Should we rent a jeep in Aruba???

[opus1261]

Voyager of the Seas 10/22/04 is our repositioning cruise out of N.J. to Labadee & Aruba!!! Thinking of renting a jeep in Aruba - Any tips would be welcome!!! Thank-You

[Diane&4girls]

My best excursion ever was booked with [url="http://www.abc-aruba.com/"]http://www.abc-aruba.com/[/url]

Diane
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[sandhillwings]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Should we rent a jeep in Aruba???<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
It would probably be easier than bringing one with you...

[BK300]

AKA "Shake and Bake". It is hot and bumpy but we really enjoyed it. Would do again. Enjoy [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

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[mmadhatter]

We are on the AOS in Janaury and plan on renting a jeep. The last trip a few years ago, we rented a jeep and had the time of our lives. You can ride on the sand dunes, visit bat caves and the island is so small, you can't get lost! Try to find the convoys and tag a long. They charge $65 per person, we payed $65 for the jeep and had 4 of us and then spent most of the day following thier tour! Have fun

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[DiverDavid]

We did this in January and had the best day. All the car rental agencies are right at the dock. You can reserve ahead if you want. Drive north along the west coast past all the resorts to the California lighthouse at the north tip. Then head south along the east coast. As the previous poster indicated, it will be a bumpy ride, but so much fun! You must stop and build your add your own stone tower to the hundreds already built. There is a gold smelter ruin to explore, a chapel, and the Natural Bridge. If you are brave enough, head for the Natural Pool. You have to put your jeep into 4-wheel drive and you never get out of 1st gear as you go up and over a mountain, but snorkeling at the pool is worth the effort! If you go, pick up some food or pack a picnic from the ship and bring lots of water. There are very few food stops along the east cost.

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[sbgrace]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>It would probably be easier than bringing one with you...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sandhillwings--thanks for the laugh! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Chris

Adventure of the Seas
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[lmmn]

Diane -

Which tour did you take with ABC? Xtreme or Jeep? Did you go 1/2 day or full day? Please tell us more. It looks like a lot of fun!

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[Diane&4girls]

We booked full day the Jeep Safari. It was $65/pp, but they gave me 10 off and didn't charge for my 12 year old. It included lunch and drinks, shopping stops and visits to every kodak moment on the island.

We also got free survivor t-shirts!


Diane
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Carnival Fantasy 7/28/2000
Carnival Triumph 9/22/2001
Carnival Imagination 4/21/2002
Carnival Triumph 5/29/2002
Carnival Legend 9/20/2002 (Inaugural)
Explorer of the Seas 10/19/2002
Navigator of the Seas 12/10/2002 (Inaugural)
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Navigator of the Seas 5/03/2003
Adventure of the Seas 7/27/2003
Serenade of the Seas 8/23/2003 (Inaugural)
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Mariner of the Seas 12/14/2003 (Golden Anchor Cruise!)
Navigator of the Seas 4/10/2004
Caribbean Princess 5/22/2004
Star Princess 11/21/2004

[Yellowjacket1]

Can highly recommend renting a jeep and heading for the lighthouse on the north end as david bowen suggests, and then follow the trail/sandy road along the east coast for a great day!!! We didn't buy a formal tour, just went on our own exploring and had a great time. When we finished along the east coastline, we headed for the big "mountain" that dominates the island. We had heard that you can climb it and on a clear day see Venezuela. We climbed it, much to our teenager's SURPRISE, my DW and I made it all the way to the top. However, it wasn't clear enough to see Venezuela and the only thing at the top is an old radio/TV tower. We headed back down and then over to Baby Beach for some GREAT snorkling.

Enjoy!!

Steve

Lord, I was born a ramblin man . . .

[abridalmaven]

We did the full day "shake and bake" with DePalm ( we booked it privately and it was the same as the ship used, only cheaper). It was awesome! We went places others could not find! In the afternoon we spent swimming and snorkeling and eating on Depalm Island.Food and booze was included.

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[bobbie0253]

We rented one and would do it again. We had a great time off-roading. Just remember to bring water [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Bobbie

Voyager of the Seas in....
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[JanNSteH]

To Davidfbowen-We want to rent a jeep 2 since there's 4 of us. Any suggestions on who to rent from. I would like to reserve ahead but who's located at the cruise dock? I think Avis but when I plug in the date I want the jeep, I can't get a price for the day because it closes at 1 pm and I would like the jeep till at least 5 or 6 pm.

[gambler]

We did Avis two years ago at the pier and had no problem with returning the jeep at 6, you actually just leave it and put the keys in a lock box. Try the 800 number for a reversation, this may work better.

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[Sonnefire]

Yes and no. Don't rent one to drive yourself. Its too easy to get totally lost as most of the island has little in the way of road signs. I agree with the other person that responded to your e-mail. ABC Tours was fantastic! They picked us up at our timeshare - there were 8 of us - and we spent all day with their driver, Reggie, taking us around. We had a blast! We stayed in Aruba for 10 days and the jeep trip was the best part of our trip. Be sure to get the jeep that has the vinyl cover on the roof because the sun gets to blazing in Aruba and can cause sun stroke if you're not used to it. Aruba is much closer to the equator and as such the sun is much stronger there that in San Francisco where I am from. I would also recommend the Banana Bus tour which was a fabulous night of dancing, drinking and lots of fun. Hope you have a great trip!

[Cruise King]

Yes,

My wife and I rented one at the end of the pier. They had plenty available. We just got one of their maps, filled up on gas(important) and took off. We went all around the island and did not get lost at all. It really was not that big. We visited baby beach, natural bridge, california lighthouse, etc. A couple of words of advice though: (1) Gas is expensive and we just used a half a tank, and (2) Check the 4x4 out real good as most have are well worn.

Happy Cruisin!



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until our 2/26/05 Jewel of the Seas 8 day member Cruise!

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[bweppner]

[B]opus1261,

RENT IT![/B]
We rented from american-car-rental.com and booked our jeep ahead of time. IF, you are adventurous, check out not only the natural bridge, but the natural pool as well. It's a protected coral pool on the north side of the island. Tropical fish enter it from an underwater tunnel. HOWEVER, to get there, you have to do some [I]serious[/I] 4x4'ing. The trail is marked, although sometimes poorly.

After that, we drove over to the Southeast corner of the island and visited Baby Beach and a less crowded beach (forgot the name) right next door. GREAT restaurant and enjoyed Red Snapper w/ fried plantains and Aruban cornbread. Followed that up by driving to the west to the Palm beach and hotel Hi-rise area. Great day but wear a hat and sunscreen! I got sunburned through my hair and the tops of my hands from driving in the open air jeep!

Also, if you do the Natural Pool, don't let the car rental agencies rent you a "4x4." They have Suzukis, Kias, etc. Make sure to get an American Jeep Wrangler. It is the ONLY vehicle for the challenging trails.

Enjoy!

__ /7__/[B]X[/B]/__/7____
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Radiance Southern Caribbean 11/30/02
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Galaxy S. Caribbean 3/5/04

[pltag]

We would love to rent, but we have a group of 6. Any chance we can all squeeze into a jeep? Are there any other other rental options, or should we just go with the tour?

[bobbie0253]

I would either go with two Jeeps, or do a tour. I can't imagine fitting 6 in a Jeep in Aruba. Aruba is a a desert. It is hot, dry, and sticky. But still my favorite island yet [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Bobbie

Voyager of the Seas in....
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Adventure of the Seas 2-03
Enchantment of the Seas 3-03
Majesty of the Seas 5-03
Adventure of the Seas 9-03
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Sovereign of the Seas 1-04
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My albums can be viewed with this link...
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[JanNSteH]

Thanks,gambler and bweppner, and everyone else who responded. I will definitely give Avis a call and also check out american car rental for the jeep. Also, thanks for the advice on getting a jeep with cover. Didn't even give it a thought about sunburns. That could really put a damper on the cruise if we all left Aruba with bad sunburns. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]