Aruba Restaurants-Reservations reqd?
 

My husband &amp; I will be celebrating our 25th<BR>anniversary in Aruba the end of April. We are staying at the Renaissance, Radisson, and Bucuti to get a flavor for the different areas/beaches. There have so many great restaurant recommendations. Should I make dinner reservations online before we leave or will we be ok since we're going end of April/early May? The online reservations say to also call to confirm once you're in Aruba.<BR>I figure we might as well call once we're there but maybe there is something I'm not aware of.(?) Also, we would like to rent a jeep for 2-3 days--looking at Jansen's. Would it be best to do this before we leave?<BR>Any help much appreciate--thank you!

We've traveled to Aruba many times and the only restaurants we sometimes reserve are the most popular such as Madame Janette's, Chalet Suisse and El Gaucho. Some other restaurants have online reservation service available but are extremely slow in returning a confirmation so don't make them a few days before leaving. I wouldn't think you'd have a problem reserving when you are in Aruba.

OK, thanks, Maureen!

We stayed at the Bucuti last September and made all of our dinner reservations with the activities desk at about noon for dinner the same night with no problems. You'll love Aruba and the Bucuti! Have a great time!

Sorry, I missed your question about the Jeep. <BR><BR>I'm not familiar with Jansen's, but we rented a Jeep (actually, it was a Suzuki) from 2-Plus Car Rental for a steal at $200/week. 2-Plus is owned by Economy Car Rental and they rent out the cars after Economy is done with them. &quot;2-Plus&quot;= 2 or more years old. The Suzuki we rented was really a piece of junk, but ran very well and got us everywhere that we needed to go. We even drove it to the Natural Pool with no problems (even though there was a sticker in it saying not to)! And, the people at the agency were very accommodating. I'd rent the jeep for the whole week if I were you. One of our favorite things to do was to explore the lesser known parts of the island on our own. <BR><BR>We did reserve the jeep about 30 days before we left, but there are many car rental places in a row at the airport. It just might take some time to find the car and rate that you are looking for and I'd rather spend that time on the beach. :)

use you car to drive to Flying Fishbone - it's worth the drive! We were there two weeks ago and there was no trouble with reservations or getting a car once you are down there. AAA or the Aruba card will get you a discount

We also stayed at Bucuti and had a wonderful time (I posted a trip report on the Aruba website). Anyway, we found that reservation was advisable if not required at most restaurants; things were pretty busy. However, I don't think you need to reserve before departure; we made our reservations while at Bucuti, one or or (at most) two days in advance, and it all worked out fine.<BR>The best food we had was at Le Dome, a Belgian place. Great wines too. Reservations required, particularly if you want a table outside.

Thank you for the wonderful responses--I can't wait!

My wife and I were in Aruba for a week in June 2003. We ate at several restaurants - our favorite was Chez Mathilde. We actually went back a second time while we were there. The ostrich is delicious.

My husband and I were there in July and had many nice dinners but our favorite was at Ventana Del Mar at the Country Club near the lighthouse. It was elegant but not over the top, has a jazz player each night, the food was fabulous and service impeccable. It is somewhat new and wasn't so busy but had enough people that we weren't alone. This place would be ideal for a special dinner.

Congrats on the 25th. Ours will be Nov. this yr. Do try the restaurant near the lighthouse. My wife celebrated her BD there in 1999 and we had the tiramisu for dessert which was fab. Also try the Tango for steaks and to see professional dancers. For native food try Boonooonoonos (something like that!) and do see the natural bridge. Aruba is one of my favorites. Congratulations. BTW if you stack some rocks near the abandoned gold mine (you will see many) and make a wish it is said it will come true! Cheers, Larry.