Tour companies vs. Venturing on your own?

[KellyGreen963]

We have a group of 7 people and Aruba will be our first port when we sail on R.C.'s Adventure of the Seas on Jan. 16th. We are interested in horseback riding and renting a Jeep to explore the island.

 

I think that we are going to use Rancho del Campo for a morning tour, grab some lunch, and then rent a Jeep to explore Aruba on our own - the Natural Bridge and Baby Beach.

 

Is it feasible to snorkle at Baby Beach on our own (we have our own equipment) - i.e., is the reef in swimmable distance, or would a tour company drop us off offshore?

 

Any particular Jeep rental places you recommend?

 

TIA!

[pholter]

If you're gonna have the expense of the jeep, then why not take in the island on your own the whole day?? You can see everything that way- promise! We went to Baby Beach so we could have a bit of secluded time and it worked out fine, but I wasn't overly impressed with it personally. You might have better luck snorkling at De Palm Island or other places you can find listed on this board. We used Royal Jeep Rental when we went and paid $65 for the day- return by 6pm. Exploring the deserted side of the island and checking out the Natural Bridge is pretty cool! Baby Beach is on the opposite side of the island from the Natural Bridge and it will take quite a while to do both; it took us quite a while at least.