Aruba and then Curacao, need help what to do.

We will be arriving at Aruba on the 6th of June of 2017 aboard my Carnival Magic and then to Curacao the following day. There are 8 of us, My wife and I and our 2 boys, 20 and 22. My brother and his wife and 2 kids, 18 and 16. Never having been to either of these ports we are looking for any hints to help us have the best time ever, or close to it anyway. We love to snorkel and would love to do some sightseeing. We don't care to go on our own and would rather not do a Carnival cruise, but keeping our options open. We will be in Aruba from 1pm til 10 pm and in Curacao from 8am til 4pm. Thank you in advance for any and all of your help.

My wife and I did Trikes Aruba for a great tour of the island. They have a limited number of bikes, so book early

https://www.trikes-aruba.com/

We enjoyed Irie Tours in Curacao. It gave us an overview of the island, some beach time, and still time to explore the town upon return.

Never been to Aruba, but Curacao is fun just to explore the city on foot IMO.

If you go to Caribbean ports here on CC and click on Aruba and Curaçao you will find what you are asking.

My wife and I did Trikes Aruba for a great tour of the island. They have a limited number of bikes, so book early

 

https://www.trikes-aruba.com/

We did look at this, sounds fun.

We enjoyed Irie Tours in Curacao. It gave us an overview of the island, some beach time, and still time to explore the town upon return.

Irie Tours, check, will look into them.

Never been to Aruba, but Curacao is fun just to explore the city on foot IMO.

Would be great for me, but the kids probably wouldn't go for it.

We were just in Curacao last month.... loved it.. we booked an excursion that was a lil tour of the city and 3 hrs at a beach... there were lounge chairs, shade trees,and bathrooms... also there was a snack bar or two..there is a breakwater out about 100yds so the water is very calm and allows great snorkeling.

We had a great time... we booked through the ship and it was $30pp.

There were plenty of tour groups selling various excursions right off the ship.

Aruba was not my cup of tea.. there were some neat sights but with all the high rise resorts, it kinda felt like the whole "island" experience wasn't there and I felt like I was in Miami...

Just my 2 cents....

Enjoy your trip!

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We were just in Curacao last month.... loved it.. we booked an excursion that was a lil tour of the city and 3 hrs at a beach... there were lounge chairs, shade trees,and bathrooms... also there was a snack bar or two..there is a breakwater out about 100yds so the water is very calm and allows great snorkeling.

We had a great time... we booked through the ship and it was $30pp.

There were plenty of tour groups selling various excursions right off the ship.

Aruba was not my cup of tea.. there were some neat sights but with all the high rise resorts, it kinda felt like the whole "island" experience wasn't there and I felt like I was in Miami...

Just my 2 cents....

Enjoy your trip!

 

Sent from my SM-G930VL using Forums mobile app

Thanks for the information, will look at the tour through the ship.

Jolly Pirates in Aruba. Great snorkeling and drinks and food on the boat. Very fun Day! Curaceo...Irie tours!

we just took a cab to the beach in Aruba. Loved our day there, beach was nice and there was a convenience store right at the beach that sold pretty cheap 6 packs of local beer.

In Curacao, we did Irie tours. I was not sure I was going to love it but I absolutely did. It was fabulous.

We had a fabulous time doing a jeep tour of Arikok National Park. We did it through Carnival in 2012 and it was a lot of fun driving over the boulders in the park. They also take you to a natural pool in the park and you can snorkel there, but most people swam. In Curacao we booked a private snorkel trip and the snorkeling was very good - we saw a bunch of Tarpon and they were enormous. Jolly Pirates in Aruba is okay, but the drinks they give you are lousy rum drinks and this is not the best outfit to snorkel with.

In Aruba, we got a day pass to the Aruba Occidental. I can't remember I I can post links here, so just google for day pass there. (It was through an excursion company.) Nice pool area and large beach. It included a buffet lunch and unlimited cocktails. I'd get there early to get seats because it filled up quick around the pool and on the beach, and we only had a group of 4. The kids will love feeding the little lizards and iguanas; they will bring out lettuce for them.

In Curacao, we did a personalized tour with Natasja (again, just google her name and Dushi Taxi.) We went to Playa Lagun to snorkel, about a 45 min ride from the port. Natasja is awesome; nice island commentary during the ride. Playa Lagun has some pretty snorkeling, not to mention the water is a gorgeous color. :) You can rent a chair for $5 and it includes a coupon for a fruit drink at the restaurant up on the cliff. There is also a dive shop (Bahia) up there, so would assume you can rent snorkel/dive gear if needed. Just tell Natasja when you want to get picked up. We got dropped off back at the port with some time to spare, so you can walk into town, over the floating bridge.

we just took a cab to the beach in Aruba. Loved our day there, beach was nice and there was a convenience store right at the beach that sold pretty cheap 6 packs of local beer.

 

In Curacao, we did Irie tours. I was not sure I was going to love it but I absolutely did. It was fabulous.

How much was the cab? And what beach was that to? We want to go to Arashi Beach and l know there are also buses..

There is little need to do "excursions" at the S. Caribbean ports...they are quite easy to DIY....get a guidebook from your library and read it. A bit of info goes a LONG way...and with a larger group, can save you a BUNDLE of cash!

In Aruba we went with Around Aruba Tours and went to their animal Rehabilitation center and left from there in a side by side utility vehicle to go to the Natural pond, an old gold mine and saw the small arch bridge.

Hubby and I (50 yrs) thought that was fun.

In Curacou we went with Curacou Actief over to Shete Boka National Park as that looked like something we would be interested in. We rode in a open back truck and we're the only 2 along for the ride! We had the driver drop us off at the market area so we could cross the floating bridge and hang out till it was dark enough to see the bridge lit. (Pretty)

Check these sites out on tripadvisor to see if it's something your group would enjoy.

we just took a cab to the beach in Aruba. Loved our day there, beach was nice and there was a convenience store right at the beach that sold pretty cheap 6 packs of local beer.

 

In Curacao, we did Irie tours. I was not sure I was going to love it but I absolutely did. It was fabulous.

thanks for the info

In Aruba we went with Around Aruba Tours and went to their animal Rehabilitation center and left from there in a side by side utility vehicle to go to the Natural pond, an old gold mine and saw the small arch bridge.

Hubby and I (50 yrs) thought that was fun.

In Curacou we went with Curacou Actief over to Shete Boka National Park as that looked like something we would be interested in. We rode in a open back truck and we're the only 2 along for the ride! We had the driver drop us off at the market area so we could cross the floating bridge and hang out till it was dark enough to see the bridge lit. (Pretty)

Check these sites out on tripadvisor to see if it's something your group would enjoy.

awesome thanks for the ideas.

There is little need to do "excursions" at the S. Caribbean ports...they are quite easy to DIY....get a guidebook from your library and read it. A bit of info goes a LONG way...and with a larger group, can save you a BUNDLE of cash!

thanks you, will look into it.

We had a fabulous time doing a jeep tour of Arikok National Park. We did it through Carnival in 2012 and it was a lot of fun driving over the boulders in the park. They also take you to a natural pool in the park and you can snorkel there, but most people swam. In Curacao we booked a private snorkel trip and the snorkeling was very good - we saw a bunch of Tarpon and they were enormous. Jolly Pirates in Aruba is okay, but the drinks they give you are lousy rum drinks and this is not the best outfit to snorkel with.

So you can bring your own snorkel gear then? I am debating booking this one with DCL and just starting to look at what it all has.

I think it would be difficult to snorkel in the natural pond! Between people and the water crashing over the rocks.....

Here's a short video on Aruba.

Here's a short video on Curacao-Enjoy!

In Curacau, we took a tour from the cruise terminal. It gave us a brief tour which included a stop at a distillery, a stop at a view point and a 2 hour stop at a beach (the one with a breakwater which has very good snorkelling by the breakwater). On the return , you can either get dropped of back at the cruise terminal or by the Rif Fort. We chose to get dropped of at the terminal, went on board to drop of our beach gear, had a shower, a bite to eat, then went ashore again to walk into town across the bridge. Children would love being in the bridge when it opens. It was $US 10 per person. We had to pay a small amount to gain entry to the beach.