first trip and planning things to do

[BRAD_NJ]

its our first trip and needed insight on who, what when and where. Rosemary can 'veg' on beach for hours while i would be bored so we want some beach time and yet adventures.

we are staying at the divi aruba resort. ive been told use buses to get around BUT is it easier for taxis to go from airport to hotel??

best place to go for horseback on beach??
best place to rent atv or jeeps to explore??
best parasailing?? rose not fond of water so i might go solo
i also upgraded my camera and want to take alot of pics.. any sights that are 'cant miss'??

thanks in adavance for your help-- Brad

[Merel]

Hi Brad,

Great that you are coming to Aruba and there is so much to do.

You can combine your beach time with activities. Great place to visit is Baby Beach. While Rosemary is relaxing on the beach, you can explore the waters. Beach Beach is the perfect place for snorkeling. An other great place for snorkeling is Malmok beach. You can also make a snorkel cruise with one of the sail & snorkel cruise operators like Pelican Adventure, Red Sail Sport, Wavedancer cruises or one of the other cruise operators: Aruba - Sail And Snorkel Cruises and charters - VisitAruba.com. If Rosemary would not like to snorkel, she can just relax on deck.

Other things you can might consider to do in Aruba:

• Aruba Island tour: good way of exploring the island and visit some sights.
• Horseback riding
• Water sport activities

Sights that I would like to recommend are:

• Oranjestad
• National Park Arikok and Natural Pool
• Natural Bridge and Alto Vista Chapel
• California Lighthouse
• Fort Zoutman and Bon Bini Festival. Bon Bini Festival (Bon Bini means Welcome) is a weekly folkloric music and dance festival, where you can gain information about the island, its people, music, cuisine and hospitality.

Getting around on Aruba is most comfortable by renting a car. There are many car rentals on Aruba. Some car rentals are Amigo Car rental, Toyota Car Rental, Economy Car Rental. For more car rentals please take a look at Aruba Car Rentals - VisitAruba.com. Maybe you can just rent a car for a few days, to drive around and visit some sights. If you would not like to rent a car you can visit the sights with one of the tour operators.
From Divi you can also take the bus to Oranjestad or to the high rise resorts, were you can find some restaurants, shopping malls etc.

Regarding your transportation from the airport to your hotel, I would like to recommended a taxi instead of the public bus. You can also use a tour operator that offers transfer services. You can contact El Tours or de Palm tours for your transfer to your hotel.

I hope you will enjoy Aruba.
Merel

[BRAD_NJ]

thx merel for the great info. we are counting the days and your info helped me narrow down things to do. horseback sounds great. especially on the beach.

do you know difference between boat with glass bottom and the sub?? the sub sounds unique and really different.

[phillyboater]

We took the semi sub last year. Trip was just ok, but water was not very clear due to storms. Daughter took sub several years ago and she did not recommend due to cost.

If you are into snorkeling, I would suggest Black pearl for a 3 hour trip or Tranquillo if you are interested in a longer trip. Both trips are small groups with great captain and crew.

ABC Tours offers a 1/2 day and full day tour. both visit a lot of sites in a relatively short time.

[mark]

The SeaWorld Explorer and the Submarine are quite different. Seaworld Explorer basically allows you to get into the hull of a vessel and the hull is designed with windows so you can view the marine life as the vessel floats around in interesting places, but it is floating. They call it a semi-submarine because that's the feeling you get, you're underwater but in a floating vessel.

The Submarine on the other hand is exactly that and dives completely submerged to depths of up to 130 feet and allows you to see things that the SeaWorld Explorer cannot reach.

For more information you can see:
Aruba tour operator - De Palm Tours
Aruba tour operator - De Palm Tours

[BRAD_NJ]

yea mark i think we will do the sub.. no kids coming with us so we will splurge--that seems like alot of fun

[classiclincoln]

Don't forget the Ostrich Farm. The restaurant there is good, and you can threaten the ostriches to be good or be dinner!

We like to drive around. Getting the Jeep will allow you to drive on the beach and see the sights, which are beautiful. Check out the fort and natural bridge (forget the details, you can find out when you're there). The restaurant by the light house is good, and the Aruba Aloe plant has a neat tour, and you can get stuff there you can't get in the states.

There are also some museums there (which we didn't get to see) and we're planning on checking them out when we're there in 3 weeks.

Get the Visit Aruba card (lots of discounts) and have fun!!

[Sandra]

Rent a car and just get "lost" on the island for 1 or 2 days. You can find some amazing spots that way.