Beach time and snorkeling

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

We will be on Aruba mid-November and would like to go to a beach and be able to snorkel from shore - we are in port from 8 am - 5 pm.

 

I have read thru these forums and am still confused about what we want to do.

 

I am confused by the comments on here as to where to go to be able to do both. We have our own equipment. We have been to Aurba several times and have done horse back riding, and jeep tours and seen most of the "natural" things so we really just want to kick back on some soft sand and spend some time in the water viewing the fish and coral.

 

For those of you in the know - what would be your suggestions? A beach where we can have chairs, bathrooms and snacks/drinks would be good or we can go to a snorkeling spot and then a second beach if needed...

 

all suggestions are welcome.

 

thanks!

[Arubamoose]

Boca Catalina is a great spot to snorkel - try and go early before all the boat tours head out that way.

 

We have many weeks of time share and we have our own equipment and this is our go to snorkel spot most mornings.

 

If you are adventurous - you can head out to Baby Beach but that is a haul from the cruise pier.

 

We also like to go to Mangel Halto but that is also out of the way.

[Arubalisa]

I am confused by the comments on here as to where to go to be able to do both. We have our own equipment.

 

A beach where we can have chairs, bathrooms and snacks/drinks would be good or we can go to a snorkeling spot and then a second beach if needed...

 

all suggestions are welcome.

I think the confusion comes in because there is only one spot where you can have all of that TOGETHER and that is Baby Beach. Baby Beach is not easy to get to. There is now bus service but it is still going to be a long ride to get there.

 

Best bet is to head to Boca Catalina/Catalina Cove/Arashi Beach and then afterward move on to Palm or Eagle Beaches for your "beach time". Palm Beach will offer a greater variety of eateries.

 

Another thread with Boca Catalina info

 

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

I think the confusion comes in because there is only one spot where you can have all of that TOGETHER and that is Baby Beach. Baby Beach is not easy to get to. There is now bus service but it is still going to be a long ride to get there.

 

Best bet is to head to Boca Catalina/Catalina Cove/Arashi Beach and then afterward move on to Palm or Eagle Beaches for your "beach time". Palm Beach will offer a greater variety of eateries.

 

Another thread with Boca Catalina info

 

 

Thanks Arubalisa and Arubamoose! This makes sense now and from what I read I had suspected that we might need to visit two separate areas - this validates for me that we will head to Boca Catalina for our snorkeling early on and then Palm or Eagle for the "sun time".... Appreciate the guidance!

[Putterdude]

We have gone out to Boca Catalina the last 2 years for snorkeling and very much enjoyed it. However, it is a white coral sand beach and the water will cloud up if there is any amount of wave action. If it does cloud up on you then move to the right as you face the water and you will find it becomes a bunch of coral reefs and the water is very clear. Normally we take the Arubus from the terminal across the street from the cruise port but this January a cab stopped while we were waiting for the return bus and asked if we wanted a ride, I asked "how much" he said "$15" I said "$10" and he accepted it, otherwise he was going back empty.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Another option is a variation of our plans - which would be to go on the Jolly Pirates excursion (book independently) which leaves from Palm Beach. They have a morning and afternoon tour. We went on their tour a couple of years ago and had a great time with great snorkeling in three different spots. Then have your beach time before or after the tour close where they leave you off.

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

Another option is a variation of our plans - which would be to go on the Jolly Pirates excursion (book independently) which leaves from Palm Beach. They have a morning and afternoon tour. We went on their tour a couple of years ago and had a great time with great snorkeling in three different spots. Then have your beach time before or after the tour close where they leave you off.

 

Thanks Ginny - we have previously done a "sail and snorkel" while visiting Aruba and enjoyed it although we found it very crowded at the ship wreck site and the water was rough out there. This time we are thinking of just finding a good site off the beach and it sounds like Catalina is the spot for us - but thanks for the suggestion!

 

Happy sailing!

[Putterdude]

Boca Catalina is one of the stops of the Jolly Pirate and their beach stop is often just down island from Boca Catalina. By the way the beach does have palapas and this year (January) had loungers for rent, what is lacks is public facilities.

[Hatteras51]

Boca Catalina is one of the stops of the Jolly Pirate and their beach stop is often just down island from Boca Catalina. By the way the beach does have palapas and this year (January) had loungers for rent, what is lacks is public facilities.

 

The loungers are at Arashi Beach, which is right up from Boca Catalina. They had a porta potty two years ago, but it was not there on our last visit in Feb.

[Putterdude]

The loungers are at Arashi Beach, which is right up from Boca Catalina. They had a porta potty two years ago, but it was not there on our last visit in Feb.

 

I haven't been to Arashi Beach but there were definitely loungers available for rent at Boca Catalina in January, as I recall they were $5 but I did not see anyone around to pay. Normally we just sit to the left of the steps (as you face the water) in the shade and enjoy the colony of iguanas that inhabit the bank.:)

[Hatteras51]

I haven't been to Arashi Beach but there were definitely loungers available for rent at Boca Catalina in January, as I recall they were $5 but I did not see anyone around to pay. Normally we just sit to the left of the steps (as you face the water) in the shade and enjoy the colony of iguanas that inhabit the bank.:)

 

That is good to hear. We'll definitely check that out on our next visit in February.

[mcmarya]

We were there in late March and there were chairs for rent for $5 each. If you get there fairly early you can use one of the palapas for shade. There is an easy sandy entry area. If the water is calm the snorkeling is great since you can safely swim along the rocks.

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

Hey All,

 

Just wanted to say thanks again for all the helpful hints.

 

We boarded the #10 bus just outside the Cruise Port with no issue at all - had our exact change ready but noticed the driver was giving change to people and in US currency when asked...

 

We asked for Boca Catalina, but the driver dropped us at Catalina Cove - which was not a huge problem but I wouldn't have known if it had not been for the pictures and info posted here. After we got off the bus, I realized what he did, but it was okay. Upon our arrival there were some nice big rocks to put our bags on to our left with a nice shade tree so we grabbed the spot. There were several "excursions" out in the water but not close enough to shore to worry us about being crowded. We got there later than I wanted - someone (DH) was a little lazy this morning!

 

I told DH that this entry point might be too rocky but we decided to try it and it was okay - thanks to the warnings I knew we had to be careful and we were!

 

Great snorkeling site - easy to get out to the where the fish were and even tho the water was a little rough we didn't get "banged" up at all. Snorkeled for about 90 minutes and then dried off to head for the "active" Palm Beach area.

 

The bus driver said they would be there once an hour so we time our exit and dry off to be ready - but no busses came by - this was about 1:00 pm by now and an older "taxi/van" stopped and said the bus would be another 20 minutes and offered us a ride to Palm Beach for $2/pp. We thought that was a good deal so we went - he stopped at Boca Catalina to pick up some other shipmates (those blue and white towels are a dead giveaway!) and we were on our way - till he made one more stop and picked up another family of 5-6 - we were SQUISHED! Once he got to DePalm PIER they all had to get out so we could get out....it was tight but okay.

 

We found space at Palm Beach in front of the Riu - there were a lot of empty chairs (around 1:30 pm now) so we just grabbed them - figured the hotel could kick us out if they wanted to but no one did. We wanted time in the sun and water and that's what we got. Had fun watching all the activity going on around that pier.

 

Leaving Palm Beach a cabbie tried to get us to take his ride for $14 back to the port - when we said we'll wait for the bus he sent us off in the wrong direction (jerk!) But another young man approached us - he was trying to fill a van and would take us to the ship for $3/pp - so again we took the ride - had to wait for him to fill the van but he did not OVER fill so all was good.

 

I had read on this forum that the bus would be $2.30 round trip but I don't think that is accurate - how would the driver know where you got on and off? I believe it is $2.30 each time you board the bus.... so the bus would have cost us $6.90 each and we spent $7.30 each so we did okay just spending a little more but that's still less than the cab fare one way!

 

That's my update - we had a great "beach" day on Aruba which is what we were looking for - we had a new experience with the bus system and would do that and recommend it as well.

 

Thanks to all who shared information - that's what I love about Cruise Critic!

[canadarocks]

Thanks for the review cinbol! Good to hear up to date info about the bus prices.

[tml1230]

thanks much for your update...we will be there for the day next friday and your info helps....we plan on renting a car for the day and boca catalina is definitely on our list...best regards

[Warrior64]

Got some great info from this thread. We will be in Aruba in April and thinking of going to Boca Catalina then to Palm Beach. Our main thing we our looking for is great snorkeling :) Anyone been recently, any thoughts. How far is it from cruise ship and how much shall we plan to pay?? Any info is greatly appreciated......1st timer to Aruba!

[Arubalisa]

Boca Catalina is about 6 1/2 miles from the cruise terminal.

 

Hard to say how long it would take to get there. It depends upon whether you are going by car/taxi or bus. It is about 2 1/3 miles between Boca Catalina and Palm Beach.

 

Snorkeling all over in Aruba has improved over the past few years in that there have not been any bad tropical disturbances to destroy the coral.

[Warrior64]

Thanks so much! We would take a taxi there, any idea of cost? Then would it be easy to catch a taxi from Boca to Palm beach??

[Arubalisa]

Unfortunately, no not easy to catch a taxi back. I would suggest making arrangements with the taxi driver to return to pick you up at an appointed time and explain that you will be going from Boca Catalina to Palm Beach. If you bundle it all together and promise the fare from Palm Beach back to the ship it may make them more likely to want to do it.

 

Not all drivers, but some are looking for easy money and would not necessarily to go out of their way for a short fare from Boca Catalina to Palm Beach.

 

Having said that it would be easy to watch for the bus heading North to Arashi Beach where it turns around. You could then catch the bus as it is headed back south towards Palm Beach.