Trying to plan a trip for my family of 4 (kids 4 and 7).
Interested in staying at Hyatt Aruba.
Please tell me your likes/dislikes about Aruba as a family destination.

Generally, we choose ABC islands when weather is in question elsewhere.
Positives:
Good clean drinking water from the taps. Easy flights, customs etc. Nice selection of restaurants. Reliably hot weather.
Broad sandy beach and lovely swimable water. Reasonable groceries etc. if you need to supplement what restaurants and suitcases provide.
Pretty pools and kid activities in High Rise district. Easy communication.
We found service and attitude generally nice.
Negatives:
The beauty is (pretty much) all beachside or landscaped.Very American in atmosphere unless you look hard for local culture. Palm Beach "High Rise" area tends to be crowded like Miami Beach or French Riviera. At Spring
Break and Christmas holiday this would make me avoid Palm Beach in favor of Eagle Beach- even with little ones.Airfare can be mighty pricey unless you have flexibility (which you might with young ones.)

Two of the biggest drawbacks for me was the price and the fact that it is a long plane ride.

Aruba isn't cheap. I know a lot of people get deals but I couldn't find any.

I know this is hottly contested by those folks who love Aruba, but I found the wind to be unpleasant. We had to arrange our beach chairs so that the backs of the chairs were blocking the wind so that we were not pelted by flying sand.

I agree about the blowing sand. It can be nettlesome. I found the people to be nice, however and I felt safer there than I did elsewhere in the caribbean (Nassau and Rio Ochos for example).

Pros:
good restaurant choices
beautiful ocean
usually safe from hurricanes
nice weather
pretty safe place

Cons:
very commercialized
very americanized (could be good or bad)
lacks natural beauty
flat,arid (some may like flat)
does not have that "true tropical feel"
lacks lush tropical flowers
no good snorkeling

IMO..Aruba would be a good choice if you plan on the type vacation that is "beach lounging" as the beaches are nice.For exploring..someone would be bored after 1 day or two.

We have travelled a fair amount in the Caribbean and Mexico and was disappointed in Aruba and feel it is over hyped. We felt like we were on a beach in Florida with the landscape of Arizona.

Here are our personal pros & cons.

ARUBA PROS:

Great drinking water

English spoken every where

Good dining, although expensive

Gambling, almost a casino in every hotel, so if you like gambling you will love Aruba (kids not allowed in casinos)

The Hyatt was one of the nicest hotels on Palm Beach

Most locals friendly, but our hotel (not Hyatt) staff was downright rude

Fairly consistant weather

ARUBA CONS:

Very small island (19.6 x 6 miles) and easily seen in one to two days

Consistantly windy (not breeze) island and sand can blow around on the beach

Bascially flat

Little vegetation and desert like landscape

Expensive for drinks and food

Too Americanized - lots of American fast food chains and restuarants

Highrises on the beach

Lots of motorized water activity on Palm beach

Loosing it's own culture and history with the Americanization of Aruba

More timeshares on Aruba than any other Caribbean island

We experienced murky water and a litter (lots of cigarette butts) on Palm beach.

Relies heavily on tourism because Aruba has to import almost everything, even fruit.

Tips expected to GET service.

The tourist sites, especially the natural bridge, were not that great

Stray dogs

If anyone has long hair they will need tie backs for it because of the strong winds

Towel game played, especially for shade and to secure a shade hut you have to get up very early to reserve a hut

Disappointed in the snorkeling

This is a pro and con at the same time, but the sun is very, very strong in Aruba because of it's close proximity to the Equator, so please take along lots of strong sunscreen and reapply often. Also take along snug or tie on sun hats as the wind might blow them away.

We really enjoyed Aruba and I think it is a great choice with kids the age of yours.

PROS:

Great weather
Beautiful beaches
Warm, turquoise water
Great restaurants
Not too expensive (as compared to other islands)


CONS:

Only so-so snorkeling

When are you planning on going?
If not during hurricane season or before this end of Carrib. warms up, I have a hunch Provo. might be a nice fit.

Pros:
island very clean
english speaking
nice restaurants
good public transportation
reliable weather

Cons:
constant wind
very hot/humid
Geckos/Lizzards everywhere
small island (can tour in 1/2 day)
expensive airfare

I visited Sept 2001 but more than likely will never go back. It lacked the lush feeling of an island.

expanding my search to include St. John, Cayman Islands and Antigua.
Any thoughts?
I'm not so much concerned about the price of the hotel. I'm trying to use my miles and as few as possible. Right now, the fewest I can find is 280K for the four of us (I have them, but hate to use that many!)

St John pros -
Beautiful island
gorgeous beaches
good restaurants


Cons
Still U.S. and for me that meant something was missing. I enjoy getting to know local culture, eating different foods, etc.

I did not find the locals to be friendly there unless they were working directly in the tourist industry.

The food, surpisingly, did not include a lot of local fresh fish and they don't grow anything on the island so fresh fruit and vegetables were scarce or extremely expensive.

Hotel choices limited. Caneel Bay is very expensive and Westin very run of the mill.

I have not been to Cayman Islands or St. John, but I have been to Antigua and it is one of my favorite islands. It has a real Caribbean feel with lots of history and culture. Beautiful sunsets and beautiful beaches and clear turquoise water. The locals are friendly and there is lots to see and do on this island and there is even a small rainforest. It is not commercialized at all. Drinking water is safe to drink. The Royal Family have visited and vacationed there and Princess Diana use to visit Antigua and nearby Barbuda.

Can't really think of any cons.

St John

Pros:
great beach accessible snorkeling
nice,clear calm beaches (most of them)
safe destination
restaurants in all price ranges
very lush and tropical
friendly locals
easy daytrips to surrounding islands
shaded beaches
not too commercialized
though part of US..felt that it was less Americanized than Aruba
liquor is cheap
snorkeling trail at Trunk bay
2/3rds of island is a National Park

Cons:
the 2 resorts can be expensive
for the resort lover..STJ only has 2 major resorts
no all inclusives

Those are the only 3 cons that I can think of.

Hi, Kristen--Did you ever decide where to go with your new baby? Let us know!

I know I posted a reply to this but I don't see it...sorry if this is a repeat.

Aruba Pros - good family destination choice. Lots of resorts have full suites which is great when traveling with children. Good selection of restaurants - you can eat as expensively or as cheaply as you want. Nice variety of beaches - we've had great vacations downtown, on Eagle Beach and on Palm Beach. The island is Americanized in that most speak English and our dollar is widely accepted everywhere. Shopping is great both in their grocery stores which have everything you want/need and in the downtown area. Butterfly farm, movies, mini golf and arcade all available for family fun.

Cons - if you love to snorkel like I do you may be disappointed. I admit I haven't snorkeled every nook and cranny of the island but the several areas I have, I've been disappointed.

Good luck with your planning!

Another advantage St. John has over Aruba is the ease in which you can island hop (St. Thomas, Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, et al).

Have visted about 12 islands in the Caribbean. St. John is my favorite.....wouldn't return to Aruba.

We've been to all of these - Aruba, Antigua, GC and STJ. Our favorite was Antigua. The people are very gracious, and it's a beautiul island. It was a wonderful retreat for us.

We really enjoyed Aruba. The wind was an issue I was concerned about before I went. We did not have any problems like the others did. We went the end of march. It was always just a breeze to us. If you didn't have a breeze, you would cook.
There are great restaurants and I did not think it was very expensive. I stayed at the Marriott, but walked over to the Hyatt. It was definitely the nicest hotel on the island in my opinion. I think you would have a great time. We took our kids and they had a blast.
I have not snorkeled very much before this trip, so we thought it was pretty good.
I hear the Caymans and St.john is great. The Cayman Islands are definitely on my list of places I wish to go.