Jim Smith

My fiancee and I are thinking of Aruba for a September 2001 honeymoon. We haven't yet chosen a resort, but are looking at a $3000 budget & don't mind high-rise hotels, although beach resorts could be fun as well.

More important, we're wondering what sort of evening entertainment the Aruba resorts have (more than gambling!), and what sorts of watersports are available (we'd love to be able to take a little Sunfish off the beach of our resort for an hour!) preferably at low-cost or included.

Could anyone help us out?

Doug

If you are into drinking and gambling go to Aruba. You can rent sailboats(I rented a catamaran) for reasonable rates-hour/2 hours/1/2 day-25/40/80-just guessing from general memory. There is decent entertainment and lots of high rise hotels, but Aruba is not cheap and I wasn't really impressed with it. Glance through some of these other messages for good honeymoon ideas. I would think Turks and Caicos, Barbados, PR although just as expensive, would have more options. Other options with more culture for less bucks would be DR, jamaica, Margarita Island -excellent place. Good luck

Paula

MESSAGE FOR DOUG (& anyone else who wants to jump in!!):
Hi, Doug! I am very interested in your comment that you were unimpressed
with Aruba & am wondering if you wld.
elaborate. We have reservations for
the Aruba Marriott over Christmas. It
will be our 1st visit to Aruba (have
been to Antigua). It's not too late
to book somewhere else so if we cld. find
a great beach, luxury hotel & direct, nonstop
flights from Toronto we wld. definately
consider someplace else. Any suggestions? Oh! Destination also has
to be 'guaranteed warm' which rules out
Florida! Thx!

Kim

My husband and I went to Aruba on our honeymoon in Sept. 97 and we had a great time. We stayed at the Wyndham Resort and Casino and have no regrets and definitely would go back. We spent most of our afternoons on the beach or at the pool and then evenings we went to some of the nicer restaurants for dinner. We did a snorkeling trip and loved it. We also did a deep sea fishing trip but I got sick so we had to cut that short. The hotel had a cocktail party one night and we hit the casino once or twice. We also did an evening party bus tour that took us to some local bars in Aruba which was interesting. There are different tours, boat trips, scuba diving, etc but we basically wanted to spend our time relaxing. The food was great and the weather was outstanding, esp. since we didn't have to worry about hurricanes since Aruba is outside of the hurricane belt. Hope this helps.

Suz

Jim,

My husband and I just booked for our 10th anniversary at the Marriott in Aruba, and we're very excited. Two sites with great bulletin boards are www.olmco.com and www.aruba-travelguide.com. Very helpful with tons of information.

Good luck.

Vanessa

It's not a watersport but I would recommend the jeep tour of the island. It's lots of fun and they stop at a number of spots for swimming.

Doug

Paula:

I wouldn't recommend anything until I knew what you and ur husband to be were into. Aruba is small, flat and dry. If you plan to stay on the beach, walk to different hotels for gambling and entertainment and pay $6 a beer and $25 a plate then Aruba has great beaches and water. If you would like to do more, email me for more 'opinions' --but I don't know the whole caribbean. Thanks

Ron

My wife and I along with three other couples went to Aruba for a week in late Feb/early March 2000. We had a great time in Aruba. We stayed at the Divi Divi All inclusive. We paid approx $ 3,200 for both of us.(includes airfair and transfers) We would definately go back in a minute. Very nice. Beaches were great, snorkeling was great, we have never eaten so much during one weeks time. Very relaxing vacation. Aruba is a desert island - not tropical at all. The people were very friendly and we felt very safe - we did tour the entire island on our own (4x4 non guided tour) Aruba is a very relaxing vacation - not very touristy - I would go back in a minute - for other related Aruba - go to the BBS http://www.aruba-bb.com/cgi-sys/cgiw.../bbsconfig.cgi
Have a great time

ArubaHoosier

For a Caribbean in September, the height of hurricane season, I highly recommend Aruba. No fears about the weather, unlike some other couples I know who had to cut their HM's short. Aruba is within your budget. Check into the Divi Divi Mega All-Inclusive or Allegro. If you are not big drinkers, I would not even recommend AI, there are AFFORDABLE places to eat on the island.If you don't need AI, you might want to check out a honeymoon package at the Marriott or Radisson, they should fit into your budget. For evening entertainement there are a dozen clubs downtown, plus the famous Kukoo Kunucu party bus.

Christina

I just wanted to say, especiallyto Paula, that everyone has there own opinions about different destinations. Doug's is one of the few that I have ever heard that didn't like Aruba that much. I'm going this August, and all I have heard are great things about the island. So Paula, don't fear about it "not being that impressive," according to Doug. I'm sure it's nothing but!

Paula

MESSAGE to CHRISTINA: Lucky you...
going to Aruba in August! How about
posting a Trip Report upon your return. Have a great time!!!