Eagle Beach on our own

[Luvmypups]

We just went on the Allure and had a stop in Aruba, one of the places we had never been.  Finding a lot of information on this stop was not as easy as some of the other Caribbean stops but from the information I did find, we decided to go to Eagle Beach for the day on our own.  

 

We got off the ship around 9am and went to the taxi stand and got a cab for 2 to Eagle Beach, cab fare was $15.  I told the cab driver we wanted to be dropped off at the beach by the Amsterdam Hotel (as this is where I understood, from the info I read, chairs/umbrellas could be rented.  When we got to the beach, it was pretty empty, the Amsterdam Hotel’s beach area, bar/restaurant is in this location.  We found the beach staff and told him we wanted to rent 2 chairs and an umbrella, it was $30.  We had our choice of location and got a beach front spot.  The beach was sandy, beautiful and the water was pretty calm. As time went by, the beach got busier and busier with vendors renting jet skis, parasailing, etc.  The beach chairs eventually filled up but we were never crowded together.  At one point, we counted almost 20 people out on jet skis.  You can buy drinks/food from the Amsterdam bar/restaurant but you either have to be a hotel guest or use a credit card, they do not take cash.  You can also walk down the beach and go to other places that will take cash.  When we were ready to leave, we went to the shower, rinsed the sand off our feet and walked back out close to the bus stop and flagged down a taxi in less than 5 minutes and told him we wanted to go back to the cruise port ($15 again) and we were back in about 7 minutes.  It was a great day, beautiful beach, and we would do it again in a heartbeat!

[thon]

Thanks for this.  We’ll hopefully be able to do the same in February.

[Nashna]

This sounds reasonable to do.  We have no interest in spending $130.00 pp for an all inclusive day pass with food and drink that we don't want.  Thank you so much for posting.

[Plmkrze]

Was Eagle beach good for snorkeling if we bring our own equipment

[Luvmypups]

2 hours ago, Plmkrze said:

Was Eagle beach good for snorkeling if we bring our own equipment

I did see a few people snorkeling but my guess is it’s probably too busy in this area.  I can’t speak from experience but you may be able to go further down the beach where it isn’t as busy. 

[marciemi]

Thank you!  We’re hoping to do this next month and appreciate the info. 

[Hatteras51]

On 9/11/2022 at 9:12 AM, Plmkrze said:

Was Eagle beach good for snorkeling if we bring our own equipment

Eagle Beach is not good for snorkeling. It would be best to take a taxi or bus to Arashi or Boca Catalina if you wish to snorkel. 

[brillohead]

I concur -- the only thing you'll see is sand and a few random boring fish (look like trout or something, not anything pretty).  

You need rocks or coral or SOME sort of environment for fish to live in for snorkeling.  Eagle Beach is just water and sand -- great for a beach day, but totally useless for snorkeling.

[Plmkrze]

Thank you for the beach and snorkel recommendation

 

[rbolanos]

I will be there in March with my daughter. How was the atmosphere? Safe to go on our own? How was the water and will we need water shoes for rocks etc… Thank you so much.

[Luvmypups]

2 hours ago, rbolanos said:

I will be there in March with my daughter. How was the atmosphere? Safe to go on our own? How was the water and will we need water shoes for rocks etc… Thank you so much.

My husband and I did this in our own, we felt safe and the atmosphere was good from our experience. Everyone was friendly. We did not need water shoes and the beach was great. 

[brillohead]

I've done it half a dozen times, totally safe environment, IMO.

Sandy beach and water, but the "shelf" just inside the water's edge can get pretty steep if the waves are up that day (which they often are), which can make getting in/out difficult for some people.  I've seen plenty of folks crawl out on hands and knees just because of the height of the shelf.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

On 2/12/2023 at 10:10 PM, brillohead said:

I've done it half a dozen times, totally safe environment, IMO.

Sandy beach and water, but the "shelf" just inside the water's edge can get pretty steep if the waves are up that day (which they often are), which can make getting in/out difficult for some people.  I've seen plenty of folks crawl out on hands and knees just because of the height of the shelf.

Thanks for telling me that.  DH would have an issue with that.  

[brillohead]

12 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Thanks for telling me that.  DH would have an issue with that.  

I have a bad knee and a worse knee, so it's usually a struggle for me.  The drop-off of the shelf is typically around a foot tall, which is hard enough to navigate up with bad knees, but even worse when the area you're stepping onto keeps sinking under your feet! 

With practice, I've gotten better at timing it with the waves, planting my front foot down as far as I can and "pre-sinking" it to have a stable base, then taking my next stride just as the next wave is approaching so it's "pushing" me forward along with it, and I just power through so I get past that section before the wave retreats and washes the foundation out from under me. 

It's also much easier if there's someone on the top side who can lend me a stabilizing hand as I climb up the shelf.

[wildcats40]

We were thinking about taking a taxi to the Amsterdam Hotel as well to go to the beach for a few hours in the morning.  So, are they fine with you using the bathrooms, etc. there if you aren't staying at their resort?  The other option was getting dropped off by the CoCo Loco Beach Bar.  Is one location better than the other?  Is it easy to get a taxi back to the port from both areas?

[NateUpNorth]

On 3/10/2023 at 2:29 PM, wildcats40 said:

We were thinking about taking a taxi to the Amsterdam Hotel as well to go to the beach for a few hours in the morning.  So, are they fine with you using the bathrooms, etc. there if you aren't staying at their resort?  The other option was getting dropped off by the CoCo Loco Beach Bar.  Is one location better than the other?  Is it easy to get a taxi back to the port from both areas?

I can't speak for CoCo Loco....... but Amsterdam Hotel is actually across the street from the beach.
Right on the beach they have their "beach bar" to rent chairs and grab food. They have a rustic, basic, seperate bathroom on site, totally for use by those there. The bus stop is also about 50 feet from the beach bar - taxi or bus will take you right back to the port.

[NateUpNorth]

3 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said:

I can't speak for CoCo Loco....... but Amsterdam Hotel is actually across the street from the beach.
Right on the beach they have their "beach bar" to rent chairs and grab food. They have a rustic, basic, seperate bathroom on site, totally for use by those there. The bus stop is also about 50 feet from the beach bar - taxi or bus will take you right back to the port.

 

Post #8 

  
 

[Sarahg0915]

Regarding Amsterdam, from an email this month: 

 

We offer beach chairs, bar and umbrellas located on the beach at the Passions beach bar.

 

Umbrellas are first come first serve basis due to the beach being public.

 

For renting beach chairs are $15 or $10 USD dollars per chair.

 

We also have restrooms on the beach located close to the bar.

 

Pool is not accessible for non-hotel guests.

 

 

[mdin]

Thanks for sharing. This is what my wife and I plan to do on our trip there next year. Beach day and with lunch and drinks at Passions on the Beach.

[Denversail]

On 9/10/2022 at 8:01 AM, Luvmypups said:

We just went on the Allure and had a stop in Aruba, one of the places we had never been.  Finding a lot of information on this stop was not as easy as some of the other Caribbean stops but from the information I did find, we decided to go to Eagle Beach for the day on our own.  

 

We got off the ship around 9am and went to the taxi stand and got a cab for 2 to Eagle Beach, cab fare was $15.  I told the cab driver we wanted to be dropped off at the beach by the Amsterdam Hotel (as this is where I understood, from the info I read, chairs/umbrellas could be rented.  When we got to the beach, it was pretty empty, the Amsterdam Hotel’s beach area, bar/restaurant is in this location.  We found the beach staff and told him we wanted to rent 2 chairs and an umbrella, it was $30.  We had our choice of location and got a beach front spot.  The beach was sandy, beautiful and the water was pretty calm. As time went by, the beach got busier and busier with vendors renting jet skis, parasailing, etc.  The beach chairs eventually filled up but we were never crowded together.  At one point, we counted almost 20 people out on jet skis.  You can buy drinks/food from the Amsterdam bar/restaurant but you either have to be a hotel guest or use a credit card, they do not take cash.  You can also walk down the beach and go to other places that will take cash.  When we were ready to leave, we went to the shower, rinsed the sand off our feet and walked back out close to the bus stop and flagged down a taxi in less than 5 minutes and told him we wanted to go back to the cruise port ($15 again) and we were back in about 7 minutes.  It was a great day, beautiful beach, and we would do it again in a heartbeat!

We did this but took the public bus. It was very easy. The bus stop is right by the cruise terminal.

[spankym13]

How was passions for good/drink. How hard was it yo gind staff for chairs once there. And how much of a pain to snag the taxi at port/Beach. Thx we leave next week!!!

[misterjohnny]

22 hours ago, spankym13 said:

How was passions for good/drink. How hard was it yo gind staff for chairs once there. And how much of a pain to snag the taxi at port/Beach. Thx we leave next week!!!

We were there last week. We walked up to the beach bar and asked a waitress who to see about some chairs. They sent someone to us, no problem.

Drinks were good. Mudslide and mai tai, plus a couple beers. Tough to keep the beers cold, so bring a koozie. Not cheap, of course. About the same as the ship after tax and tip.

 

We took the bus. Very easy and a very nice bus ("Arubus", lol). Pay $5 at the window in the outside bus arrival area to get your round trip ticket.