Using the BUS

Well that was EASY.

My husband wasn't convinced this was a good idea...but I told him everyone did it and we had lot of time even if the bus didn't work out.......

Well we (family of 6) walked across the street, got on the bus....got off at Amsterdam Manor; rented some chairs, spread a blanket out by the trees (there was this chair hanging from the trees that was fun to sit in too).

We spent the afternoon playing in the surf (was a little surprised at the great waves) and taking tons of pictures by the blowhole. Got drinks at the bar on the beach.

About 4pm or so the kids wanted to go back for dinner but I wanted to go down and check out Palm beach.....so the 22 & 25 year olds caught the bus back to the ship with the little ones and we took the bus up to the end of the line (Marriott).....cut through the hotel and walked along the beach back toward where the hotels on Palm beach begin....of course we stopped along the way and got a drink while watching the sun set!! The beach is alot more crowded here and much more calm (at least this day)...but it was such fun walking along the hotels and checking everything out....we saw 3 weddings!!

Then we walked out to the road and caught the bus back to the ship for dinner.

After dinner we left the younger boys on the ship, caught the bus again and headed back to Palm Beach to check out the shops and night life. So much going on....(maybe cause of Christmas??)

After a couple hours we caught the bus back to the ship....easy as pie and very inexpensive!

It was a fun, cheap day.

Judy

Sounds like u had a lot of fun we will be there in February. :)

Thank you or the info!

Our family of 5 will be there in Feb and are looking for ideas for after dinner.

How much was the bus? Did you need exact change?

Thanks :-)

It was a couple of dollars....maybe $2......and we paid with US cash...the driver had change.

We bought a round trip ticket....but when we went to Eagle beach and then boarded again for Palm beach the driver said we'd have to pay to go back to the bus terminal....so it was more like we paid "per trip" get-on/get off pay again.

Since there was no discount really for round trip (that I remember)....when we went out again after dinner to walk around the "town area" at Palm Beach we only paid for one way.....just in case we decided to take a taxi back.

It's easy to find the bus stop....just walk out off the pier and it's straight across the street.

I've posted this before but last month on Aruba I took the city bus to Amersterdam Manor Resort, the city bus for $1.30 each way is the only way to go. All the bus does is make a 15-20 minute circle and comes right back. The bus driver was truly very pleasant he knew I didnt know where I was going, dropped me off and pointed me right where I needed to go and the rest as they say was history I had an unbelievable day on Aruba(with everybody else), and Im picky.

If you want to go to Palm Beach just stay on the bus thats where the bus turns around, driver stops right there, same fee. Either way once off the bus your on a beautiful beach with everything you need in under a minute.;) Hope that helps Todd

It was $2.30 per person for a round-trip ticket when we were there on January 9. However, I think that the real price is in the local currency (4 aruba florins) and the $ price is adjusted depending on the exchange rate. so easy and inexpensive -- no reason at all to take a cab if you can walk across the street from the port to the bus terminal and possibly stand on the bus if it happens to be crowded.

We took the bus for $1.30 per person each way up to the beach by the lighthouse. While at the beach I met a group from canada that paid $23 one way for a taxi! I told them how cheap and easy the bus is but they grabbed another taxi and paid $23 to get back to the dock.:rolleyes:

Our group of 11 just got back from Aruba last week and we used the public bus. It was super easy! The price was $2.30 round trip and helps to have exact change. I paid for 4 in our family which was $9.20 but just gave him a $10 bill and told him to keep the change. If you're paying for RT the driver will give you a yellow return ticket and you give that to the driver of the bus that takes you back to port.

About 3 weeks ago we used the transit bus to go out to Boca Catalina beach....for $2.30 pp round trip you can beat it. The main transit depot is just outside the cruise terminal, across the street and to the right, you can't miss it. Now like all transit systems, it is designed to move people from point A to point B, it is not a tour, the driver is not going to give you any kind of a commentary about what you are seeing....so if you are visiting the island for the first time then I would recommend a tour. Oh, the buses are air conditioned but not H/C equipped.

http://www.arubus.com/

Thanks for the link to Arubus! Very handy! :)

We are doing a catamaran excursion from Playa Linda and will be taking the bus back to the pier at around 4pm.

Question: About how long will it take?

This is sort of an old thread. The current fare is $2.30 each way--there is no round trip fare any more. The schedule posted online was not correct but there was someone there to ask about when the next bus could be expected. There is very frequent bus service to the big hotels but much less often to Malmok and Arashi.

We used the bus in Feb/13 while in Aruba to go to Eagle beach. We were let off at Amsterdam Manor. Perfect location. We rented chairs, and got a couple drinks right from their bar. We waked along the beach. Much more quiet and private than further up on Palm beach where the high rises are. Many people there, and very crowded. We caught the bus back to the ship after a few hours on the beach.

We were in port until 10:00, and we had made reservations for dinner at Passions on the beach. This is at the Amsterdam Manor. They set up tables right on the beach, and serve dinner. This was the highlight of our cruise. We took the bus back down, and had a fantastic time. We called a taxi about 9:00, just to be sure. There was 5 of us, and it ended up only being $2.00pp for the taxi.

We have used the bus the last 3 or 4 times in Aruba to go to the beach. We love going to the beaches on the islands, and the bus in Aruba is so easy to use, and safe.

Also, if anyone is interested in Passions on the beach, check it out here:

http://www.passions-restaurant-aruba.com/

Here are a few pictures of our dining on the beach experience.

Cruise Terminal to Bus Station

http://arubus.com/schedules/ L-10 schedule bottom of the page

This is the bus to Eagle Beach, Palm Beach, Malmok, Boca Catalina and Arashi Beach