first and let them know. otherwise you might have issues. if you do, most credit card companies accept collect calls from out of the country if you have problems. (usually a regular area code number and not the 800 number that puts you into the "press 1 for" call tree).


as for Aruba being expensive, it's no worse than any other Caribbean island. actually I thought the meals we got for the price were great compared to other Caribbean islands.