Aruba-best beaches

[Arubalisa]

Would love to know how these rumors get started. ;)

[afskatr]

great info thanks

[6rugrats]

Would love to know how these rumors get started. ;)

 

From people who want cruise ship passengers off the beaches?

 

Wondering anyway how one would "close the beaches"?

[CDNJehn]

We spent a week on the island in November after visiting via cruiseship in April. We absolutely LOVED Boca Catalina and Catalina Cove. Great snorkeling right from the beach at both. No facilities, but pretty quiet, even with ships in port. Lots of tour buses going by, but not many people stopping. Enjoy!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Cruisegirl6]

Arubalisa hello, and your amazing I may say what helpful information you give!!

 

I do have a few questions as we will be taking a cruise docking at Aruba in May one day and then in July we spending 8 nights in Aruba. I hope I don't over extend my questions but feel your so knowledgable and so helpful perhaps you can answer my questions?

 

1- My daughter would like to go horseback riding with her boyfriend can you recommend a place for her to do this?

 

2- The ship departs Aruba at 10pm on a monday, we would like to have a wonderful dinner somewhere can you recommend a restaurant, but near the ship or within 10 minutes from the ship where we can take a short cab ride to?

 

3- When we are spending our week in Aruba, we have on our list places for dinner Screaming Eagle, Passions on the Beach, Madame Janette, Chefs Table, Matthews on the Beach, Yamanji, Daniels Steak & Chop, my question is would you go to all of these restaurants or would you suggest another that we don't have on our list to try?

 

4- Any good places to have breakfast that you recommend?

 

5- Where is there a nice beach bar to go and have some cocktails when we are at port?

 

 

Thank you!!

[Arubalisa]

For a land vacation in Aruba I would familiarize yourself with Cruise Critic's sister website http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g147247-Aruba-Vacations.html

 

1- My daughter would like to go horseback riding with her boyfriend can you recommend a place for her to do this?

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147250-d659201-Reviews-The_Gold_Mine_Ranch_Horseback_Riding_Tours-Arikok_National_Park_Aruba.html

 

2- The ship departs Aruba at 10pm on a monday, we would like to have a wonderful dinner somewhere can you recommend a restaurant, but near the ship or within 10 minutes from the ship where we can take a short cab ride to?

 

Barefoot or Gostoso

 

3- When we are spending our week in Aruba, we have on our list places for dinner Screaming Eagle, Passions on the Beach, Madame Janette, Chefs Table, Matthews on the Beach, Yamanji, Daniels Steak & Chop, my question is would you go to all of these restaurants or would you suggest another that we don't have on our list to try?

 

Definitely make good use of the reviews at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g147247-Aruba.html

 

https://www.facebook.com/quintadelcarmenrestaurant is brand new and getting rave reviews

 

4- Any good places to have breakfast that you recommend?

 

We have not been yet, but I have a friend who ate at Diana's the first week in January and loved it. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147248-d6555005-Reviews-Diana_s_Pancakes_Place-Oranjestad_Aruba.html

 

Salt & Pepper is another good spot for breakfast as well as Matthews.

 

5- Where is there a nice beach bar to go and have some cocktails when we are at port?

 

On Palm Beach- Bugaloe Bar and Grill at the end of De Palm Pier.

On Eagle Beach- Passions Beach Bar

Downtown Oranjestad- quite a few places for drinking and people watching. If you want to go for a short walk, West Deck offers drinks and tapas. It is just south of the Renaissance Suites and walking distance of the ship.

[Cruisegirl6]

Hello Arubalisa and thank you for the help!

 

Those two restaurants, Gostoso and Barefoot are perfect...but I noticed Gostoso is closed on monday when we will be in port, so guess this makes it much easier to choose. ;)

 

Quinta del Carman, your right, I never heard of it checked reviews wow, definitely on my list for when we stay in Aruba, it appears I may have to stay there two weeks to try all the wonderful dining establishments lol.

 

The West Deck sounds great for an all appetizer lunch!! Definitely going.

 

Would you happen to know of a place where my daughter and her boyfriend can go horseback riding, they love doing that on the islands?

 

Your the best hug to you, thank you.

[Arubalisa]

Hello Arubalisa and thank you for the help!

 

Would you happen to know of a place where my daughter and her boyfriend can go horseback riding, they love doing that on the islands?

 

Your the best hug to you, thank you.

Thank you and you are very welcome! I love to help people with information on one of my favorite destinations. We will just miss you, we will be on the island for a land vacation again in June. :)

 

I have not rode horseback in many years, however Gold Mine Ranch receives great reviews on CC's sister website http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147250-d659201-Reviews-The_Gold_Mine_Ranch_Horseback_Riding_Tours-Arikok_National_Park_Aruba.html

 

[Hatteras51]

3- When we are spending our week in Aruba, we have on our list places for dinner Screaming Eagle, Passions on the Beach, Madame Janette, Chefs Table, Matthews on the Beach, Yamanji, Daniels Steak & Chop, my question is would you go to all of these restaurants or would you suggest another that we don't have on our list to try?

 

 

ANSWER TO QUESTION:

We vacation in Aruba for several weeks each year. All of the restaurants that you have mentioned are good. I haven't been to Chef's Table. I think about it every time, but we have too many favorites and new ones to try that it doesn't make our list. I have to admit that we aren't fans of Yemanja. We went there on our last visit and thought that the flavor of the smoke from the wood fire grill overwhelmed the food. We love wood fire grills, so we were surprised that we didn't like it. Daniels is good if you are planning on a steak dinner. I haven't been to Screaming Eagle (another one that often gets cut from the list). The others are great. My very favorites that I can't miss are Barefoot and Chalet Suisse. We also love Azzurro, and we are trying Quinta Del Carmen this time. Where will you be staying? We can give you some suggestions of some places that might be walkable from where you will be.

Edited January 15, 2015 by Hatteras51

[Cruisegirl6]

Hello Arubalisa!! I miss you not only on my cruise but I be on a land vacation in Aruba in July! Where do you like to stay in Aruba? We had to book the Marriott Resort because family that will be going with us booked the Marriot Ocean Club 2 bedroom villa, we wanted to be with them and didn't want the travel so the only choice we had was the Holiday Inn on one end and the Marriott Resort on the other and Marriott was our choice. I hope I be happy at this hotel but if not, at least its a hotel and not a time sharing place, I am afraid of the time sharing you know if something is wrong you can't just call maintenance and you also don't get daily housekeeping.

 

You mentioned Gold Mine and that is exactly the place I contacted and they gave me a prompt response so that is where my daughter and her boyfriend will horseback ride.

 

I have a feeling once I experience Aruba I am gong to keep coming back yey!

 

Hello Hatterass51 (does your name have anything to do with owning a Hatterass yacht lol?) I would appreciate any suggestions we have to stay at the Marriott Resort as you read above why....I wanted to stay at the Hyatt Regency but its a bit of a walk to the Marriott Ocean where family will be. I truly appreciate all and any info you can give us anybody! It sure sounds like when people go to Aruba they fall in love with it, maybe we will too! ;)

[Kenwoody]

Are chairs easily available on Eagle Beach and is there any shade there (umbrellas to rent) ? Thanks

[Arubalisa]

The only "guaranteed" shade on Eagle Beach are the limited number of umbrellas offered for rent from the vendors on the beach at La Cabana.

 

Otherwise your options are as follows:

 

Eagle Beach

 

Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort

Taxi fare $13 each way for a maximum of 5 people, with an additional $3 charge on Sundays & holidays

 

Beach chair rental

Full day rental $15 each

Half day rental $10 each

Free wifi

Passions Beach Bar & Restaurant with beach service

No shade palapas available

MVC Eagle Beach Resort

Taxi fare $13 each way

 

Beach chair rental

Full day rental $10 each

Half day rental $5 each

Tulip Restaurant (across the street from the beach)- breakfast, lunch, dinner & drinks

Free wifi

Restrooms

Shower

Changing room

Limited shade palapas available, FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

 

Some vendors renting chaise lounges (Paradise Beach Villas) and chaises and umbrellas (La Cabana Resort) as well as jet-ski rentals. They can also provide other watersports such as parasail, banana boat/tube rides, snorkeling excursions, at their locations or take you by boat to Palm Beach.

 

If you MUST have shade, your BEST option is to head to Palm Beach and the vendors on the beach at the Radisson. They have the largest quantity of umbrellas available.

[Hatteras51]

Hello Hatterass51 (does your name have anything to do with owning a Hatterass yacht lol?) I would appreciate any suggestions we have to stay at the Marriott Resort as you read above why....I wanted to stay at the Hyatt Regency but its a bit of a walk to the Marriott Ocean where family will be. I truly appreciate all and any info you can give us anybody! It sure sounds like when people go to Aruba they fall in love with it, maybe we will too! ;)

 

 

Actually, You aren't the first person to ask my if I own a Hatteras yacht. I wish that were so, but I'm Hatteras because we like to visit Hatteras Island, which is along the coast of North Carolina. The Marriott is a beautiful property. It is located in Palm Beach, and you'll be able to walk to many shops and restaurants. As for timeshares in Aruba, we have stayed in many, and do so every year. They are different than some of the ones in the US. They have maintenance staff onsite, along with management staff. They are beautifully maintained. We've never experienced any problem that wasn't addressed right away. We also have daily housekeeping every day but Sunday, but on those days, they bring in fresh towels and take out the trash. You can save tons of money by renting a timeshare instead of staying in a hotel. In Aruba, I would not hesitate to rent a timeshare. As far as restaurants, Marriott has dining right on the beach at Simply Fish. We ate there about 5 years ago, and it was lovely. There are far too many restaurants to name right there on the strip, but a few that are rather inexpensive and good are Salt and Pepper (also good for breakfast) and Smokey Joes, which has great ribs. A lot of people enjoy Scott's Brats for lunch, which is on the beach in front of Playa Linda. We love Azzurros for dinner, which is located at Playa Linda. You will have more places to choose from than you could ever visit. Have fun!

Edited January 17, 2015 by Hatteras51

[Cruisegirl6]

Thank you for that info! Sorry you don't have that yacht but going to Hatteras Island is beautiful too lol.

 

The restaurants on our list to go to dinner right now are:

Screaming Eagle, Madam Janette, Passions, Daniels Steak & Chop, Matthews, Chefs Table and Suisse Chalet.

 

Im glad you mentioned a few places for breakfast and lunch appreciate anybody's recommendations.

 

I also heard the Old Fisherman is good for lunch and the Dutch Pancake House for breakfast.

 

When we dock in Aruba on our cruise vacation, we are just going to walk around town while my daughter and her boyfriend go horseback riding then we all will have dinner at Barefoots since its close to the ship and the fact our ship doesn't depart until 10pm.

[carnivalman]

From people who want cruise ship passengers off the beaches?

 

Wondering anyway how one would "close the beaches"?

 

Real simple. Shovel the sand into buckets and the next morning bring it back out and pour it on the dirt.

[chamima]

The only "guaranteed" shade on Eagle Beach are the limited number of umbrellas offered for rent from the vendors on the beach at La Cabana.

 

Otherwise your options are as follows:

 

Eagle Beach

 

Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort

Taxi fare $13 each way for a maximum of 5 people, with an additional $3 charge on Sundays & holidays

 

Beach chair rental

Full day rental $15 each

Half day rental $10 each

Free wifi

Passions Beach Bar & Restaurant with beach service

No shade palapas available

MVC Eagle Beach Resort

Taxi fare $13 each way

 

Beach chair rental

Full day rental $10 each

Half day rental $5 each

Tulip Restaurant (across the street from the beach)- breakfast, lunch, dinner & drinks

Free wifi

Restrooms

Shower

Changing room

Limited shade palapas available, FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

 

Some vendors renting chaise lounges (Paradise Beach Villas) and chaises and umbrellas (La Cabana Resort) as well as jet-ski rentals. They can also provide other watersports such as parasail, banana boat/tube rides, snorkeling excursions, at their locations or take you by boat to Palm Beach.

 

If you MUST have shade, your BEST option is to head to Palm Beach and the vendors on the beach at the Radisson. They have the largest quantity of umbrellas available.

 

 

 

 

Hi ArubaLisa and may I add my thanks to everyone else's for what an invaluable resource you are. (And how you keep returning to answer all of our questions)

We haven't been to Aruba for 2 years but 2 years ago (and for many years before that) we were at the beach across from Amsterdam manor and I'm positive we arrived early and were able to put our chairs under one of the few palapas.

Have they torn them down?

Also, is bus fare still $2.30/pp each way? (Trying to bring exact change)

Edited January 24, 2015 by chamima

[Arubalisa]

The palapas at the Amsterdam Manor are there but they are reserved for guests to use. From what I understand the resort had a lot of push back from their guests being shut out on the shade. Right now during high season their cheapest room goes for $424 a night. The resort appears to be mostly sold out for February. Folks were coming off cruise ships and paying $30 a couple for the same amenity as the guests paying $$$$.

 

We were there over Christmas and the beach boys gladly rented the chaises. We also saw people who brought their OWN beach chairs and wanted to use the palapas. That did not happen either.

 

Take even just 100 people off of one cruise ship and put them as couples under palapas and that is 50 palapas. Multiply that by 4 ships in on the same day and chaos reins supreme. I am not sure there are even 50 palapas on that beach. The resort only has 75 units.

 

I always advise folks here if you HAVE TO HAVE guaranteed shade, go to Palm Beach where there are tons of vendors and you can rent front row chaises in front of the Radisson for $45 for two including an umbrella.

[chamima]

Thanks for clarifying.

I was always under the impression that Palm Beach was much busier.

We like a quiet beach and that was the original reason for heading to Eagle.

 

Does Palm tend to be busier?

 

 

 

 

Another question - We are in Aruba until pretty late and were planning on going to Passions at Amsterdam Manor for a sunset drink.

I've just been looking at the map (originally to see if we really needed shade) and notice that Passions is on the East coast.

Sundown will be behind us - right?

Might need to re-think this.

Edited January 25, 2015 by chamima

[Arubalisa]

Yes, Palm Beach is busier, but it does offer many more opportunities for shade as well as options for watersports, restaurants and bars.

 

The sun sets in the west and the western side of the island is the leeward side of the island. Palm Beach, Eagle Beach and Oranjestad are all on the leeward side of the island. You can see the sun sink below the ocean horizon from any of these locations. The only variation is how far south or north.

 

In December the sun sets straight out from Oranjestad and Druif Beach. As viewed from Eagle and Palm Beach is will "appear" to set further to the south. In summer, the sun will "appear" to set further to the north from all of these locations.

 

You can see the sunset from Passions at all times of the year.

[chamima]

Yes, Palm Beach is busier, but it does offer many more opportunities for shade as well as options for watersports, restaurants and bars.

 

The sun sets in the west and the western side of the island is the leeward side of the island. Palm Beach, Eagle Beach and Oranjestad are all on the leeward side of the island. You can see the sun sink below the ocean horizon from any of these locations. The only variation is how far south or north.

 

In December the sun sets straight out from Oranjestad and Druif Beach. As viewed from Eagle and Palm Beach is will "appear" to set further to the south. In summer, the sun will "appear" to set further to the north from all of these locations.

 

You can see the sunset from Passions at all times of the year.

 

 

Thanks.

We don't need restaurants and bars. Have always been happy at Passions.

I kept thinking the beach faced east but since it's the opposite we'll go early and leave early (and return for sunset).

Also, maybe if we're early we can find a little shade under a tree.

(Which might have been what we did last time - I just remember shade - don't remember for sure if it was a palapa or a tree.)

[Arubalisa]

There are trees there for shade which should be fine through at least 1 to 2 pm :) Enjoy :)

[rjrice1]

Thank you and you are very welcome! I love to help people with information on one of my favorite destinations. We will just miss you, we will be on the island for a land vacation again in June. :)

 

I have not rode horseback in many years, however Gold Mine Ranch receives great reviews on CC's sister website http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147250-d659201-Reviews-The_Gold_Mine_Ranch_Horseback_Riding_Tours-Arikok_National_Park_Aruba.html

 

 

Good Evening Arubalisa:

Just booked a land trip to Aruba (for my husband and me... no kids just us) and could use any help...

Got a great deal at the Renaissance Resort through price line ($130.00 per night)

wondering what should I do and not..

Thinking about doing the ABC tour the island one for 9+ hours.

What else would you recommend? Food, transportation I am not renting a car

Thank you so much.. you can always email me to at

lmen 579 @aol.com

Any infor would be so greatly appreciated.

Cathy

Edited February 1, 2015 by rjrice1

[Arubalisa]

Don't over schedule your trip. A day long jeep tour will be more than sufficient in acquainting yourself with the island.

 

You will love the private island at the Renaissance and all of the terrific dining options. We ate dinner at the Renaissance's LG Smith Steakhouse over Christmas and it was wonderful.

 

If you have any other specific questions, just let me know.

[rjrice1]

Don't over schedule your trip. A day long jeep tour will be more than sufficient in acquainting yourself with the island.

 

You will love the private island at the Renaissance and all of the terrific dining options. We ate dinner at the Renaissance's LG Smith Steakhouse over Christmas and it was wonderful.

 

If you have any other specific questions, just let me know.

 

Thank you..

Just want to do one tour of the island and just R&R.

Should I check out any other beaches? Do you recommend any place I should try to eat at? Was looking at the Aquarius

Thanks

[Arubalisa]

You can rent a car for a day and drive around to the different beaches. Get a feel for which one you like best. Aruba has a HIGH rate of return visitors. ;)

 

For a tour I would recommend a jeep tour or for something more sedate I would recommend a private taxi tour by Bully. More info at Questions on Bully Tours in Aruba??

 

For restaurants there are tons of reviews at CC's sister website http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g147247-Aruba.html