aruba information
 

going to stay at the wyndham in aruba in early feb. any experience with the hotel, any experience with "dine around certificates", anything to do but sun & swim?

Bob: I have been to Aruba twice and would certainly go back, probably when we cut back on the yearly European trips. <BR> <BR>I'll give you the skinny of it: <BR> <BR>Aruba is dry. It's a desert with palm trees that get watered by trucks in the morning. There are no flying insects as a constant 10 mph trade wind is always blowing. It has sugar white beaches and clear, warm water. The "leeward" side (with the hotels) is calm, while the "windward" or east side is very rough. <BR> <BR>There are many types of water sports such as snorkeling, scuba, parasailing, windurfing, etc.. Many hotels have casinos and some have nightly shows. There is a weekly festival or sorts downtown in Oranjestad. <BR> <BR>Take a trip by motor scooter or jeep to the Casabari rock formation and the "Natural Bridge". I've climbed the "Hoolberg" or haystack mountain and it didn't get me all excited. <BR> <BR>Take the bus by day (mid or late afternoon) into town and cab by night. The restaurants are expensive (I didn't use a certificate), but excellent. Try the "Windmill", the Buccaneer, La Dolce Vita, among others. Fantastic! <BR> <BR>You can walk from hotel to hotel during the day along the beach, getting a drink, go for a swim wherever you want on Palm Beach. You don't need to drag along a towel as it is so warm. <BR> <BR>All of the hotels on palm Beach are nice. <BR> <BR>The island is perfectly safe and the people are wonderful. <BR> <BR>Have fun! <BR>

Hi Bob: Lee was right on the money in his description of Aruba.Aruba is a sun and sand destination, but you can also find lots to do. Snorkling at DePalm Island and at Baby Beach are good choices as well as windsurfing at Fishermans Hut. We went horseback riding through the national park it was very hot but we had a refreshing swim in the "pools". Renting a car and touring the atlantic side of the island is a must. Yes there are bats in those caves! We especially liked finding our own little beach. Two superb restaurants are Chez Mathilde and L'Scale which has a violinist to seranade you,dinners here are to remember forever. The casinos are interesting even if your just people watching and the evening dinner shows are fun. But the best thing to do is walking the beach and feeling safe doing it! Karen

Hi Bob: Lee was right on the money in his description of Aruba.Aruba is a sun and sand destination, but you can also find lots to do. Snorkling at DePalm Island and at Baby Beach are good choices as well as windsurfing at Fishermans Hut. We went horseback riding through the national park it was very hot but we had a refreshing swim in the "pools". Renting a car and touring the atlantic side of the island is a must. Yes there are bats in those caves! We especially liked finding our own little beach. Two superb restaurants are Chez Mathilde and L'Scale which has a violinist to seranade you,dinners here are to remember forever. The casinos are interesting even if your just people watching and the evening dinner shows are fun. But the best thing to do is walking the beach and feeling safe doing it! Karen

Ditto on everything that Lee and Karen said, plus: <BR>- there are tonnes of excursions offered by DePalm Tours and other independents and you could end up spending lots of money, so review all the offerings and make careful choices based on your likes and whether you really want to spend a whole day getting on and off a tour bus with 40 other people. Do however consider the sun and snorkeling trip to DePalm Island and the 3 1/2 hour snorkeling trip and lunch run by Octopus tours was nice. <BR>- shopping, shopping and more shopping! Note that the stores downtown are not open at night but many of the same stores are in the hotels all along the strip. <BR>- we were on all-inclusive basis but did get out to try a restaurant - choose the Buccaneer and it was awfully good, filling and good value. Check the hotels on the strip - we found that each hotel usually has some kind of buffet/BBQ night and they all do it on different nights, so the people staying in time shares just wander along the boardwalk to whatever hotel is offering a buffet that night. <BR>Have a great time, eh!