The small island of Aruba in the southern Caribbean Sea is only 18 miles from the north coast of Venezuela. With sandy beaches, cooling trade winds, and friendly people the island is dubbed “One Happy Island.” Aruba is considered one of the safest Caribbean destinations. Aruba is blessed with great weather year-round. It is already a favorite of Central New Yorkers. There are sometimes reasonable flights, too.
1. Beaches: Aruba’s Arashi Beach is on the list of top beaches in the world. Some in front of a hotel but all of Aruba’s beaches are public. Some are busy but there are also vast stretches that are virtually unvisited. They are all clean with some having chairs, lounges, and palapas that can be rented for the day.
2. Shopping: Aruba’s capital city of Oranjestad is a popular
cruise port so shopping is assured. There are high-end shops featuring everything from watches and diamonds to a flea market with popular fun-in-the-sun garments and toys. Plus there are grocery markets offering everything you would expect to find in the United States.
3. Land tours: The best way to explore the island is on a half-day or all-day tour such as those offered by ABC Jeep Tours. Tours are available to a natural pool, the lighthouse, caves with petroglyphs and other iconic sites. There are private tours and the fun-filled Kukoo Kunuku Bus where they also have dinner and pub crawl tours.
4. Water tours: Water, water, water everywhere. Go scuba diving
and snorkeling. A German freighter wreck and other wrecks are just offshore. Enjoy deep sea fishing for marlin, and wahoo. If you don’t want to get wet head 130 feet under the Caribbean Sea on the Atlantis Submarine. Pelican Tours offers a variety of experiences including their popular Sunset Cruise.
5. Catch the wind: Every day is a day with wind making Aruba the perfect place for sailing on a catamaran with Red Sea Sports. If you bring your own sailboat, not to worry, there are several places to dock your craft for a night or more. Aruba Active Vacation offers landsailing and windsurfing.
6. Dining: There is every kind of dining from fast food places
like Wendy’s to romantic private dining on the beach. There are restaurants that offer a variety of food but visitors should try some of the Aruban specialties. Waka Waka is a jungle-themed restaurant that serves a variety of food including Aruban specialties, such as Cabrito Stoba.
7. Historical: Visit the Aruban Historical Museum in the capital to learn about the island’s history, political development, and the island’s unique nature. The archeological museum has Indian artifacts dating back 2500 BC. The most visited historical site is the Alto Vista Chapel, which is included on most island tours.
8. Festivals and more: There are a variety of events throughout the year including some that celebrate national holidays and others that promote local traditions. Events range from fireworks on New Year’s Day to Carnival in February to a music festival in May.
9. Getting around: The bus is one of the easiest ways to get around. There are also unmetered taxis; rates are fixed and should be confirmed in advance. Aruba is so small renting a car is stress free as long as one stays on the paved roads.
10. Accommodations: Truly there is an accommodation to suit the need of every visitor from condo rentals to resorts to bed and breakfasts.
It is never too early to start planning your winter getaway especially if you plan travel during the holidays or school breaks. Travel gurus will say the best time to book air tickets is on Tuesday and the cheapest days to fly are mid-week, and for U.S. tickets they suggest start looking three months in advance and five months ahead of time for international tickets. I don’t think it is ever too soon to start looking. We already have our tickets for December. When I am booking air tickets I have a figure
in mind and when I find something reasonable I buy and never check again. I usually by our tickets to Asia in May, try to fly midweek, and avoid holidays if I can. If you are flying internationally check when the country you are visiting have holidays; for example, in Asia Chinese New Year is a very busy time. Sorry to say this but I have always found the best international air deals to be with foreign carriers and they offer better service. We have found it financially beneficial to take the train to NYC and a taxi to JFK because we often get great deals on ANA (All Nippon Airline) which is one of the top five best airlines.
Often some of the least expensive flights are to Aruba, Bonaire, and
Santo Domingo. The ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) are out the hurricane belt and great destinations. Think out of the box – try something different. I have seen great deals to places in Nicaragua and Columbia.
If you are thinking of buying a time share, condo or even a house in some sunny location – do the math first. Do you want to have to deal with two properties – taxes, utilities, maintenance and being locked into one destination? As strange as it sounds it does not cost us any more to winter in SE Asia than staying in snow country. We often stay at the same place for a couple weeks – we love Ngapali Beach in Myanmar but we also like to try something new. Last year we really enjoyed our stay at
the Holiday Inn Resort in Penang, Malaysia. We are planning to go there again this winter. It always pays to join an airline’s or hotel’s customer loyalty program. We have an Intercontinental Hotels (think Holiday Inns) credit card where we can get and use points. This coming winter we are considering the Holiday Inn Resort in Batam, Indonesia – room with breakfast is $79. The hotel has three outdoor pools and one indoor swimming pool, but alas it is not on the beach but with three pools we might not care. There are always condos, apartments, and houses to rent but I don’t want to do the cooking and cleaning. If I wanted to do that I could stay home.
If you are thinking of places in the U.S. check out St. George Beach south of Tallahassee – there are a lot of places to rent, golf courses and an amazing beach. Instead of pricey Hilton Head consider nearby Fripps Island which is lovely. If it is not a beach you are interested in there are great places in Arizona
like Tucson. Get a feeling for the Old West in Bisbee and we loved the woods around Prescott. Looking for something artsy? Check out unique Arcosanti. There is someplace for everyone this winter.
We often stay at several places when we are visiting an area. In Aruba, after our stay at Sunset Beach Studios we moved to the Holiday Inn where we had points for six free nights. We are IHG members so our free stay included an automatic upgrade and other benefits one of which was a reserved palapa on the beach. The Holiday Inn Resort recently finished a complete remodel and has three pools and of the longest beach of any Aruban hotel.
John and I had driven along the south coast of Aruba but once we left the main road the highway markings were few and far between plus many roads on the wild, barren north coast are unpaved so we took a tour with jeep ABC Tours. One of the benefits of a tour, besides taking people to the significant sites, is that the guides are knowledgeable. Our driver/guide, Rocky, was
great. The north coast is very different than the southern coast. It is barren with a rocky coast pounded by high waves. There are no hotels and few buildings. We visited the beautiful Alto Vista Chapel, built in 1952 on the site of the first Aruban Catholic Church built by the Spanish in 1750. Along the road to the chapel there are the Stations of the Cross and a labyrinth.
We stopped at a couple of natural bridges sculpted over thousands of years by the strong winds and pounding waves. Arid Aruba was not suitable for plantations and has few natural resources but in 1824 gold was discovered by a 12-year-old sheep herder which created gold fever. We stopped at the Bushiribana Ruins, one of the old gold smelters. By 1916 it was no longer profitable to mine gold in Aruba.
There are many interesting rock formations some of which have
petroglyphs. The Ayo and Casibari Rock formations look as if they were dumped there by giant beings. They were sacred sites for the indigenous people hence the ancient drawings. I always wonder what the people were trying to say with their artwork.
Some have hiking and climbing trails which offer great views. We stopped by a pretty Dutch-style private home and Rocky explained how traditional houses were built and that many people are restoring them. In the hotel district there is an authentic windmill across from the Butterfly Farm. It was built in 1804 in the Netherlands and brought to Aruba in 1960. We truly enjoyed the tour and would like to do it again as there is a lot more to see.
Our accommodations for 11 nights had been very reasonable so it
was time to treat ourselves. We spent our last nights at the luxurious, adult-only Bucuti &Tara Resort on expansive Eagle Beach, one of the world’s top beaches. I knew it was going to be awesome when we were greeted with sit-down check-in and champagne!
Needless to say our room was wonderful and had a balcony. After our complimentary breakfast on the restaurant’s deck we spent the day on our beach lounge with a book from their lending library. I took some dips in the infinity pool. We stayed at the beach to watch the sun set which was followed by a five-star dining experience at Elements Restaurants. The service and ambiance were excellent as one might expect from a privately-owned hotel where the owner makes a point to meet every guest.
The small island of Aruba in the southern Caribbean Sea has sandy beaches, cooling trade winds, and friendly people so the island is dubbed “One Happy Island.” Aruba is considered one of the safest Caribbean destinations where even the water is drinkable.
John and I had Delta vouchers for a free flight because we volunteered to give up our seats on a recent flight. The flight wasn’t overbooked but was over the weight limit. The flight attendant said it was easier to take off four passengers than to take off 500 pounds of luggage which would have upset passengers when their luggage didn’t arrive with them plus those of us with flight vouchers were happy to fly for free.
We decided on Aruba because the airfare matched our vouchers
and we had never been there. After we arrived we were met by Royal Car Rental. John wanted to go to an ATM machine to get florins, the local currency, which turned out to be unnecessary as USDs are accepted everywhere and prices are usually listed in both currencies. We picked up our vehicle and set off. The roads are good and there isn’t a lot of traffic which was good because there are several roundabouts which can be confusing.
Going through Oranjestad, the capital, I thought, “I am not going to like it here.” There were three cruise ships in port so the area was full of tourists and the city looked like an upscale mall with many glitzy shops. Then we continued north past the various hotel zones and arrived at our accommodations, Sunset Beach Studios. It was perfect for us. We had a small room with a kitchen and a side porch that looked out onto the ocean and, as the name suggests, a great place to watch the sunset.
The staff was wonderful and helpful in many ways. They recommended the car rental and also a food market on the way where we could shop. The food market was huge and busy with everything one would find in the states from fresh Florida oranges to Steward’s root beer.
We bought food for breakfast but, even though our place had grills available, we found getting takeout from Wendy’s (there is a slew of familiar food chains and restaurants) perfect for us. We ate on our patio porch and watched the sunset. Sunset Beach Studios has great off-season rates and a discount for long stays. We were only booked for five nights.
The island is 20 miles long and six miles across making it an easy
island to explore. One day we drove to the iconic lighthouse at the northwest end of the island. I noticed people had piled stones in various places which I found interesting because I had marveled at the artist who creates 100s of balancing stones along the river just outside Ottawa. These are not balanced but just piled up. When I asked about it we were told they are “Wishing Stones” as in wishing to return like throwing a coin into Trevi Fountain in Rome.
Another day we borrowed the hotel’s snorkel equipment with the intention of snorkeling but ended up driving around instead. There are several small beaches along the way and all beaches in Aruba are public. John took kite surfing lessons so we drove to the southeast end of the island where there are more beaches and where experts kite surf.
The small island of Aruba in the southern Caribbean Sea is only 18 miles from the north coast of Venezuela. With sandy beaches, cooling trade winds, and friendly people the island is dubbed “One Happy Island.” Aruba is considered one of the safest Caribbean destinations. Aruba is blessed with great weather year-round. It is already a favorite of Central New Yorkers. There are sometimes reasonable flights, too. 
8. Festivals and more: There are a variety of events throughout the year including some that celebrate national holidays and others that promote local traditions. Events range from fireworks on New Year’s Day to Carnival in February to a music festival in May. 
