Two quick questions -
Any preferences among the Marriott properties on Aruba? We have no interest in Casino, prefer quiet to action.
Is there a way to do a trip to So. America from Aruba (like a day or two trip)? Just want to say we went, and it's SO close!

Thanks!

Not that familar with the Marriotts except location and it's pretty family friendly if you're looking for that.

There are no day trips from Aruba to South American/Venzuela. Due to the political unrest there, it's not really a safe place to venture to. If you absolutely want to go you can book a flight with either DAE or Insel Air and do your own thing.

Same if your interested in visiting Curacao, which is a safe, great little Island to check out.

There are three Marriott properties in Aruba all lined up one next to the other along the beach. Two are timeshare properties and the other is a hotel. So three large properties connected together with walkways along the beach. I would not call it "quiet". The hotel has the casino in it just off the lobby. So it depends on what your needs are, if you want a hotel room or if you want a one bedroom or two bedroom timeshare. Right now Venezuela is having a lot of problems and I would not think a trip there would be safe.

We stayed at the Marriott property in the downtown area, The Renaissance Ocean Suites. Just wife and I. We thought it was a great property. Across the street is another part of the hotel called the Marina and it houses the casino and hotel rooms that are suposedly adult friendly with no kids. However, I thought that property was not at all attractive and we were not bothered by the kids at our ocean front section. Several miles away are the other Marriotts that ShirleyK mentioned. We walked thru the Marriott there. There is a casino there but it does not overwhelm the property like a vegas casino would. It is a very attractive and large place but we thought that our hotel was better located for us and better suited our needs. As far as going to South America, I would take KVR's suggestion to visit Curacao. Insel Air has very inexpensive, frequent flights between the islands. Only about a 30 minute flight. If you're dead set on going to South America you can might check on Travelocity to see who flys where. We actually were in Panama City and flew from there to Curacao via Bogota and then on to Curacao. But it is so easy to go to Curacao and back, and while I liked Aruba better, Curacao is a great place to go to for one or two nights. The Renaissance in the downtown area would be a great place to stay since it is in the area that is the scenic part of the island.

About 5 years ago there was a catamaran trip that went from Aruba (center of town) to about one mile off the coast of Venezula (you could not go any closer than about a mile). I thought that was neat; although obviously never actually set foot in South America. The next time I went to Aruba this trip was not there; but I was under impression that it was shut down for repairs only. I'm not sure if this might be an option today or not.

I wouldn't do a day or two trip to South America! If you want a day trip maybe go to Curacao or Bonaire for the day... but stay away especially from Venezuela...

All the Marriott properties have their own quirks, and sometimes if you stay at one, you can't share the palapas of another... there is one with a river pool now... the casino is fun, I'd just check it out one night, we've always won something at the slots, since we don't do tables...

Before we went to back to Aruba in 2008 I wondered the same thing about going to South America. I thought that since we would be so close, I could add another continent to my travel list. I looked into going to Venezuela but was told that it really wasn't a safe thing to do. There is so much do enjoy safely in Aruba that I wouldn't want to venture somewhere that I know could be a danger.

Have fun in Aruba and check out Gasparito and Kukoo Kunuko. I loved them!