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Our experience in Aruba & using the public bus


jennmaybe
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We were in port last week in Aruba and we were going to Boca Catalina for some snorkeling. I did my research here on CC and we decided to take the bus (very economical) up to Boca Catalina & then back to the ship in the afternoon.

 

After our experience last week, we decided that next time we will definitely rent a car for our time in Aruba. We did not have a pleasurable experience using the bus and it ended up being a very stressful situation.

 

First, the bus drivers didn't even know where they go, as we were told to get on different buses. I already knew we needed bus 10, but we were told 10A, then told either 10A or 10B, then told again to get on 10A. Because of this, we ended up not getting on the bus while it was there and had to wait 45 minutes for the bus to come back.

 

We finally made it to the stop where we had to get off in the bus stop circle and had to walk down the street to actually reach Boca Catalina. The driver told us the times that the bus comes back around, so we could plan our afternoon. We arrived to the bus stop 10 minutes early......2:20pm arrived, which is the time the bus was supposed to arrive. No bus. We waited.....45 minutes later, still no bus. By now, we knew that we were cutting it close getting back to the ship. We didn't even see any taxis in that area, so we decided to start walking and hope we could flag down a taxi.

 

After we started walking through the bus stop circle area, a car pulled up near us & asked if we were still waiting for the bus. We replied with yes and the couple in the car advised they drove by us earlier and we were waiting & when they drove back by, they saw us walking. They asked if we were trying to get back to our hotel and we advised that we were on a cruise ship and needed to get back to town. They offered to take us into town and we said yes! I normally would have never accepted a ride from strangers, but my gut told me it was okay. Turned out they were 2 angels sent from above from someone watching over us. We never would have made it back to the ship in time by walking. They were an awesome couple from Boston and they were vacationing there at their timeshare. We talked and laughed the whole way back to the ship and we told them we would never forget their act of kindness!

 

Our lesson from this?? We will rent a car next time & never, ever, depend on the bus system in Aruba!!

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So sorry to hear this happened to you. Even though the buses are supposed to run on a regular schedule, I have also found that they don't always do. I was on a bus in Aruba a few years ago that broke down. The driver told everyone to stay on the bus and wait for it to be fixed or for a replacement bus to be sent. We had dinner reservations, so there was no way that we were going to just sit there. We got off of the bus and hailed a cab right in the middle of the street. I don't know if they got that bus running that night, but we noticed that we didn't see any buses along the bus route that night. We go to Boca Catalina or Arashi every year while we vacation in Aruba. I always use a taxi, and arrange for them to come back and pick us up at a certain time. In fact, I always use Bully's taxi service for this, and he has always had someone come back and pick us up right on time.

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So sorry to hear this happened to you. Even though the buses are supposed to run on a regular schedule, I have also found that they don't always do. I was on a bus in Aruba a few years ago that broke down. The driver told everyone to stay on the bus and wait for it to be fixed or for a replacement bus to be sent. We had dinner reservations, so there was no way that we were going to just sit there. We got off of the bus and hailed a cab right in the middle of the street. I don't know if they got that bus running that night, but we noticed that we didn't see any buses along the bus route that night. We go to Boca Catalina or Arashi every year while we vacation in Aruba. I always use a taxi, and arrange for them to come back and pick us up at a certain time. In fact, I always use Bully's taxi service for this, and he has always had someone come back and pick us up right on time.

 

 

Oh my! You guys definitely did the right thing by getting off. There is no telling how long you may have been stuck on that bus and for anyone like my hubby, you don't mess with this dinner reservation. :) When he has a time set to eat, that's what his belly is expecting. :D

 

That's great to know about Bully's taxi. I will make a note of that in my Aruba file. That will be an option for us next time in Aruba. Other than the bus issue, we absolutely loved Aruba and definitely want to go back!

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