Aruba snorkeling

[4AUSTRALIANS]

We arrive at 7am and leave again at 5pm.

I am seeing pictures of Eagle Beach and your recommendations

and that was looking very enticing.

Ok so diving the Antila is a must and our daughter will do that.

I have just had a company get back to me whom I contacted a while ago saying they are now offering a snorkel out to the wreck in the morning as well as the afternoon. It leaves from Moomba beach are you familiar with that, is it near Eagle Beach?

The price is excellent and it gets fabulous reviews on tripadvisor, what do you think we should do about that?

I am very interested for your thoughts for our day anyway as you are the Aruba queen and we know nothing.:)

 

 

 

 

Diving the Antilla is a much different experience than floating around on top. ;) THAT I highly recommend!

 

I have an idea of how to plan your day so that everyone will be satisfied, what hours you will be on the island?

[Arubalisa]

Moomba Beach http://moombabeach.com/component/ is on Palm Beach.

 

Since you have a full day, if you all decided to go out together on the water in the morning when you return to the beach you can just spend the rest of your day right there at Moomba. Chairs are free to use if you are purchasing beverages and/or food.

 

 

By taxi it will be 20 minutes tops to get there from the cruise terminal. Depends upon traffic getting out of the cruise terminal and downtown Oranjestad.

 

Taking the bus will be closer to an hour. Time is dependent upon how many stops the bus makes to take on and let off passengers.

 

Your other option would be to head to Moomba with your daughter and wait there and hang out on the beach while she is out on her dive. When she returns it would be easy to hop on the public bus and take the 20 minute or so ride (again could be less just depends upon the number of people getting on and off the bus) south to Eagle Beach and close out your day there.

[4AUSTRALIANS]

So I take it Eagle Beach is a nicer beach than Palm Beach.

Do we need to bargain with the taxi drivers or is there a metre or a fixed price? Any idea what we should be paying from ship to Palm Beach, or to Eagle or from Palm to Eagle for that matter?

Are those buses frequent or are we best off taking the taxi also from Palm to Eagle.

So many questions I know but I don't want to waste time once there trying to figure out what to do and how to go about it. As I can get reliable information off someone who has been there done that I want to make the most of it.

Thankyou

 

 

Moomba Beach http://moombabeach.com/component/ is on Palm Beach.

 

Since you have a full day, if you all decided to go out together on the water in the morning when you return to the beach you can just spend the rest of your day right there at Moomba. Chairs are free to use if you are purchasing beverages and/or food.

 

 

By taxi it will be 20 minutes tops to get there from the cruise terminal. Depends upon traffic getting out of the cruise terminal and downtown Oranjestad.

 

Taking the bus will be closer to an hour. Time is dependent upon how many stops the bus makes to take on and let off passengers.

 

Your other option would be to head to Moomba with your daughter and wait there and hang out on the beach while she is out on her dive. When she returns it would be easy to hop on the public bus and take the 20 minute or so ride (again could be less just depends upon the number of people getting on and off the bus) south to Eagle Beach and close out your day there.

[Arubalisa]

So I take it Eagle Beach is a nicer beach than Palm Beach.

They are both very nice beaches. Palm Beach's waters, with the exception of passing watersports boats, are almost always calm and lake like. Eagle Beach can have some waves. Palm Beach has many activities within walking distance as well as a wide assortment of eating and drinking choices. There are also a number of vendors who will rent chaises as well as umbrellas.

 

Eagle Beach is much quieter and there are only a handful of places where you can go to rent a chaise.

 

All beaches in Aruba are open to the public. Chaise lounges and shade palapas however are property of the respective hotels and for their guest use only.

 

Lots of info as well as some photos in this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44216038

 

Do we need to bargain with the taxi drivers or is there a metre or a fixed price? Any idea what we should be paying from ship to Palm Beach, or to Eagle or from Palm to Eagle for that matter?

Taxi fares are set by the government and a flat fee. More info at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2100339

Are those buses frequent or are we best off taking the taxi also from Palm to Eagle.

The downside of the bus is if it is crowded and has to stop at each and every stop it will take you that much longer to get to where you want to go. If you take a taxi you will get there quicker. See the L10 bus schedule at the bottom of http://arubus.com/schedules/

 

So many questions I know but I don't want to waste time once there trying to figure out what to do and how to go about it. As I can get reliable information off someone who has been there done that I want to make the most of it.

Thankyou

You are very welcome. :)

[4AUSTRALIANS]

Many thanks Arubalisa for your very detailed replies to my questions.

I feel I now have all I need and our day is planned.

Will let you know how we go on our return.

Thanks again. :)

They are both very nice beaches. Palm Beach's waters, with the exception of passing watersports boats, are almost always calm and lake like. Eagle Beach can have some waves. Palm Beach has many activities within walking distance as well as a wide assortment of eating and drinking choices. There are also a number of vendors who will rent chaises as well as umbrellas.

 

Eagle Beach is much quieter and there are only a handful of places where you can go to rent a chaise.

 

All beaches in Aruba are open to the public. Chaise lounges and shade palapas however are property of the respective hotels and for their guest use only.

 

Lots of info as well as some photos in this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44216038

 

Taxi fares are set by the government and a flat fee. More info at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2100339

 

The downside of the bus is if it is crowded and has to stop at each and every stop it will take you that much longer to get to where you want to go. If you take a taxi you will get there quicker. See the L10 bus schedule at the bottom of http://arubus.com/schedules/

 

You are very welcome. :)

[Arubalisa]

You are very welcome! :) Enjoy!

[kentuckychris]

we have our own snorkel things so what beach would you recommend going to so that we can see a lot of different fish?

[Arubalisa]

There is always De Palm Island or http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44213656

[kentuckychris]

Was looking for a beach that we could get to by bus. Any ideas? Have heard about Moomba Beach and Palm Beach. Amsterdam Manor too. So confusing. Somebody mentioned a blow hole and I have no idea where that is or what it is either. Any advise would be appreciated.

Edited October 16, 2014 by kentuckychris

[Arubalisa]

Was looking for a beach that we could get to by bus. Any ideas? Have heard about Moomba Beach and Palm Beach. Amsterdam Manor too. So confusing.

This post was originally about snorkeling.

 

Are you looking for a beach to snorkel from or are you looking for a beach for sunbathing and swimming?

 

What type of facilities to you require? Food, beverage, chaise lounges, shade, rest rooms?

 

Somebody mentioned a blow hole and I have no idea where that is or what it is either. Any advise would be appreciated.

Blow holes for the most part are found on the windward coastline.

 

There are a few blow holes on the leeward side of the island however you will only see them in action if there are waves on that side of the island which is rare.

[caribbean2000]

Arubalisa, thanks for your great advice. We have visited Aruba a few times and enjoy the snorkeling in the Malmok area. We've rented cars a couple times to get there but on our next visit in January are considering taking a taxi. We know there are no facilities there by the way. Do you think taking a taxi is practical and is it the norm on Aruba to arrange for the taxi to come back at a specific time to pick us up? Any idea what the cost would be? Thanks again!!!

Gene & Kathy from Cape Cod

[Arubalisa]

You are very welcome. :) IF you can get a taxi driver to agree to come back for you I would definitely do it.

 

You have the assurance, if need be, that the bus does pass by and you could hop on the bus at Boca Catalina or Arashi.

[caribbean2000]

Thanks very much!!