Very excited about booking this trip, as I haven't been to this part of the Caribbean before. Booked into Amsterdam Manor for 7 days. Need some first hand advice on what to not miss in restaurants, tours, sightseeing, etc. We are 30 something, not taking the little one with us, and basically want a relaxing time for the two of us. Thanks for any suggestions.

You will have a great time! I've herad good things about Amsterdam manor. I sound like a broken record when I make Aruba suggestions...but oh well!

Here is my "Do not miss" list:

RESTAURANTS:

El Gaucho (if you egt to only 1 resturant, go here!) ~ the absolute best steak I have ever had. Argentinian beef. And the sangria is awesome and the service outstanding.

Marandi ~ this opened aftre our trip, but I have heard great things about it.

Iguana Joe's ~ fun place for a casual lunch or dinner

Flying Fishbone ~ never made it here but hear the ambienece is wonderful. tables right in the sand. But it's a hike. Make sure you do this on a day you rent a car.

NIGHLIFE:

Kukoo Kunuku Party Bus ~ A blast!

Kokoa's ~ on the DePalm Pier next to the Radisson. great place for happy hour and to watch the sunset. They have great homeade specialty pizzas for lunch or a light dinner or snack.

ACTIVITIES:

Jolly Pirates Snorkle cruise ~ Snorkleing at the Antilla Wreck is really neat. And they have a fun rope swimg on board.

4x4 tour of the rugged side of the island ~ if you are feeling adventurous, rent a 4WD and explore the natural bridge, natural pool, caves, blackstone beach etc...

Mango restaurant at the Amsterdam Manor served a great dinner and recommend as long as Chef Marc is working the night you dine there! The Chicken Flamboyant was delicious.
Our favorite restaurants in Aruba are "Madame Janette" and "Marandi".
At Madame Janette you can reserve a table in the patio with twinkling lights. Marandi is a large open air palapa with great sunset views. Both are excellent restaurants.
"Tango" offers early bird specials up to 7:00 p.m. with Tango dancers--the beef and port ribs are wonderful.
At "Flying Fishbone" you can sit directly on the beach and enjoy dinner watching the sunset. It is expensive by taxi to Flying Fishbone if you don't have a rental car.
"Tomato Charlies" by Brickell Bay Hotel in the high rise area serves pizza with large salads. Owner is from Chicago.
At "Gasparito" you can sit in the courtyard of a cunucu house and watch the stars. They offer local cuisine and are very good.
All of the above restaurants have websites online.
The "Pirate's Nest" at the Bucuti in the low rise area offers a "special dinner on the beach" by advance reservation only. A few tables are set up with 2 seatings. We reserved a table for the early dinner so we could enjoy looking at the beautiful expansive beach while dining. Set price for a meal with a bottle of wine or champagne was I believe $75 plus 15% tax. Limited choices.
You might consider renting a car for a few days to drive around the island--it's a small island and driving is not difficult. Some suggestions are to see Baby Beach (follow the signs for Seroe Colorado), the Lighthouse, Arashi and the Natural Bridge.

Thank you Kristen and Maureen.

Any ideas on a close grocery store to Amsterdam Manor. I love checking out local flavours !

You can take a bus from your hotel to Kong Hing groceries off the main road. Next to it is the Super Foods and Certified Mall. We shop for groceries in back of Kong Hing at the large supermarket Ling & Sons.

I Love Aruba!! I do have to disagree about the party bus however. We did not have a very good time. It started feeling a bit repetitive and all the bars with the exception of one were just hole in the wall-local places and the "bus" people were the only ones there.. We did a party boat and had an absolute blast! We had a nice dinner and then after dinner the bar opened and a band began playing - great party music! At the end of night we were give the option of going down the water slide at the back of the boat - lots of people did do it too - fun to see!
We also love the snorkeling!

I know it sounds basic but we checked out Baby Beach and had a great time there. For the kids it was ideal, they could walk out forever and it was still shallow. The water was so warm and crystal clear.

We loved Aruba, you are lucky!!

We just returned from Aruba and I have to agree with one of the above posts. Mirandis was the nicest restaurant we have ever been to. Make sure you are there approximately 6:15 for Sunset. Ask for table #9 - feet in the sand). Service, ambiance and food - wonderful. We also took the 1/2 day Island Tour by bus. Nice. I was very disappointed in El Gauchos - one place I would never go back to.

We were there last winter and loved Madame Jeanette's. It is also near your hotel. Flying Fishbone was nice, but very far away. If you take a cab to Flying Fishbone, it will be very expensive. The marriott also has a similiar restaurant to Flying fishbone, where you eat right on the beach. We enjoyed it as much as flying fishbone.

I would disagree about the report on El Gaucho - we went there and the steaks were awesome and the service was very good. We also had a fantastic dinner at a Mexican restaurant near downtown, but I cannot remember the name. I would agree with renting a car since it provides a lot of flexibility and it is easy to navigate the roads. We love Aruba and hope you have a great time.

We went to Aruba in 2003. I wholeheartedly recommend Kukoo Kunuku. It is party bus that it incredibly fun. Make sure you buy their CD. I listen to it in my car when I'm getting ready for vacations. Our favorite restaurant was Gasparito. Make sure you take a tour of the whole restaurant and see their art collection. I personally prefer the atmosphere inside Gasparito instead of outside. We also did dinner on the beach at the Hyatt. They set up a table with tiki torches and you have a personal waiter. I'm not sure if you can book it if you aren't staying there. If you can, definitely book it. I hope you have a great time!

Hi wagonwheel ~
Hubby & I just returned from our first trip to Aruba last week.
One thing we did, that I don't see recommended by others here, was the ABC Jeep Tour. We booked this through the internet before arrival. We chose the all day tour, and had a blast! It was so fun & informative. We snorkeled @Baby Beach, drove all the way to the Natural Pool, and lastly, all along the shore until we reached the California lighthouse. This tour was the highlight of our trip!!
We also did the Jolly Pirates snorkel trip. That ship was rockin' from the rough sea ~ I was seasick the entire time. We cut that trip short, they let us leave by dinghy and dropped us off at Boca Catalina beach. We took a cab back to the Radisson from there.

We HIGHLY recommend El Gaucho. Best steaks we had! Also, for a romantic indoor dinner, we LOVED Chalet Suisse. We went to Madame Jeanette's and really were not all that impressed. It's outdoor dining, but we felt like we were in someone's backyard. Everyone has different opinions for the best dining in Aruba, but you really cannot go wrong! The food is to die for!
Glad you're going in April ~ we had 3 days of sun during the week we were there. Don't think we'll return in November again, but definitly will return to Aruba one day! We loved the island and the incredibly kind & eager to please people!
Enjoy Aruba!

Thanks for all the great replies. Now I just have to figure out how to get over the lonliness of not having our son around...Thanks again.