How clear is the water in Aruba? Have heard it is cloudy at times. Would like to go to a beach with blue, clear water and an expansive beach.

When we were there the water near shore was cloudy with suspended sand. This was true all along the west coast, which is where all the hotels are (Palm Beach, Eagle Beach, etc.).<BR><BR>To get to clearer water you would have to swim out quite a distance (which would probably put you in the path of motorized vessels). The one exception was Baby Beach, on the other side of the island.<BR><BR>My experience has been that this sort of "cloudiness" is normal wherever you have a sandy shore and the beach is not in a protected bay or protected by a shallow reef.<BR><BR>Our next trip was to the Virgin Islands (US and British) and we found numerous small beaches and coves with clear water. However, there was nothing to compare to the length and depth of the beaches in Aruba. Overall we preferred the VI (more scenic, and excellent snorkeling from shore), but we missed having a long stretch of beach for walking, which we had in Aruba.<BR><BR>