October 11- Nov. 14, 2023
You will note all prices are in dollars. Technically, Aruba has the Florin, which is 1.75 to the dollar. But almost all restaurants list their prices in dollars.
Most people visit other places as tourists- arrive, see the main attractions, go to the beaches or and restaurants that cater to the tastes and budgets of foreigners, take their pictures, and go home. Others go as travelers, staying in guesthouses, journeying to the smaller towns and less visited locales to get to know the people. John and I are “travelists” – a little of both. We journey forth with open minds, looking to see a place for its less obvious charms, trying to stay long enough to get a true feel for the country. We keep a budget in mind – but it’s not strict. Thailand and Indonesia, food and lodging for two can easily be kept under $50/day (except Phuket), Kuala Lumpur kept to $75/day, Singapore a bit more.
John and I spoiled ourselves with a month on Aruba. The island paradise is a favorite for honeymooners and people renewing vows for a reason – mile upon mile of white sand beaches, calm surf, stable temperatures in the 80’s year-round (though humid), and except for rainy season (including November), little rain. The downside, compared to Thailand, Indonesia and South America – it’s expensive compared to most of our other travels, food (with alcohol) alone for the two of us was $60+/day.
In our first week in Oranjestad we lived in an efficiency AirBNB close to the cruise port and main Arubus station for $455. Our remaining lodging was a 1-bedroom apartment in the Noord area– 1.2 miles from Palm Beach/Riu for $1750 for 27 days. We chose not to get a rental car (which would be about $175/week without collision insurance), and instead walked, took tours and the Arubus to get around (if you can get your pass at the station in Oranjestad, rides are $5 RT pp, on the bus is $2.60 pp or 4.5 florins each way).
What did we do? Like most people on Aruba – we went to the beach!
Surfside Beach is only about 2km from the cruise pier in Oranjestad, it has low trees that provide shade, then a larger beach area with several beach bars (you can get ½ the distance on the free trolley from the cruise port).
Baby Beach is named because it is so calm, babies can safely swim. It is a well-protected cove with a reef 5km from San Nicolas (but no public transportation to access). Two restaurants sit by the beach, but both are very expensive ($12 for 2 sodas, 1 small pack of cookies and 1 small bag of Fritos). It’s a common site to snorkel and many of the tour buses visit.
Eagle Beach – one of the biggest and most popular – southern part of hotel row which extends several kilometers along the west coast, and accessible by the Arubus L10/L10A from Oranjestad.
Palm Beach sits just north of Eagle Beach and the main part of Hotel District. The wide beach with piers and beach bars is among the busiest on the island. Most of the resorts have rows and rows of beach chairs, but since the beach itself is public, byo chair and towel to relax and enjoy the calm waters.
Arashi Beach is the northernmost stop of the Arubus L10A, and is about a 1 km walk to the Lighthouse where you get sweeping views of the north end of the island. The beach itself has several small huts that offer shade and some shelves for drinks and bags.
Both when enjoying the beach and touring, there is plenty of wildlife:
Aruba is home to hundreds of species of birds and reptiles (even the pigeons/ doves are often unusual). The Aruban Whiptail, locally called an azulazul (or blue blue) is a colorful reptile unique to Aruba with males who sport colors from a teal green to electric blue- exactly matching the beautiful waters surrounding the island.
We were a little disappointed in the Bubali Bird Sanctuary, a wetland area with a viewing deck. We didn’t see much, but a smart pelican fed on the easy pickings in the shallow estuary.
A worthwhile tour is one into the Arikok National Park. Our tour included a guided hike through the park. We were told there were three kinds of snakes in Aruba, including a small rattle snake that “you never see on the major trails” – our hike was an exception. Luckily, these are not aggressive rattle snakes (only 3 people bit in the last decade), and the snake wandered back into the bush as our guide barricaded the path with his backpack as we passed. Our 2-hour hike and transportation cost $49pp + the well-deserved tip for our guide (who was so psyched he saw the rattlesnake).
Another must see are the murals of San Nicolas (Arubus L1, L2 and L3A). They have an annual mural competition and excellent artists flock to demonstrate their talent with the side of a building as their canvas. The pleasant people at the visitor’s center (next to the bus station), will provide you with a map, or you can take a guided tour.
And of course, we enjoyed local and chain restaurants. A few blocks from the cruise pier in Oranjestad there are a lot of food trucks which are among the most reasonably priced places to eat – though most don’t post their prices. An island staple are “pastiches” – similar to empanadas with a dough more like pie crust, filled with anything. The “traditional” fillings are cheese, ham & cheese, beef and tuna. The Pastiche House on the corner of Oranjestraat and Main is popular with locals and tourists, but there are only 6 small tables, so most have to take their pastiches to go. Although the island food can be expensive, keeping an eye out for local specials helps (The Paddock has all you can eat ribs special for $17 after 5PM on Wednesday and Saturday). Happy Hours offer a good way to stay on budget – and some are very good – $4 wine at Italian restaurant in the Seaport Village Marina of Oranjestad (in same complex a very expensive one at the Cuban place); $1 taco Tuesday and $1 wing Wednesday at Fat Tuesday in Palm Beach were among the best deals. Our favorite for mixed drinks – Café 080 on route 2 – $5 mixed drinks with kick (no food/beer or wine in the Happy Hour).
One of the greatest attractions for Aruba is the weather. Aruba is only 12 degrees north of the equator, giving it a truly tropical climate. Lows are 81-83, highs 88-89, all year, except for rainy season when highs run in the low 80’s (which started a little early this year due to getting outer bands of hurricane Tammy. Due to its proximity to the equator, hurricanes rarely hit Aruba, but it often gets an edge of one like with Tammy. On Saturday Oct. 21st, my weather app stated e would be getting showers starting around 1-2 PM. We left for a morning walk the 1.2 miles to the beach area to grab a breakfast at Bagels & Burgers and walk on the beach. A little over halfway to the restaurant we heard thunder and saw one lightning strike in the distance. We made it to the restaurant, and stayed for the next hour and 15 minutes as the deluge continued for almost the entirety of that time. Once it reduced to a light rain we left and found refuge in an outer patio of the Playa Linda resort – where all the guests were middle aged and up – we fit right in. They also had open free wifi.
Although not arid, Aruba is a desert island with little rainfall (about 18 inches per year). The rainy season is mainly November -January, so we caught the early portion. Mainly light showers occurred starting the last week of October, which occasionally changed our plans. (The only heavy rain was associated with Hurricane Tammy). There is little fresh water on the island, and up until the 1930’s, most homes had huge underground cisterns that captured the water during those few months. Now it has one of the largest desalination plants in the world, providing clean, fresh water for the populace and for sale overseas.
Though when full moon + high tide+ offshore storms all converge – the beach gets flooded.
The biggest downside of using the Arubus is limited schedule and routes. It is great for going between Oranjestad and the beaches along the NW coast, and if you time it well – traveling to San Nicolas for the murals, and is more reasonable than renting a car or taking taxis.
Our total outlay for 34 days in Aruba, counting flights in and home for both of us, was $6,280. Definitely not a tight budget, but allowed for a comfortable month in paradise.
Our month in Aruba provided a pleasant finale to the independent travel before we head off on our around the world cruise on the Serenade of the Seas.