Full Aruba Travel Guide: 2019
Aruba is a very popular destination, and for good reason. This little island is one of the happiest places I have ever visited. Not to mention the fantastic food, activities, places to stay, and most of all, beaches.
Aruba is a fantastic place to visit for people of all ages. From honeymoons to a family trip, there is something different, yet perfect, for every occasion.
We had a great time in Aruba and would recommend it to anyone.
Weather
Aruba is known to be quite windy, but hurricanes usually miss this little island. Aruba's rainy season is considered late October to January but just expect showers in small, short bursts.
It's always warm in Aruba. In the summer months expect 80-90 degree weather, in the off season expect somewhere in the 70-80s. At night I would get a little chilly because of the wind, so you may want to pack a light jacket.
Flights
Aruba is easily accessible from anywhere in the world by plane. Our flight was about 3-1/2 hours and we had direct flights. We flew with American Airlines and both flights were smooth and enjoyable.
Transportation
The bus system in Aruba (Arubus) is all you need in terms of transportation on the island. The buses are very tourist friendly and can take you to the main places on the island. Aruba also has a very good taxi service. We took a taxi to get to Baby Beach and to go to a different hotel to eat. We had such amazing taxi drivers that were very talkative and told us many interesting things about the island. The only downside to taking a taxi is the price. To get to Baby Beach from our hotel and back it cost us around $100. Although our hotel was about 25 minutes to Baby Beach, it was still very expensive.
You can also rent a car in Aruba. We rented a Jeep for one day and I loved it, but you need to be aware of what you’re getting yourself into. To get to some of Aruba’s attractions you have to use a 4x4. There are plenty of tours you can pay for that take you to all the main attractions but renting a Jeep allowed us to explore the beautiful, unpopular places that these tours don’t visit. Although renting a Jeep was a lot of fun, it was a little tricky. Aruba does not have many street signs. They have a good amount throughout the cities, but once you get into the towns the signs are close to none. We also did not have service on our phones to use GPS. I know other people we talked to had GPS, but our phones would not work. Also, be prepared for a bumpy ride! To get to some of the attractions you will be riding in very, very rough terrain.
Where to stay
We stayed at the Divi Aruba All Inclusive. This is an all-inclusive resort that provides dining from 10 different options (spread out between two resorts beside each other), as many drinks as you like from eight different bars, four fresh water pools, and so much more. And the best part ─ the resort is right on the beach! The staff was very attentive and kind. The only downside was at the Divi Aruba All Inclusive they would shut down all the pools from 7 pm to 7 am for cleaning. But other than that I loved it! The food was so amazing and the beach was nice and clean.
There are many different places to stay in Aruba, however. We went to visit the Playa Linda. This resort was beautiful from the outside with beach access only a short walk away.
One of the most popular places to visit is the Renaissance Aruba. This hotel is located in the center of Oranjestad and has great pools, but to get to their semi-private beach you have to take a short boat ride that runs every 15 minutes.
Aruba also has many nice Airbnbs to stay at.
What to do
Like I said before, you will never be bored in Aruba. There is so much to do that we did not get to do everything that was offered to us, but the activities we did get to do were nothing less than extraordinary…
Snorkeling: Snorkeling, scuba diving, and Snuba are all available to you. We booked a ride on a catamaran and got to snorkel at a shipwreck. We also bought our snorkel gear so we could snorkel anywhere we wanted. Manglo Halto is known to be the best place for snorkeling in Aruba.
Wind Surfing: Although we did not get the chance to do this, windsurfing is a very popular sport in Aruba because they have such high winds. We saw people windsurfing every day and it was such an amazing to watch. There are a lot of different places throughout the island that offers lessons.
Natural Pool: This was something you had to book a tour or rent a 4x4 to do. The natural pool is a super popular place to visit and is so worth it! You can snorkel here as well.
The ruins: The ruins are another popular tourist spot and a very cool spot to see. You can get to the ruins with any type of vehicle and most of the tours will take you here as well.
Baby Beach/ Rodgers Beach: Aruba has a lot of beautiful beaches to visit but these two beaches are the two nicest beaches on the island. The waters are so calm and warm. Baby Beach is popular for snorkeling as well.
Visiting the flamingos: Something Aruba is well known for is Flamingo Island. The flamingos are located on the private island owned by the Renaissance Aruba Resort. If you are a guest at the resort you get into the island for free but, if you just want to visit the flamingos, you can purchase a day pass for $125. The downside is the resort only gives out a certain about of passes a day. We, unfortunately, did not go to the island but it is definitely a beautiful place to visit!
There are a ton of other attractions such as the California Light House, The Chapel, The Natural Bridge and more, but I highly recommend renting a Jeep to explore the spots in Aruba that aren’t as well known.
Food
My alter ego is a foodie. I am always up for trying new food at new places and I have to say Aruba did not disappoint. Since our resort provided all of our meals, we ate most meals there to save money, but they were also amazing! The food at our resort was so great we didn’t want to go and try other restaurants. They had such variety of food to try and they changed it up each day. The only other places we went to eat were Big Mama Grill on Baby Beach and Eduardo's Beach Shack.
Big Mama Grill: This was an open restaurant right on Baby Beach. They had a huge bar serving all types of drinks and they also had good food. They served traditional American food such as burgers, chicken tenders, etc, but they also had a variety of ethnic food like goat and different types of seafood.
Eduardo's Beach Shack: This place was DELICIOUS! Not only do they have smoothie bowls, they serve poke, pad Thai, smoothies, juices, protein balls, fruit, and more. Everything they serve is healthy and most things are vegan-friendly. I adored visiting this little beach gem. My smoothie bowl was amazing, and we got some protein balls for the flight home that were just as good. Even though it may be a little pricey, the servings are very big and the taste is great.
How to save money in Aruba
Like any destination, Aruba can burn a hole in your pocket if you aren’t smart about your spending. One of my biggest tips is to pick one or two excursions you dream of doing and do them! Then for the other things you might want to do, look on Trip Advisor or talk to some locals to figure out what the cheapest options are. For example, if you would like to snorkel but it's not at the top of your list, bring your snorkeling gear or find a place to rent it on the island and just snorkel on the different beaches around the island.