lisabees

I am trying to get a sense of what Aruba is like - it sounds like a busy island - a strip of high rises and rough waters. I also hear wonderful things about the people.

Any additional thoughts? I'm was considering Westin St John with my four kids (really want lots of fun activities/pools for the kids), but it's out of my price range. They want us to take two rooms.


Thanks so much!

Lisa

eileen

Hi Lisa, Aruba is very different than St. John, but a great family destination, especially because there's a number of beachfront condo resorts so you don't have to deal with the two room issue. We took our kids last November and stayed at the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club, really three giant resorts in one (this and the Marriott Surf Club are the condo sections)-- everything kids could want. Aruba is relatively flat, dry, I think of it as Phoenix with water (giant cacti, etc.) The main beach is very built up for a long stretch -- you can walk it for miles. The people are very nice and the food is good. The island is very Americanized. It is clean, safe, good water, access to medical facilities, this is why I did not hesitate to take my kids there. They enjoyed two snorkeling boat trips, going to the Natural Bridge, Baby Beach. The Marriott has a kids club (we were there on Halloween and they even had trick or treating around the resort for the kids). They liked Hawaii better (more to do) but they love the beach and water so they had fun. St. John is a lot more beautiful but there unfortunately are not many resort options there.

christiegr

I have been to both Aruba and St John.

Aruba is a flat,dry island with pretty, crowded beaches.It reminds me of a "Vegas on water".The best thing to me was the good restaurants.Not much else.Its very commercialized and built up.

St John is a lush, mountainous island with beautiful, calm waters that makes for excellent snorkeling.It only has 2 resorts so it's less commercialized.2/3 rds of the island is a National Park.The locals are friendly.There are lots of birds and pretty flowers.

IMO...St John is much more beautiful

christiegr

Most people rent a villa on St John...that is what we did.You can get one with a pool,jaquzzi or both.
For villa rentals on St John here are a few sites:

www.vivacations.com
www.caribbeanvilla.com
www.seaviewhomes.com

There are lots more just google st john villa rentals.I also recommend renting one with AC.Good luck

girlonthego

Most hotels will make you get two rooms with 6 people. Even with small kids. 5 seems to be the max allowed and 4 is sometimes the max.
We took our kids to Aruba and I agree that it was a great family vacation. We traveled with another family and stayed at the Marriott hotel part of the complex. I would definitely return. My kids were 10 and 11 when we went and the other family's children were 7, 10 and 11. There are watersports galore. The water was not rough at all and it was warm enough for me to swim in it. It is a busy island. It is dry, arid and not very pretty, but the hotels are lushly landscaped and the food everywhere was great. We found it a very safe destination.
I have not been to St.John, but I have heard it is very nice. I was also looking into the grand cayman as a family destination. It has nice waters and snorkeling and is a safe destination. They also have many condo complexes there.
Will the Westin allow you to get a suite with 6 people?
If you want pools and slides and that type of thing, we went to the Atlantis in the Bahamas. It is exactly that. The food was good. It is a fun place and a quick getaway from the east coast. 5 days is really max there. I do not care for the Bahamas in general, but the Atlantis was a fun and one time only visit. I would not return. It is truly Vegas on a beach, but it is quite a sight. We enjoyed our stay, but it is costly and not really our thing. The kids had a blast going from slide to slide to pool to beach...Have fun choosing.

Knowing

Aruba has many people that return there year after year. We didn't find it to be a particularly interesting island. Very nice white sand beaches, but very commercialized and no real luxury accommodations.

We liked the USVI much better. Nicer hotels and beaches. More of an exotic experience.

lisabees

Aruba would be a very different vacation for us - we usually go to intimate places, where we get to know the wildlife/people/culture. I shuddered when I found out Aruba has McDonald's etc.

But, then again, this time around I just want a vacation my kids would pick - pools/waterslides/kids activities.

Call me crazy - today, I've even entertained the thought of Beaches Negril.

Lisa

KeyGal

We think the best aspects of Aruba are: Fantastic restaurants. Dignified, warm, helpful, multilingual locals. Really fun supermarkets with a huge variety of local & international foods. The constant breezes that keep you from frying in the sun. The north coast & section near the lighthouse, which reminded me of a cross between Big Sur and New Mexican desert. Ease of currency - U.S. dollars accepted everywhere, purchases automatically converted between florins & dollars. I also get the feeling that there is a decent government and less corruption and desperation than on many other islands. I still feel it's a safe island despite the recent events.

You will not feel like you're "away from it all" or in a very exotic locale, especially with the lack of luxurious or innovative hotels & resorts. Most of the hotel rooms have heavy furniture & those awful floral & plaid bedspreads.

By the way, we never found the waters to be that rough on either Palm or Eagle beach, except when there was a storm nearby.

I want to suggest that you try some of the smaller resorts. I think I remember reading a favorable post about the Amsterdam Manor with kids. Or perhaps the resorts on Eagle Beach, like the Divi or Tam.

christiegr

Keygal:
"I also get the feeling that there is a decent government and less corruption and desperation than on many other islands. I still feel it's a safe island despite the recent events."

You must not have talked to the locals much or went out in Oranjestad at night.We were approached alot to buy drugs even during the day.The locals said that the laws are very slack on drugs.

I feel that there are much more beautiful islands, with stricter laws on drugs and crime (ex.USVI's,Bermuda)Now the desperation part is right...Aruba is not a poor island and I bet that it is due to tourism,drug trafficking,and prostitution.

girlonthego

Christie, I think you were approached because you were downtown. I saw some unsavory characters wandering around downtown. On Palm Beach, I saw no one ever selling anything. They have stalls for the watersports or hair braiding, but no one bothered us otherwise.
How is your stomach these days? Did you recover from your illness? Seeing you posting, I am assuming all is well again.

christiegr

Girlonthego:
Hi..other people that I talk to on the Aruba forum at Tripadvisor said that they also were ONLY approached in downtown..so it was probably the main place for drug sells like in any downtown area.We had no problems when at Palm beach.

I am finally back to normal.I was really weak for about a month.I think that sickness from bad water is worse than any stomach virus.
Thanks for asking about me.From no on..I will drink bottled water if the water is questionable.I know that it is NOT in Aruba Take care,Christie

christiegr

oops! typo no- NOW

MuyLinda

We were in Aruba two weeks ago and stayed downtown in Oranjestad at the Renaissance Ocean Suites and we were not approached once about drugs. It was our 4th trip to the island and we haven't been approached in the past either. We were out walking every night to restaurants and talked to locals everywhere. I'm not saying it doesn't happen on occasion but I would hate for anyone to get the impression that there are unsavory characters waiting to pounce at every street corner.

flycatcher06

Beacher Negril is wonderful and St Johns is beautiful. Aruba is a small island that we did not care for at all. Did not like the people, the atmosphere and we stayed at the Divi Divi, rudest hotel staff we ever came across. Would definitely never recomend Aruba!

girlonthego

muy linda,
I should rephrase my opinion of unsavory characters downtown. I did see a few scuzzy looking people hanging around, they did not offer drugs, but to braid our daughter's hair. We did not see anyone else that would make someone uncomfortable. I just think that if there are drug sellers, there would be more likely than on Palm beach.
I would go back to Aruba. I enjoyed my stay and felt very safe there.
Glad you are well Christie.

sara1274

We have been going to Aruba for quite a few years and have never been approached nor seen any drug activity going on (not to say that it doesn't happen just like in any other city).

Also, the water along Palm Beach is very calm, almost lake like. You'll find more waves on Eagle Beach but not rough waters.

christiegr

flycatcher:
I have to agree with you on Aruba.I just went to St john and it was sooo much more beautiful than Aruba.Our next trip is going to be Negril..we are thinking of staying at the Beachcomber which was recommended by a well traveled to Jamaica Fodorite (Caribbeansoul).

I think that people who go to Jamaica and Aruba are the same in either you love it or you hate it.Jamaica also looks to be a place that we will love.

KeyGal

One more thing we like about Aruba is that all the hotels are like an easy 10- or 15-minute drive from the airport. So great to hop off a plane and not have to face a long drive before you can unwind. I know that a long drive can be one of the highlights of your trip, but in our case with our limited schedule, we just want to get to our destination ASAP, and we can do that in Aruba.

jacketwatch

Aruba is a very friendly place Lisa. In fact in a readers poll last yr. in Carib. Travel and Life mag it was voted the best overall destination AND the most friendly people. It is very clean, tidy and orderly as well. The water on Palm beach is clear and calm, very calm actually. The water on the northern shore is rough but there are no hotels there so don't worry. Its actually very pretty to go too and just take in, esp, the Natural Bridge area. The beach areas are tropical but the inand areas are dry and deserty or arid with many different types of cacti. There are also MANY terrific restaurant with prices less than the USVI IMHO. Don't expect a prototypical, lush island and if you want that then you will be disappointed. If you like long stretches of white beaches with calm water, freindly people, a variety of restaurants, cleanliness and justplain good time then you will like it. Downtown Orangestaad is pretty nice too with great shopping as well as restaurants. I would not call it Las Vegas. Asfor the drugs and prostitution reference I think that is unfair and paints an exaggerated picture, sorry Christie. You won't walk the streets and be propositioned by hookers and dealers, at least we weren't. BTW in Honolulu I was approached by a dealer in the lobby of our hotel!, the Outrigger Waikiki nad as for hookers, well its the oldest profession and they are just about everywhere in the world, not just Aruba. I suppose they are wherever men are.

lisabees

Thank you everyone. A couple of questions...Are there any NON-highrises that you would recommend - that have things for kids? Maybe Costa Linda or Amsterdam Manor? Or would places like the Hyatt have more activity for them?

Also, is there one area that is better than another? Convenient to restaurants/activities/sightseeing?

Thanks.

Lisa