swatt3

Hi everyone,

I am in the early stages of planning our honeymoon, and have become very interested in Aruba! We have not decided if we want an all inclusive resort or not yet. We like the aspect that we would have everything at our fingertips but also know that there are tons of great restaurants and bars throughout the island so I would like to hear your input! Our budget for a resort for 7 nights would be in the $3000 range. I know that some AI resorts such as the DIVI aruba and Tamaijn are in that range, while others are too high. Other resorts that are not AI are below the $3000 for the week, but then we would have to pay for all our meals ourselves. So that is my dilemma pretty much; would we get more for our money going for an AI or just a regular resort. We do plan on exploring while we are on our honeymoon (snorkel, jeep tour, shopping) so I need to keep that cost of all that in mind as well. I would like to stay somewhere along on Eagle Beach.

Other questions: Has anyone been in July before..how is the weather/wind during that time? Would you recommend renting a car or just sticking with public transportation? bus/taxi seem pretty safe/not too expensive from what I've read so far from posts. Are groceries and alcohol expensive to buy on the island?

Thank you!!

OceanBreeze1

Congratulations!

Aruba is a wonderful place for a honeymoon.

I will attempt to answer some of your questions.

It is always windy in Aruba. We usually go in Feb/March or November(going in 2 weeks!!!) so I cannot comment on the wind in July.

There are myriad excellent dining options in Aruba. While you may prefer the convenience of AI, for Aruba I wld never recommend AI.

Rent a car for a day or 2 if you want to explore. Taxi from/to airport.

We always stay on Palm Beach (Marriott Hotel or Marriott Ocean Club timeshare) so I cannot comment on Eagle Beach. Why have you chosen EB? If, for some reason, you do decide to stay on Palm Beach instead of EB, then The Radisson on PB is very nice & w/in walking distance to many restaurants.

Hope this helps!

OB1

OceanBreeze1

Meant to add: We always go to Aruba in the Winter b/c it is "guaranteed warm" unlike Florida, Bermuda & some of the Caribbean Islands located farther north of the equator. However, in July you will not have that concern. So, you may want to consider other Caribbean Islands for your honeymoon: Turks & Caicos, The Caymans, Barbados, Bahamas. Even Bermuda. Or, depending on where you live, Hawaii ( providing it is not too far West for you. It is for us living near Toronto).

OceanBreeze1

Also check out recent thread here: Caribbean Destination Wedding Spring 2014 by haruko ( even though yours will not be a DW, some good ideas).

ArubaLisa

Whether or not to go all inclusive is going to depend ultimately on your budget. The advantage of going all inclusive will be knowing what your trip is going to cost (excluding incidentals and excursions) upfront. I can tell you that there are restaurants in every price range and food at the resort restaurants is generally more expensive, as well as the beverages.

Not my idea of a honeymoon or even a vacation for that matter, but some cut cost corners by renting a timeshare or condo and eating "in" for some of their meals. A compromise on this would be to eat "in" for breakfast and lunch and go out to dinner each evening. With a refrigerator in your unit you could bring along a soft sided cooler and carry your own cold beverages- sodas & beer- to the beach or pool each day.

Besides looking at some of the larger timeshares such as the Marriott Vacation Clubs I would look at the Amsterdam Manor on Eagle Beach. It is on a great stretch of beach and a little smaller and quieter than the mega resorts you will find on Palm beach. They have beautiful honeymoon suites http://www.amsterdammanor.com/Rooms-...oon-Suite.html with kitchenettes as well as a Jacuzzi tub. It is easy walking distance to one of the island's largest supermarkets. The nightlife "action" of Palm beach will also be a short bus or taxi ride away as well.

The Tamarijn and Divi are 3 star all inclusive resorts which are a pretty good value for the money depending upon the "deal" you are able to get. Just do not expect gourmet meals, you won't starve to death, but definitely not the best food the island has to offer

July weather
Average high temperature 89 F.
Average low temperature 79 F.
Average water temperature 82 F.
Average wind speed 19 mph
Monthly Average rainfall 1.20 inch (almost always in the form of a passing shower or early morning/overnight)

WWK

I think that's going to be a very tight budget for 7 nights if it includes hotel and food.

Just to give you an idea, I recently booked The Westin for my MIL. The Westin is one of the cheapest resorts right now on the island. Her room alone is running just over $2400 for 8 nights.
There wouldn't be much left for dining, sightseeing, bars, etc. in a $$3000 budget.

I usually recommend NOT looking at AI's, because there is such cheap food available on the island- everything from Dunkin Donuts for breakfast to Five Guys for lunch- but with that budget if you can find something reasonable, you might be better off.

edjim

We went to Aruba this past July. It was windy, but we were glad of the breeze because it would have been pretty warm.

diann24

One plus about Aruba is the trade winds, you will rarely feel hot in Aruba. I personally would not do A/I for there are way to many restaurants to visit in all price ranges. if you are huge eaters and drinkers then I am sure an A/I would serve you well. I prefer smaller portions and good food, but that is just me. There will be early bird specials during that time frame I am sure. I prefer to rent a car while in Aruba the driving is easy and it is a safe island to travel.

I would also suggest a jeep tour you will see the island and visit places a car cannot travel. I like the ABC Jeep rentsl but somewhat bouncy and rough. Not for the faint of heart, but it is fun and if you are adventurous I highly recommend. Congrats to you.

Bettina222

Check out buccuti resort on eagle beach, it's an adults only and right on a very large in crowded beach.
Awesome ! I would not do all inclusive in Aruba, too many fun places to eat and drink !

Bettina222

Should have said UNCROWDED beach, can always get umbrella and loungers

diann24

With a $3K budget not sure about buccuti resort. I own at Divi and I really like the Divi Phoenix. It is in a great location and for a week in July which is lower season would be about $2k leaving you left over for food, activities etc. I love the location of the Phoenix although the beach is area is smaller there in that time frame there is not as many people as high season. Check out that resort. Fits your budget.

swatt3

thanks for all of your input! As far as the $3000 budget, we would like that to be for food and accommodations, whether that be through an AI resort or a non-AI resort where we have to pay for our food through other restaurants. We would like that to be kept under $3500 if possible. Bettina, I agree, Baccuti looks amazing, but not sure if we'd we able to swing that one.

What are your experiences with buying groceries/alcohol? Are they reasonably priced and expensive?

OB1: As far as checking out other honeymoon destinations, I have looked into Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, and Bermuda but they seem to be more expensive to stay at compared to Aruba. But I could be wrong, that's just what I've noticed so far. I have also recently checked into Jamaica and the DR, which seem to be affordable. Does any one have other thoughts on any of those locations for a honeymoon? Again, our primary request is to be on a nice beach in a romantic setting where we can relax/enjoy the view, but we would also like to be able to explore some of the island. I know that Aruba is relatively flat/desert like, some something more lush is also appealing to us.

We will be flying out of either Boston or NY so I know that airfare will be another thing for us to consider

OceanBreeze1

Hello, Swatt:

Have you considered renting a Timeshare from a Timeshare Owner in Aruba? You cld rent a Studio or even a 1BR unit. Take a look @ www.redweek.com and www.tug2.net for rentals. TUG has a Last Minute Rental section that provides that the Owner can only charge a max of $700 for the week. These are posted 45 days b/f check-in.

My favorite TS properties in Aruba are Marriott Ocean Club and Marriott Surf Club, both on Palm Beach so you may not like that if you are set on EB. But there are others. Take a look.

Renting a TS wld substantially cut down on your accomodation budget so then you cld easily afford dinners out every night.

OB1

WWK

The good thing about Aruba is that the weather is usually more consistent than some of the other islands,though that's been changing. At that time of year, it's crap shoot in many of the islands. You can have great weather, or you can have a lot of rain. Hate to be so negative, but we had a few trips to Jamaica really marred by rain in late June/early July.