Bon Bini! Welcome to Aruba - One Happy Island

The best thing to do in Aruba is just enjoy the sunshine on the beach. My favorite day started very early (we had to reserve a hut on the beach) and consisted of lounging on the beach until mid-afternoon.

I also really enjoyed my snorkeling tour on the Jolly Pirates sailboat. The first stop was a bit challenging, but the other two stops yielded some great fish-spotting. And the water is so warm! I also enjoyed my visit to the Butterfly Farm, which provided some nice photos.

However, my favorite thing of all - on all three days we were there - was gathering with others on the beach to watch the spectacular sunsets.

Aruba really is one happy island! I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and would go back whenever the opportunity arose!

Quick Tips:

Discounts: On our flight from Miami, we were given a magazine about Aruba, detailing some of the activities (between all the ads). You can find coupons in there. But the better source is the Aruba Life mini-mag found at the airport and also in the hotels. Grab one and get free T-shirts, activity coupons, etc. Another hint - if you know what activities you want beforehand, assure yourself a spot and a discount by booking online first.

Best Way To Get Around:

We made good use of the cab system in Aruba. The fares are based on zones rather than time to destination. From the airport to the hotel zone was ( on Sundays). From the hotel zone to downtown Oranjestad was . From the hotel zone to the Butterfly Farm was .

Depending on your hotel, walking is another option. There are lots of activities and dining opportunities on the beaches.

While we didn't partake, there are also tour groups everywhere that take you around the island, either by air-conditioned bus, ATV or horseback. These come at a pretty hefty price, though - so look for coupons or book online.

I’ve never stayed in a hotel where the staff was falling all over themselves to make sure that you enjoyed your stay until the Aruba Marriott. At the edge of the high-rise hotel section of Palm Beach, this four-star hotel takes the "one happy island" approach seriously.

Upon check-in, we were served an ice-cold tropical drink (something with mango in it). I requested and received an upgrade to an ocean view room (for this, you’d want to be above the fourth floor.) And what a view it was! (see photos)

Our room was large, with two double beds (with tropical comforters), a seating area, desk, TV armoire, closet with a safe, robes, slippers and hangers, and a HUGE bathroom with two sinks. Not only did the hotel staff keep our room tidied up with the beds made, but they came back a SECOND time in the evening to turn down the bed and leave you a snippet of chocolate on your pillow.

The concierge staff was also very helpful and willing to give you any information you needed, make airline calls (we had to re-route home due to Hurricane Frances), make restaurant reservations (see El Goucho entry) and just make you feel like you hadn’t a care in the world.

Outside the hotel was a pool – with a waterfall and a mini iguana habitat – featuring a swim-up pool bar and several platforms that allowed you to lounge and sit in the water without immersing yourself completely. If you walked a bit further, there was beach access. NOTE: to get a free beach hut, you need to stand in line (the window opens at 7:30am). Or you can pay $15 to reserve them. The ones on the front row go first, so get there early (7:10am got us the last front-row hut). The pool chairs and floats also go early, so stake out your spot there by 9.

Inside the hotel was the Stelaris Casino, which consisted mostly of slots (penny slots at that) but there were a few gaming tables for blackjack, Caribbean Stud poker, craps and roulette. Next door was the Marriott Surf Club, the timeshare side of the resort, which attached by covered walkway and offers restaurants (see Champions entry), shops and more. Not that you’d need to walk over there, as the hotel side featured three restaurants, a sushi bar, and a 24-hour café where you could get ice cream or a sandwich whenever the mood to snack hit you. Located between the two wings was a two-level fitness center (but who wants to work out on vacation?

Our package included a daily buffet breakfast ($15 each otherwise) and two free gifts! They also weren’t overly pushy with the timeshare pitches.

I would return to stay at this hotel without a second thought. The rooms were beautiful and well-kept, the amenities were top notch, and the staff was second-to-none. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone staying in Aruba.

During our cab ride from the airport to our hotel, we got chatty with the cab driver to learn about the island and possibly some good restaurant choices. Knowing that Aruba was very close to Argentina – a country famous for its beef – I asked the driver where the best steak on the island could be had. Without hesitation, he replied "El Gaucho." He said it’s the most popular restaurant on the island, and we’d need a reservation. He also told us that they don’t even need to advertise, most people find them on word of mouth.

When we got to the hotel, I asked the concierge to help us make a reservation. (This was a Thursday). The only time available was 6pm that day, which would mean we’d miss the sunset. So, we made a reservation for Friday night at 8:30 – mostly because that was our only choice.

El Gaucho is located in downtown Oranjestad, so we took a $10 cab ride there – but it’s not in the shopping district – it’s on a back street behind the shops. How would anyone know about this place unless it truly was good food? We checked in about 20 minutes early for our reservation, and were told that we could wait at the bar across the street. Well, that happened to be a cigar bar, and since I’m not a fan of smoky places, we decided to wait outside the restaurant on the street – as did some of the other 8:30 reservations.

We were seated about 8:45 on the second floor – which you reached via an elevator that could hold maybe four people tops. The décor was very Spanish – with pictures of Spanish cowboys (gauchos) on the walls and rustic tables with wooden place settings. The waiters were all dressed as gauchos and were quick to wait on you and refill your water glasses.

I ordered the 8 ounce filet, which comes with corn on the cob, redskin potatoes and broccoli. Three sauces are brought to your table – a garlic sauce, a steak sauce (with too much oregano for me) and some hot onions. I found that the steak was so good that it didn’t require any sauce, the corn was sweet and buttery, and the potatoes were done just enough. Any restaurant that can successfully cook a filet well done without having to butterfly it impresses me, as it happens so infrequently!

There’s a reason this restaurant is the most popular – service is excellent and the food is excellent. Plus, the total for two people, including drinks, was only $44. We couldn’t have found a place for dessert if we’d had to. I would recommend El Gaucho to anyone, and reservations are a must.

The main goal for dinner our first night in Aruba was to eat on the beach and watch the sunset. Only a 10-minute walk from our hotel was a beachside bar and restaurant called MooMba. The bar and restaurant are separate, each with its own tables and tiki-hut-like shelter, and each had outdoor beach seating. We chose the beach seating, with only slight concern about the sand blowing into our food and drinks (Aruba’s winds are pretty strong). The wicker chairs made us feel like we were going to be carried on someone’s shoulders and worshipped.

I found the menu rather limited, and chose a plate of nachos with spicy ground beef, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc. They were tasty, but so spicy that the waitress couldn’t keep up with my requests for drink refills. The cool daiquiri that I had couldn’t even suppress the burning in my mouth. My mom had an order of fajitas, and enjoyed them very much. Our total bill came to about $30 with drinks and dinner. (Our bill came placed in a cigar box – how cute!)

If you’re out for a culinary experience, I’m thinking you’ll want to try somewhere else. However, the draw here is it’s beachside location. We watched our first Aruban sunset while three large pelicans dined on their evening fish. It was breathtaking, and something that I’m glad we didn’t miss inside some fancy restaurant.

The food was acceptable, the drinks were mixed well and the service was good. The view, however, was amazing.

By the last night the two of us were pooped from a long afternoon of snorkeling and were just craving a good old hamburger. Plus, we didn’t want to have to take a cab anywhere to get it. Therefore, we decided that Champions, located in the Aruba Marriott Surf Club next door (the time-share part of our property) was the best bet.

We were seated right away – even at 7:30 it wasn’t terribly crowded, and our very handsome waiter took our order quickly. Each of us got our cheeseburger and fries and were very happy when the food arrived. The cheeseburger turned out to be a double cheeseburger, and I could only finish half of it, but the fries were extra good. Or, maybe we were just hungry. I also ordered a shake to go, which the cute waiter didn’t quite understand. He asked if that was the thing with the milk and the ice cream. I clarified that it was, indeed, a milkshake and it turned out quite tasty. Our total bill was about $30.

The food here was very good, but also very American. Oh well, I’d had plenty of the local fare by this point. It was your typical sports bar – TVs on the wall showed ESPN, and one or two kept track of the path of Hurricane Frances so the tourists could worry about getting home. I found the food to be very good (that Argentine beef made for good burgers) and it was a pleasant atmosphere. The waiter was like everyone else we met in Aruba – friendly and happy and interested in talking with us. It was a good, quick, satisfying meal.

Probably the cheapest meal that we ate when in Aruba, our late lunch at Iguana Joes was both filling, and didn’t break the bank.

Located in downtown Oranjestad in the Royal Plaza shopping area (upstairs), Iguana Joes immediately captures your attention with its brightly painted chairs, tables and walls, and its open-air seating lets you take in the sights and sounds of downtown while providing shade and sustenance.

We both ordered cheese quesadillas, which came with a tortilla shell full of sour cream, guacamole and salsa. It didn’t look like much when it came on the plate, but it was more than enough to fill us up. Or, it could’ve been all the free drink refills that filled us up (it was pretty hot.)

Our seats were on the edge of the restaurant, giving us full view of the street below, the water in the marina and the two cruise ships docked there. Every half hour the bells in the square would chime and remind us that our time in Aruba was much too short.

The total for both of us, with drinks and lunch was $15. Wow! We really enjoyed our lunch there, though our waitress was a bit on the non-attentive side. It’s a gitchy place, mostly for the tourists I’d imagine, but nonetheless recommended as a break while you’re shopping.

I booked the "Something’s Fishy" snorkel tour (a three-hour version of their half-day tour) using their web site - www.jollypirates.com - a few days before my vacation. A friend recommended it, and it was praised on many of the Aruba bulletin boards. The tour was $30 per person, but booking online earned you a 15% discount. (However, if you get the Aruba guides at the hotels or airport, there’s a $10 coupon in there).

The giant sailboat (which is also motorized) was captained by Julio and crew – all very friendly, funny, and really into their jobs. J There was an open bar, and snorkeling gear (including life-jackets) was provided.

The first stop was the sunken 1940s German freighter, the Antilla. When I jumped into the water, I encountered what I would consider an intermediate to expert snorkel environment. The water was VERY choppy. I made the decision to forgo the shipwreck and spare my life for the next two, calmer, snorkeling stops. However, my new friends on board (who were stronger swimmers) assured me that what they saw there was amazing.

Our second stop was Malmok beach. Ahh, now here it was the calm, clear water I had come to know and love in Aruba. This time the going was much easier, and I got to explore more. We saw lots of fish, but they mostly kept their distance.

At the third stop, Boca Cantalina, it was again calm, clear water. However the Jolly Pirate features a rope swing, and that was the main attraction at this juncture - but snorkeling was still an option. Right around the boat there wasn’t a whole lot to see (though I did see a large starfish on the bottom). However, we swam toward the rocky edge of the beach and found the best snorkeling on the trip. There was a reef growth around the rocks, with many, many fish – who seemed not to be afraid of us. As a matter of fact, we were the curiosity here. Many of the butterfly fish would follow us around and came very close! I’m so glad I passed on the rope swing and chose the snorkel option instead!

My mom, even though she didn’t snorkel and just went along for the ride, agreed that this was a fun activity. The boat took you along the shores of Aruba, all the way to the north edge of the island and the California lighthouse. There was a deck for sunbathing and a covered area for those of us who had already had too much of that equator sun. The drinks were always flowing and a good time was had by all.

I would highly recommend a Jolly Pirates cruise to anyone in Aruba. The "Something Fishy" tour runs on Thursdays and Saturdays from 3-6pm. They also have a sunset cruise and a half-day snorkel cruise (see the web site for more on days and times.) Make sure to bring your underwater camera!

In my research, I kept reading about Aruba’s Butterfly Farm. The reviews were mixed on the message boards, but my mom (a retired 4th grade teacher) really wanted to visit so we scheduled an hour one morning to take a $6 cab ride down the beach and see the butterflies.

I had read that the best time to visit was early in the morning (opens at 9am) – maybe the butterflies are more active then? If for no other reason, the sun isn’t directly overhead so you’re only sweating to death instead of sweating and frying in the sun.

Admission is a steep $12 per person (and good for repeat visits throughout your stay), and of course you enter and exit through the gift shop (which I thought had some interesting butterfly-related items.) You’re then guided through a door into a screened-in enclosure, and told to enter quickly so the butterflies can’t escape. And those butterflies were everywhere!

Your admission includes a tour, which lasts about 20 minutes. Our very pregnant tour guide was quite the storyteller, and guided us through the life cycle of the butterflies, what they eat, how the caterpillars become butterflies, etc. For instance, when the caterpillars form their pupae, they then become DNA soup inside and transform into the butterfly. Tropical butterflies then spend the next few days getting drunk from eating the fermented rotting fruit on the rainforest floor, then spend the next few days after that having marathon sex. Ah, the life of a butterfly. J Of course, then they die, but they’ve lived their life to the fullest and ensured the next generation will enjoy their short lives.

I’m glad we visited the Butterfly Farm. I got some great photos (except that crazy Blue Morpho – probably the prettiest of them all – wouldn’t sit still for anyone. We were told to just forget it – they didn’t like their photo taken.) Plus, it’s apparently good luck if one lands on you – it seems they like hats (one man had three different butterflies land on him.) You can take that luck back to the casinos.