Aruba Trip Report

Old Aug 18th, 2004, 04:39 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Aruba Trip Report

My husband and I just returned from our five-night vacation in Aruba. Because I received so many great ideas about Aruba from this board, I wanted to detail our Aruba experience for anyone interested. It is long so I tried to break it up by subject and posted two reports?this one and one specifically on restaurants.

HOTEL: HYATT
We stayed at the Hyatt?we usually like their line of hotels and stay in one when given the chance. I had read many reports on the rooms and balconies being small. The rooms were fine. We had a standard room with no balcony. We were offered an upgrade on the second evening but never followed up because we truly were only in the room when we were getting ready for dinner or sleeping. I saw very few people utilizing the balconies at the Hyatt as well as the other hotels within sight range. Our only complaints about the room: there were very few wall outlets and not a lot of space to hang wet things.

The service at the Hyatt was excellent and prompt. For example, I called down when I realized the bathroom hairdryer was not working and they sent someone up within minutes. Everyone else we encountered was very friendly.

The Hyatt grounds were beautiful with flowers and trees, black swans, parrots, etc. The pool area was nice although we only used the pool for five minutes (very warm) since the gorgeous water of the Caribbean was right there! The pool seemed to have more children there also. We ate at the Hyatt for the breakfast buffet twice (which was well done) and once for lunch at the Palms (burgers- large, but only okay). We had snacks and yummy drinks daily either at the Palms outdoor bar, Piet?s Pier Bar or the Juice Bar - all on the Hyatt grounds. We did look at some of the other hotels we had considered (Radisson and Bucuti) but we would definitely choose the Hyatt over both on any return trip.

The beach at the Hyatt was a decent size. Huts provided shade but you need to get up very early to stake your claim. We were able to get one later by chance one day. We really spent all of our beach time IN the water?floating on the water rafts that you can rent for $2.

WEATHER IN ARUBA:
The weather was beautiful although much hotter than we had anticipated. I confess that I don?t usually wear sunscreen here at home in the summer but I definitely did there?30 SPF, reapplying every hour or so. My husband also used 30 but wasn?t as lucky?he did burn on day two. Ouch.

The Aruba wind/breeze was welcoming. We decided the people who complain about the wind must be people who were very into their hairdos?

CAR AND TAXI:
We did rent a Jeep from Economy Car Rental for three days. We enjoy driving in and around new places. The Jeep also served as transportation to some of our selected restaurants. Our Jeep had no windows, so again, if you are the type who is concerned about your hair, make sure you get a car with windows. Really, it was in the car that we felt the wind the most. The only day we used a taxi was to get to another restaurant (by Eagle Beach) and it was $11 plus a tip each way. I think using taxis each night we went out would have been more expensive than getting the car so we were glad we did and would again?if only to go out to dine. Just a note: the gas prices there were over $3.00 a gallon?yikes. Total for three day Jeep rental: $200

SIGHTSEEING:
We spent some time driving around the island. I thought the mix of cacti and water was really cool. We saw The Lighthouse area, the Alto Vita Chapel, Bushiribana Ruins, and Natural Bridge all in less than three hours? and all worth the drive. The north side of the island is such a different sight than Palm Beach and Eagle Beach. So amazing. We saw many tour groups at these places (buses, horseback, 4wheel ATVs and Jeep groups) but we liked the freedom of coming and going as we chose.

Another day we drove out to the other end of the island through San Nicolas, to Baby Beach (beautiful!!) and by the cave area. Baby Beach was a sight and worth the trip if you are so inclined but the cave area nearby was a little freaky?although only a few miles from San Nicolas, it seemed like the middle of no where. I just wanted to get back to the beach.

We spent a few hours one morning checking out the shops in town also. Believe me, I like to shop, but I can only take so many souvenir shops and jewelry boutiques. Among our best purchases, a watercolor painting by a local artist (at Gasparito, see restaurants trip report by me also) and a mopa mopa box. We would have rather done this window shopping at night after dinner, but the shops close by 6 PM. Again, nice to see in the few hours we spent but we were not willing to devote the time. We just wanted to get back to the beach.

TRAVELING:
We flew Continental nonstop from Newark Liberty and returned the same way. Each way our flight was delayed. On the return trip ( an hour delay) this was annoying because Aruba requires you to be at the airport three hours in advance. Not a whole lot to do or eat at the airport while you are waiting that long. Customs was very easy and really did not take long at all. In Aruba we were shuttled to and from the airport by a DePalm tour bus. This was included in our Hyatt hotel/airfare package. They also made stops at other hotels to and from the airport.

We really enjoyed ourselves in Aruba. We would love to return once we have sampled another Caribbean island or two. Any questions?please don?t hesitate.
jerseygirl1 is offline  
Old Aug 18th, 2004, 06:15 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 882
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
At the Hyatt & Hyatt beach area, are there many activities for kids, adults, and families (jet ski rentals, water skiing,etc.)? Also, did you do any snorkeling? If so, how was it and was it near the hotel? Glad to hear you had a good time!
Pumpy is offline  
Old Aug 18th, 2004, 06:49 PM
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Pumpy: There were many activities available right on the Hyatt Beach. Red Sail Sports was one company there and they are affiliated with the Hyatt somehow. The Hyatt gave us some coupons at check-in. There are also two other companies going out from there as well. There were people water skiing, riding wave runners, taking tube rides of all kinds, parasailing, and banana boat riding. I know there were people taking off on larger boats from the pier also for other sea excursions, presumably some snorkeling.

Although they all looked like fun, we did none of the above. We have done many of those things before on other vacations or even on the beach by our own beach house and we truly wanted to spend our days doing close to nothing...this was our first long vacation alone since becoming parents
jerseygirl1 is offline  
Old Aug 18th, 2004, 07:37 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Jerseygirl1, glad to read you and your husband had a good time in Aruba. We (myself, pregnant wife, 2 yr old, 7 yr old and mother in-law) are doing exactly the same as you at end of Sept. B'fast is not included in my package. What is the approx. cost for this at the Hyatt? I have read that there are many other options for lunch and dinner which I may get the AGA card for.

How is the pool? There are no pics of it on their website. Our 7 yr old loves large pools ever since we stayed at the Wyndham Rose Hall in Montego Bay.

We have friends staying at the Costa Linda on Eagle Beach. How far is this from Hyatt? I will probably rent a car as getting the 5 of us around by taxi or bus may not be cost effective. Were you satisfied with Economy Car rental.

You mentioned that Aruba requires you to be at airport 3 hrs prior. Is this mandatory? Was it necessary in your opinion. We are leaving Aruba on Thurs afternoon and I would rather not have my two kids sit in a small airport with nothing to do for 3 hrs if I can avoid it. Also how was security leaving Newark? We depart at 6 am on Sat.

Any help appreciated. Thanks
Farid, Scotch Plains NJ

farid is offline  
Old Aug 18th, 2004, 08:00 PM
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The breakfast buffet at the Hyatt was $15 per person not incl. the svc charge or tip. We only did this buffet twice on the first and last mornings. I don't know if the heat made me lose my usual morning appetite or what but I was fine with a quick breakfast. The other mornings we just grabbed bagels at the hotel or the Dunkin Donuts down the street. I also read that Salt and Pepper has a good breakfast and they are right across from the Hyatt. Maybe more cost effective than 5 people eating at the buffet each morning.

The pool was nice enough but nothing over the top for me. Kids probably enjoy it more because there are three levels including an area for water volleyball and a very large water slide. Your 7 year old will probably like it. When we were on the beach I often heard the kids begging their parents to go back to the pool.

The Eagle Beach area is about 5 minutes by car from the Hyatt. The Eagle Beach area is much quieter and wider beach areas, probably because the Palm BEach hotels build up and out...Eagle Beach was very pretty.

I would definitely get a car again. We were satisfied with Economy Rentals. They charged exactly what they quoted and provided transportation to and from the hotel since we didn't get the car on the first day. Just remember to get a car with windows if you are concerned about the wind. We enjoyed the Jeep.

Finally, we were told to be at the airport three hours before. We were told it was "law" for safety reasons. Since we didn't know any better, we were there. But we weren't alone. The gate area was filled the whole time. The bus transportation company AND the Hyatt also reminded us about this 3 hour rule. Definitely way too long...but what can you do? Maybe more experienced Aruba travelers can give you insight better than I. Newark security was about the same as I ever experienced on vacations in the past. At least at Newark you can walk around stores and food areas while you wait. Enjoy Aruba...One Happy Island!
jerseygirl1 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
jodyroch
Caribbean Islands
8
May 28th, 2007 06:51 AM
Blair9535
Caribbean Islands
13
Dec 1st, 2003 06:14 PM
Lauriebandaid
Caribbean Islands
7
Jun 10th, 2003 01:32 PM
jobeydog
Caribbean Islands
4
May 18th, 2003 03:36 AM
Rita
Caribbean Islands
6
Jan 10th, 2003 05:52 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -