Deciding between 2 excursions in Aruba

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I've posted the specifics for sites on the Ports board, but am curious if anyone has done either of these small group excursions in Aruba with Celebrity and their thoughts on the experience with the ship tour.

 

Option A: Small Group Local Experience Jeep Tour

or

Option B Small Group Half Day Off Road Adventure

 

They both look cool - within $10 so price is not a deciding factor. I know most people are "allergic" to ship excursions, but as a solo traveler, I feel more comfortable with them. I have snorkel/beach things planned for Bonaire and Curacao, so I'm looking for something a bit different for Aruba.

 

Thanks!

Edited March 30 by WrittenOnYourHeart
clarify port

[Tierun]

Off road adventure. Riding an ATV in Aruba was one of the most fun things to do there. In less than an hour you travel from Caribbean island to Arizona/ Nevada type desert. It was lovely.

Edited March 30 by Tierun
Spelling

[Harley167]

We did an Island jeep tour a few years back and loved it!Aruba is not that big, so you can almost go from one end to the other! 

 

[Liao]

16 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

I've posted the specifics for sites on the Ports board, but am curious if anyone has done either of these small group excursions in Aruba with Celebrity and their thoughts on the experience with the ship tour.

 

Option A: Small Group Local Experience Jeep Tour

or

Option B Small Group Half Day Off Road Adventure

 

They both look cool - within $10 so price is not a deciding factor. I know most people are "allergic" to ship excursions, but as a solo traveler, I feel more comfortable with them. I have snorkel/beach things planned for Bonaire and Curacao, so I'm looking for something a bit different for Aruba.

 

Thanks!

Not in Aruba, but I ONLY will do small group tours with Celebrity and IMO, from having done several Jeep tours on many islands, the vendors they get to do the Jeep tours have always been fantastic.  When I see a Jeep tour I grab it, they go fast.  Best one I have ever done was in the Azores.

[hcat]

off road sounds like more fun..esp on ARUBA!

 

What are the places you would see on the local experience tour, ?

..Could be .more touristy than active!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

8 minutes ago, hcat said:

off road sounds like more fun..esp on ARUBA!

 

What are the places you would see on the local experience tour, ?

..Could be .more touristy than active!

The Jeep is:

Ayo Rock Formation

Blackstone Beach and Twin Bridges

Frenchmans Pass and Balashi Gold Mill ruins

Mangel Halto Beach

 

The Off Road is:

California Lighthouse

remains of Baby Natural Bridge

Alto Vista Church

remains of a gold mine

Arashi Beach

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

The Jeep is also open-air and off-road.

[sun bum]

Off road ATV tour is the way to go! 17 cruises to over 25 island, several times. The ATV tour in Aruba is our favorite.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

The Jeep is:

Ayo Rock Formation

Blackstone Beach and Twin Bridges

Frenchmans Pass and Balashi Gold Mill ruins

Mangel Halto Beach

 

The Off Road is:

California Lighthouse

remains of Baby Natural Bridge

Alto Vista Church

remains of a gold mine

Arashi Beach

Both seem nice but off road would be  fun.. it will be VERY hotcand bumpy..  will need hat, sunscreen  sunglasses and big jug of water

 

.lighthouse is a touristy  stop.. photo op

 

let us know what you pick and how it was in person!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

let us know what you pick and how it was in person!

Will do! I'm definitely planning to do a live from report!

[hcat]

will watch for it.. love your  blogs!

[janetz]

Trikes-Aruba 

google them 😊

[kayehall]

Yep, we did the Trikes.  Google them for a good time!!

[Rick&Jeannie]

Not the same...but we did an off-road with ATVs in Curacao a while back.  Great fun!  YOU WILL GET DIRTY!

[billc23]

Two nice options. We used to vacation in Aruba for 2 weeks every winter and have done the Jeep and ATV tours many times. The Jeep may be a little safer depending on your skill level going over sand dunes on an ATV. The weather is deceptive. It is not very hot (82-85 degrees F) with low humidity and a constant breeze - but being 14 degrees latitude off the equator there is an elevated sunburn risk. The Jeep has a top so that affords some protection that the ATV does not. Overall I recommend the Jeep unless you have experience riding an ATV - would you rent a motorcycle or a car kind of decision??

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 hours ago, billc23 said:

Two nice options. We used to vacation in Aruba for 2 weeks every winter and have done the Jeep and ATV tours many times. The Jeep may be a little safer depending on your skill level going over sand dunes on an ATV. The weather is deceptive. It is not very hot (82-85 degrees F) with low humidity and a constant breeze - but being 14 degrees latitude off the equator there is an elevated sunburn risk. The Jeep has a top so that affords some protection that the ATV does not. Overall I recommend the Jeep unless you have experience riding an ATV - would you rent a motorcycle or a car kind of decision??

Thank you! Both excursions specify that you are not driving - which is fine with me. I sold my car in 2006 when I moved to NYC and have not driven since.

 

I asked on the Aruba board for the specific sites and the ones from the Jeep got the most positive feedback, so I decided to go with that.

 

I'm definitely stocking up on the reef-safe sunscreen for this cruise more than any others for sure!!

[hcat]

good choice..can't wait to hear how it was... also need a fitted hat, and  sunglasses....protect from sun and dust!

[billc23]

53 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Thank you! Both excursions specify that you are not driving - which is fine with me. I sold my car in 2006 when I moved to NYC and have not driven since.

 

I asked on the Aruba board for the specific sites and the ones from the Jeep got the most positive feedback, so I decided to go with that.

 

I'm definitely stocking up on the reef-safe sunscreen for this cruise more than any others for sure!!

Great choice. I always enjoyed driving the Jeep!

[LB_NJ]

On 4/3/2024 at 6:16 AM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Thank you! Both excursions specify that you are not driving - which is fine with me. I sold my car in 2006 when I moved to NYC and have not driven since.

 

I asked on the Aruba board for the specific sites and the ones from the Jeep got the most positive feedback, so I decided to go with that.

 

I'm definitely stocking up on the reef-safe sunscreen for this cruise more than any others for sure!!

Looking at the jeep tour for next April.

 

Wondering what your experience was?

[SWFL Cruisers]

I have done both and really enjoyed the off road adventure best. But then again, I like the road less traveled.

Cheers!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

24 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

Looking at the jeep tour for next April.

 

Wondering what your experience was?

 

Sorry! I meant to come back and report!

 

I had a wonderful time! There were I think 40 of us and we were divided between 4 vehicles - there were empty seats in each vehicle except one where there was a large family that took up most of it.

 

We started at the Ayo Rock Formations. The cave drawings are on the ground level. Once we saw those, people who wanted were able to go up a trail and climb through some rocks to get to a nice viewing point. I will say there was one area where you had to duck down and it was a little narrow and one where you had to scramble up a rock (I scraped my elbow on that section as I was bracing against the rock - they had a first-aid kit so I was able to get it cleaned and bandaged before the dusty part started) - so it's a good idea to have shoes you're comfortable walking and climbing on rocks on your feet. One of the people had on flip flops and she was sliding around a bit. (I'm trying to remember if the paperwork said close-toed shoes or not...but they clearly didn't check).

 

Then we went to the natural bridges area. It's amazing how desert-like that area is. You do get dusty and dirty as you are off-road here. They did not provide us with buffs or bandanas - if dirt dust bothers you, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a bandana to cover your mouth and nose. At the bridges, you could walk down to the black stone beach to look at that area. Because the remaining natural bridges do have cracks in them, you can't walk out as a group. One of the guides did let people go as solos or couples for pictures. They are very clear that there is NO swimming here - the currents are too strong. The only known person to have fallen in and survived was a fisherman who fell in and was presumed dead until he washed up 3 days later in Panama.

 

Then we went to Mangel Halto Beach. It's very pretty, but I'd definitely recommend water shoes as it's pretty rocky getting to a swimmable area.

 

On our way back, the driver of my jeep pulled over to the side and pointed out a mountain in the distance - that was Venezuela.

 

They did have bottles of water and carried coolers with water so we could refill them.

 

I'll do a follow-up post here in a moment using my cell phone to show some pictures.

Edited August 14 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Ayo Rock Formations

 

 

 

 

 

Natural Bridges

 

 

 

 

 

Mangel Halto Beach

 

 

 

Venezuela in the distance (the part I circled pink)

 

[Purplsmurf]

Being a very frequent visitor to Aruba (our family owns a timeshare and house there), if I had to choose between them I would choose the Jeep tour. Locals frown heavily on the ATV/UTV tours, as it damages the ecosystem, and as fun as they can be…..and very dusty…..I would never do it. Actually, there are talks that the UTV/ATVs will be banned, which could happen in the near future. Instead of either of these, I would highly recommend Trikes Aruba. They drive on the road and don’t do damage. You can drive them on your own if you want, but you don’t have to. Very fun time. We loved it! Have a blast while there! 

[gfkcruiser]

We did that tour this past February.  What good but the jeep ride was a bit frightening for me.