Aruba after 5pm

I really hate to start a new thread on this but I'm having a hard time finding interesting information.

We are in port from 1-10 with a snorkeling excursion from 2-5 and dinner reservations at 9.

What is there to do in port or to travel a short distance to between the hours of 5 and 8:30/9. I realize there is shopping and gambling but I guess I'm looking for something a little more. If possible I want to get a taste of the Aruban culture.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I will def do some shopping but I'm not sure I really want to do that for 3 hours.

I was thinking maybe watching the sunset? Anyone have any quiet areas that would make for some nice pictures?

Again this won't take up the 3 hour block but I'm just looking for ideas.

Most of the stores in downtown Oranjestad will close at 6 pm. Other than casino and shopping, you could walk around streetside along Palm Beach there are shops and kiosks, as well as bars and restaurants. Another option is to walk the concrete boardwalk beachside along Palm Beach, select the beach bar of your choice to view the sunset.

Sunset from one of the upper decks of the ship works as well as any place else. The Prinsendam had left port before us

I really hate to start a new thread on this but I'm having a hard time finding interesting information.

 

We are in port from 1-10 with a snorkeling excursion from 2-5 and dinner reservations at 9.

 

What is there to do in port or to travel a short distance to between the hours of 5 and 8:30/9. I realize there is shopping and gambling but I guess I'm looking for something a little more. If possible I want to get a taste of the Aruban culture.

 

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I will def do some shopping but I'm not sure I really want to do that for 3 hours.

Are you sure your dinner reservations are at 9 pm??? Doesn't leave you much time to get back to the ship for a 10pm sail.

We were also curious about this.

deleted

sorry

Are you sure your dinner reservations are at 9 pm??? Doesn't leave you much time to get back to the ship for a 10pm sail.

Dinner at the steakhouse on the ship. Should have specified. Sorry.

We were also curious about this.

I'll be there in 4 days so I will let you know what we did.

I will also be there from 1 till 10. I would like to do a tour of the island and some shopping. Does any body know of a good tour company that has a good tour BUT will get us back in time for some shopping also. Please give me the tour company website if you can thanks.

So to sum it up- there is not much to do. We had booked a snorkeling tour though Carnival that was outsourced to Red Sail Sports. What a terrible tour company. The lacked any sort of organization. We departed 30 mins late and returned to port over an hour late. So an excursion that should have ended at 5pm, didn't end until a little after 6.

We were able to visit a few souvenir shops but most stores were closing up. The Renaissance mall was completely closed by 7 and the privately owed stores/ shops on the side of the road were closing up by 7:30. Aruba was closed for the day at this point and left much to be desired. Honestly, there was nothing of interest to do. We were back on board by 8 and changed our Steakhouse dining reservation from 9 to 8.

A tip would be, head to the mall first as they close earlier and then hit up the individual shops after.

As Arubalisa mentioned earlier in this post, the only area to really enjoy shopping after 6:00 is Palm Beach. Palm Beach is bustling at night and loads of fun. If you choose to do an excursion first, then head to Palm Beach after. Most of the sunset boat or snorkeling boat tours depart from Palm Beach, so it is probably possible to stay down in Palm Beach instead of returning to the port area, and catch a taxi or the bus back later on. For island tours, I recommend tours with Bully. His email is bullytaxi79@hotmail.com. His reply will come under the name, Amador Lacle, and might go to your spam folder. He can drop you off anywhere you'd like after the tour.

Hi Hattaras51! Not sure you remember me, I took a cruise to Aruba In May then we went back for a couple of weeks in July for a land based vacation and again in October, it is the best island.....no venders bothering you, no haggling, the people are the best and so friendly, we love Aruba and going back two times again next year. The Marriott Stellaris Tradewinds Club is AMAZING, in July although the temperature is hot with the tradewinds we never felt hot we were very comfortable. I want to thank you for all the advice you gave me, oh by the way, the restaurants are amazing too! We booked up next August just days after we just got back lol. The sunsets are the best I ever seen. I want to live there lol.

Hi Hattaras51! Not sure you remember me, I took a cruise to Aruba In May then we went back for a couple of weeks in July for a land based vacation and again in October, it is the best island.....no venders bothering you, no haggling, the people are the best and so friendly, we love Aruba and going back two times again next year. The Marriott Stellaris Tradewinds Club is AMAZING, in July although the temperature is hot with the tradewinds we never felt hot we were very comfortable. I want to thank you for all the advice you gave me, oh by the way, the restaurants are amazing too! We booked up next August just days after we just got back lol. The sunsets are the best I ever seen. I want to live there lol.

Hi lyndamr. I remember talking to you a lot before you went. You weren't sure that you wanted to go. I have thought about you and wondered how your trip went. I'm glad you liked Aruba. It's easy to fall in love with this special island.

Hello Hatteras, how I remember my father in law my other half and I did not want to go to Aruba on the land based vacation, thankfully my brother and sister in law didn't back down and was persistent....our most not wanted trip ended up being our best trip ever, we are so going back every year, twice some years too lol. We never thought we love a land based trip but Aruba is overall the best! I would live there too hint to my honey hahaha.