What is NOT TO BE MISSED in Aruba?

[let's go cruising]

We have never been to Aruba. Our Jan 2022 cruise is scheduled to be our first time. Each port has the THING YOU SHOULD DO THERE. I know that making these decisions on excursions must take into account the cruisers and the rest of the itinerary. But knowing what attractions are best helps to sort it out. 

 

Regardless of what other ports cruisers are going to, what are YOUR top NOT TO BE MISSED for Aruba?

 

I love to gather information, and I think we can all enjoy thinking of the BEST of our ports.

 

-- Renee

[CntPAcruiser]

For a port stop, I think Aruba is best known for its beaches. I believe it is Palm Beach and Eagle Beach. Most of the times we have been on Aruba, we have either done the beach or a snorkel excursion, though once we did an island tour that was interesting, but not incredible. There are some sights on the far side of the island that are quite beautiful, but for me nothing stands out the way it does for many other islands.

[cruiseapril]

The beaches are very nice.  Lunch near the beach is good too.

 

 

[TTEllis]

5 hours ago, cruiseapril said:

The beaches are very nice.  Lunch near the beach is good too.

 

 

Yes, I highly recommend lunch on Eagle Beach. A few years back I had the grilled chicken panini sandwich with goat cheese at the Amsterdam Manor beach bar. It was so good I've been back several times since and did again, a must when on Aruba.

[LeeW]

Been there many times - our favorite port.  Going back in a few months as land vacation since ships aren't running yet.  Now we just take the buses north to the beach area, get off somewhere and walk a while.  Then take bus back.  About $5 round trip per person.  Small vans run the same route and more often than the 20 minute bus schedule.

 

If you have never been, try one of the 4x4 Land Rover trips to the desert side of the island.  The large natural bridge collapsed around 15 years ago but there are several arches, old gold works, ostrich farm, aloe factory, typical tourist stuff.  Worth doing once.  DePalm Island is a pretty good AI, with decent food and snorkeling and optional snuba/helmet dives.  Another option is one of the snorkel boats.  Decent snorkeling close to shore.  We were not really fond of the Antilles wreck - tends to have a strong current trying to wash you out to sea (although crew on all the boats will come and get you so not dangerous, just crowded).  Interesting to see divers 60' down with fish as large as them.

 

If you like casinos, Aruba has lots of them.  Good food, great people.  Probably the friendliest island in the Caribbean.

[jean87510]

If you like to explore on your own and don't want to just sit on a beach, rent a car and drive around island.  We dont even bother with tours or AIs.  We did the trek out to the natural pool which unfortunately I hated because it was awful driving out there even with the ATVs.  We have visited the mines and the area around them which was really nice with our rental car.  We snorkeled off of boca catalina and mangel hato (sp) which is right near de palm island.  We visited the Philips animal garden.  We went horse back riding.  If our cruises are cancelled in September, we are going back to Aruba as we love it there.  We have only been there via cruise a few times but always have a great time on our own.  We have been to palm beach via bus and eagle beach via bus on the 2p-10p cruises.

[TTEllis]

Always leave about an hour or so extra for cocktails at Iguana Joe's before getting back on the ship. Best Bloody Mary's on the island, great vibe a lot of fun. 

[coldflame]

Tours aren't worth it IMO. The beaches are the best part. You can rent kayaks, windsurf. Food at beach bars is pretty great. As others have said Eagle Beach and Palm Beach are the best and most convenient.

[ClevelandCruisin]

Aruba aloe shops, Lucy's bar and grill, the Dutch pancake house.

 

At Lucy's you can get a free shirt if you swallow a shot with a tiny scorpion in it! 

[better_at_sea]

Has anyone tried windsurfing in Aruba? Are there tour groups, or are there specific beaches that have rental booths that offer rentals and lessons? 

[bschoon60]

We took Aruba Trikes Tour which was a fun way to see the island.  We then spent the rest of the day on the beach.  

[amypintx]

On 7/9/2021 at 1:13 PM, better_at_sea said:

Has anyone tried windsurfing in Aruba? Are there tour groups, or are there specific beaches that have rental booths that offer rentals and lessons? 

 

We were there last week. We didn't actually do it, but the beaches just north of the "high rise" hotels seemed to be where they were doing it. Lots of companies there with lessons and rentals.

[better_at_sea]

3 hours ago, amypintx said:

 

We were there last week. We didn't actually do it, but the beaches just north of the "high rise" hotels seemed to be where they were doing it. Lots of companies there with lessons and rentals.

Great, thank you! I'll check out those specific companies

[NBliving]

On 7/22/2021 at 1:45 PM, better_at_sea said:

Great, thank you! I'll check out those specific companies

I’m curious if you ended up finding any information from those windsurfing companies. We are looking into it for an April cruise. 

[ARandomTraveler]

If you want an excursion, I recommend doing the Aruba Trikes tour, or the UTV tour with ABC Tours.

 

If you want a nice beach day, I recommend Palm Beach where you can just hang out in the water all day because it’s so calm, or lay in the sun. You can rent jet skis, parasail, rent stand-up-paddle-boards, and kayaks. 
 

If you want to sunbathe, but aren’t as interested in going into the water or doing water activities, go to Eagle Beach, which is less populated, but whose water is often more rough than palm beach. It’s not too rough to get into, but if you plan to float around in the water a lot, palm beach has calmer water.