Suggestions for Aruba?

This will be our first trip to Aruba and we are not quite sure what to do! We are both rather young, 22 and 29, so we don't have limits. We enjoy anything dealing with water. On our last cruise we did things such as cliff jumping, parasailing, beach break, and more. We like to try new things and keep it interesting! Really can't seem to find anything yet so we would like suggestions!

:) You'll love Aruba. It's fun to rent jeeps and drive freely around to different beaches!

Excellent place to take sailing catamaran snorkel trips. Don't miss seeing the sunken WWII German ship!

LuLu

We are just back from a week in Aruba and there are so many things to do there.

We did the Jolly Pirates snorkel tour one day. Large "pirate ship", fun crew, open bar (no beer though), good lunch and 3 snorkle spots. The highlight was after the snorkeling when everyone got to swing off the bow on a rope swing into the water.

Or check into one of the jeep tours. They look fun and adventuresome, but too bumpy for us 40-somethings. :) We met two couples at our hotel who did jeep/ATV tours and they had a great time but they said you will get dirty! You'd get to see a lot of the island that way though.

I just thought of another suggestion. There is a Segway tour that looks good. We didn't do it because we've done Segway tours a couple of other times. But if you haven't tried it before, it is a lot of fun. I believe the tour goes up to the lighthouse - gorgeous views from there.

We did the Jolly Pirates snorkel tour one day. Large "pirate ship", fun crew, open bar (no beer though), good lunch and 3 snorkle spots. The highlight was after the snorkeling when everyone got to swing off the bow on a rope swing into the water.

The above is a very FUN & Active excursion! No Beer ... but they do have Rum. :D

LuLu

but they do have Rum. :D

LuLu

Yes, they do. :)

Check out Arubabob snorkeling. Everyone who goes raves about it. Here is a link to his website.

http://arubabobsnorkeling.com/

Another great option

http://trikes-aruba.com/

Besides the beaches there are

Island Tours-

private taxi tour, bus tour, mini bus tour, "yellow school bus" fun tour, jeep tour, atv tour, motorcycle/trikes tour, hiking tour, mountain bike tour, horseback tour

Sightseeing

Aruba's Aloe Factory Tour

Alto Vista Chapel

De Palm Island

Fort Zoutman & King Willem III Tower

Arikok National Park

Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins

Baby natural bridge

Caves

Picturesque beaches, no swimming on the windward side

Natural Pool if time permits

Rock Formations

Bubali Bird Sanctuary

California Dunes & Lighthouse

Lourdes Grotto

St. Anna Church

Balashi Gold Smelter Ruins

Museums & Art Galleries-

Archaeological Museum of Aruba, Aruba Numismatic Museum, Aruban Model Trains Museum, Historical Museum of Aruba

Activities in Aruba-

Spas & Sports- Tennis, Golf

Watersports- Scuba Diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, kitesurfing, waterskiing, jetski, parasailing, sailing, motorized boat tours, banana boats, sunset cruise, stand up paddleboard,

Donkey Sanctuary- kids too

Butterfly Farm- kids too

Ostrich Farm- kids too

Casinos

Sky Diving

Rock Climbing & Caving

Nightlife

Romance

Shopping

If you would like a private tour see Questions on Bully Tours in Aruba??

Bullys Taxi Tour (What are the highlights?)

For a small group tour see

private tour with SOnny Binns????

Sonny Binns Tour Bus?

Where can we parasail in Aruba?

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We loved the Jolly Pirates excursion booked directly with them....not sure how it is if booked through the ship. Two years ago we went on an off-road ATV tour of the desert side of the island. That was amazing but I had trouble keeping my vehicle on the trail. You're younger than anyone in our group was so you shouldn't have a problem. When we stayed there last month we did the segway tour to the lighthouse which lasted 2 hours so you may be able to do something else like parasailing along with it.

Enjoy whatever you decide to do!

Where can we parasail in Aruba?

For an example of prices because everyone is competitive, half way down the page http://arubawatersportscenter.com/aruba-activities

Book an excursion. This was the first time we did not and found Aruba to be the worse port we've ever visited. I'll chalk it up to my fault and going on Aruba's reputation. But I found the port side of the island; town, hotel area to be lacking. Again, poor planning on my part but Aruba is not a "just show up and it will Wow you" kind of place.

Book an excursion. This was the first time we did not and found Aruba to be the worse port we've ever visited. I'll chalk it up to my fault and going on Aruba's reputation. But I found the port side of the island; town, hotel area to be lacking. Again, poor planning on my part but Aruba is not a "just show up and it will Wow you" kind of place.

I have found this to be true with any port where I've just stayed in town and didn't venture out. I think that you would have been wowed if you had gone to one of the gorgeous beaches or traveled over to the "wild side" of the island. Any time we have just stayed around the port on any island, we've ended up just walking around and getting bored.

I have found this to be true with any port where I've just stayed in town and didn't venture out. I think that you would have been wowed if you had gone to one of the gorgeous beaches or traveled over to the "wild side" of the island. Any time we have just stayed around the port on any island, we've ended up just walking around and getting bored.

I agree with Hatteras. Port areas are not good representations of the islands themselves. Whether you book an excursion or explore on your own (like renting a car for the day), do a little research first, then get away from the port and you'll find lots of wonderful things to do and see in Aruba.

Hi! We just returned from a cruise.Aruba was a place that we have not been to before. I found people here on CC recommending to do a tour with Natasja and her du****axi. Looking for du****axi on FB I was able to find and contact her.

She taylored a tour due to our wishes. We wanted to see the island and snorkel. We had 6 hours with her and will hopefully meet her again. We had a great time. She was knowladgeble, full of fun. Stopped when we wanted to take pictures, invited us to a fresh smoothie (yummie) and picked a great place to snorkel. Will stay in touch with her-she is such a great person!

Are you sure it was Aruba? I 've never heard of her before or seen her mentioned here in the Aruba forum? I am pretty sure you may be thinking of Curacao???? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1941276

Hi! We just returned from a cruise.Aruba was a place that we have not been to before. I found people here on CC recommending to do a tour with Natasja and her du****axi. Looking for du****axi on FB I was able to find and contact her.

She taylored a tour due to our wishes. We wanted to see the island and snorkel. We had 6 hours with her and will hopefully meet her again. We had a great time. She was knowladgeble, full of fun. Stopped when we wanted to take pictures, invited us to a fresh smoothie (yummie) and picked a great place to snorkel. Will stay in touch with her-she is such a great person!

It came to my mind tonight: SORRY- of course it was Curacao! How can I delete or move this? Anyway: It was Curacao!!! Should not post when I am tired ;-)

If you go to you can "report" it and ask it be moved or deleted. :)

We just returned and did a tour with Sonny Binns would recommend it...a great day in Aruba!

All - We went to Aruba a decade ago and rented a car and just toured ourselves. Now we have kids 10 and 12 with us. I would like to rent a jeep for the day as it seemed pretty easy to do, drive the island and maybe go to Eagle beach.

What is the best place to go to rent a jeep? Does anyone know the approximate cost and if we have to do it in advance? (I don't remember at all from last time and kept no notes!) Any recommendations on places to drive to or not miss specifically?

My family and I just came back from our cruise this past weekend. We did the trikes tour and I highly recommend this. A whole lot of fun in the sun. The tour guides were great.

We are not bikers, and still loved it.

We are just back from a week in Aruba and there are so many things to do there.

 

We did the Jolly Pirates snorkel tour one day. Large "pirate ship", fun crew, open bar (no beer though), good lunch and 3 snorkle spots. The highlight was after the snorkeling when everyone got to swing off the bow on a rope swing into the water.

 

Or check into one of the jeep tours. They look fun and adventuresome, but too bumpy for us 40-somethings. :) We met two couples at our hotel who did jeep/ATV tours and they had a great time but they said you will get dirty! You'd get to see a lot of the island that way though.

We want to do this excursion this coming october. Our ship arrives in port at 8am the excursion starts at 9am...can we make that?? How far is it to where we catch this excursion? Will a taxi hold 5 adults? What transportation did you use? I have looked at their website and see nothing about transportation :confused: would love to do this excursion, but leary we can make it. Are taxi's handy where we get off ship? Thanks for help!

We want to do this excursion this coming october. Our ship arrives in port at 8am the excursion starts at 9am...can we make that?? How far is it to where we catch this excursion? Will a taxi hold 5 adults? What transportation did you use? I have looked at their website and see nothing about transportation :confused: would love to do this excursion, but leary we can make it. Are taxi's handy where we get off ship? Thanks for help!

When we did the tour, we were staying in Aruba so we just walked to the Jolly Pirates pier. But I have read other people on these boards say there were able to make the 9 o'clock tour from their ship. You'll definitely want to take a taxi, not the bus since your time is tight. It's about a 5-mile trip.

Here is some information about taxis: http://www.visitaruba.com/getting-around/taxis-and-limos/

According to the link, 5 people is the maximum allowed in one taxi.

We want to do this excursion this coming october. Our ship arrives in port at 8am the excursion starts at 9am...can we make that?? How far is it to where we catch this excursion? Will a taxi hold 5 adults? What transportation did you use? I have looked at their website and see nothing about transportation :confused: would love to do this excursion, but leary we can make it. Are taxi's handy where we get off ship? Thanks for help!

We had a similar time issue, ship arriving at 1pm, afternoon excursion leaving at 2pm. We were in line to get off the ship early. We got a cab just to the left as you exit the terminal. If I had more time I would have exited the terminal first, as I heard it's cheaper cab fare that way. Aruba cabs hold a max of 5 passengers with a cost per trip, not per person. We had TONS of time to spare. Tell the driver you want to go to Moomba. It was about a 10-15 ride. LOADS of time to spare before the tour left. We'll be on the island for a week in November and plan on doing the tour again since the Antilla wreck visibility wasn't good the day we were there. Enjoy!

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