Any been out to De Palm Island recently

[Giskard]

My DH and DS want to go out to Depalm island, DS wants to do the trimaran sailng there.

 

I know it expensive and I'm just hoping it will be worth it. I'm thinking we should just do 1/2 day so we can hit one of the other beaches like Palm Beach.

dac

[stprdi]

We were there in August and loved it. We didn't have nearly enough time though. We did the afternoon DePalm island tour and by the time we arrived, had the snorkel/snuba talk and finally had our turn the time was up. The island is lovely. Beautiful sand, warm clear water and loads of fish to watch. Just wish we had longer. Loved Aruba too and would go back in a heartbeat if I could afford to fly there.

[Giskard]

Glad to hear you liked it! Sounds like we could spend the whole day there.

dac

[kakalina]

We were there last Feb. and it was so terrible that quite a few of us from the ship got a cab to take us back and demanded a refund from the Shorex desk. They had so many people there that you could not go into the snorkel area without getting kicked in the head. Most of the area we were in had been closed off to the public. There had been a storm and the electricity had gone off. There was no lunch as promised due to no electricity, and even the soda machines were obviously not working. They did offer free rum drinks to make up for the problem but as we don't drink alcohol this wasn't much of a solution for us. We do not recommend it and would not go again.

 

Instead take the local bus for $1USD and go the the Wyndham resort. There you can go through the lovely hotel to a marvelous beach area beyond. There are chair and towel rentals, a bar, etc. Even wild avian life to admire. You can find several lovely beaches to go to just by riding the bus and for 50cents you can get a transfer that will take you back. It is quite an experience to ride the local buses we try to where ever we go

[Toto2Kansas]

We were there last Feb. and it was so terrible that quite a few of us from the ship got a cab to take us back and demanded a refund from the Shorex desk. They had so many people there that you could not go into the snorkel area without getting kicked in the head. Most of the area we were in had been closed off to the public. There had been a storm and the electricity had gone off. There was no lunch as promised due to no electricity, and even the soda machines were obviously not working. They did offer free rum drinks to make up for the problem but as we don't drink alcohol this wasn't much of a solution for us. We do not recommend it and would not go again.

 

Instead take the local bus for $1USD and go the the Wyndham resort. There you can go through the lovely hotel to a marvelous beach area beyond. There are chair and towel rentals, a bar, etc. Even wild avian life to admire. You can find several lovely beaches to go to just by riding the bus and for 50cents you can get a transfer that will take you back. It is quite an experience to ride the local buses we try to where ever we go

 

Isn't that a bit unfair to say how horrible this was since there were power outages which I am guessing are not usual? Sorry to hear you had a bad day, but I honestly don't think this would be the norm for most visits.

Again, sorry to hear things weren't the best the day you visited. :(

[Sandytoes]

Being De Palm Snorkeling Adventure lasts only 3.5 hrs.

Costing $54p/p

Do you think it's truly worth it?

 

I would love to see the blue parrots.

[MiniMom57]

We were there in March and were VERY disappointed. The island is just off-shore from an electric plant and the area is VERY industrial. The island had some storm damage that is being cleaned up, but there were piles of debris at the edge of the beach, the beach was created by dumping sand onto black plastic mesh (that is sticking up all along the edge). The food wasn't good. They were working on a couple of the buildings, and there was sawdust flying everywhere. It was a windy day and the water was very choppy, so the snorkeling wasn't very good, either. All in all, a waste of time and money!

 

here's the swimming area: http://family.webshots.com/photo/2914491040045486895LrSUEE

 

another shot of the swimming area:

http://family.webshots.com/photo/2174450330045486895tfFzms

[Sandytoes]

Darlene

Thanks!

Doesn't sound like it's worth it.

-----

 

I loved your photos. Great Shots!

[Arubalisa]

Being De Palm Snorkeling Adventure lasts only 3.5 hrs.

Costing $54p/p

Do you think it's truly worth it?

 

I would love to see the blue parrots.

For $70 you can take a snorkel excursion on the Tranquilo. http://www.tranquiloaruba.com/ That is for SIX hours (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.) and includes lunch and open bar. There are two snorkel stops, one shallow reef and then one 40 foot reef on the outside of the barrier islands south of De Palm Island. (De Palm Island is one such barrier island). Much better value for the money.