For those island experts out there:
I have been to Hawaii once and thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I have free tickets back to Hawaii or Aruba and do not know which to pick. Aruba I have never been to but I know Maui is a safe pick? What would you do, those who have been to both?

Any input?

have never chosen to go to Aruba although I have happily paid to go to Maui 5 times, it offers so much more in choices of landscape, beaches, local flavour of different areas of island etc...good luck

I've never been to Aruba, but since no one else has responded.. The feedback I've received from friends who have been there has all been the same: the only reason to go to Aruba is for its beaches. Otherwise stick with Hawaii -- it's more lush and there's a lot more to do.

Thanks for the feedback!
I want to see new things but also feel comfortable with places i've been.

I've been to both and can tell you most anything you want to know about pros and cons.
Hard to make a straight up comparison because "Hawaii" comprises several islands that are each very unique. Easy to compare Maui to Aruba, or Kauai to Aruba, but even within Hawaii some islands appeal more than others to most people.
Bottom line on Aruba is that it's a very arid island without much vegetation, so unattractive to look at. Not much topography. Great weather, great beaches, very safe, good food, very nice people. Pretty generic feeling though. Not much evident culture compared with places like Jamaica, St. Bart's, Barbados, etc. Kind of a mindless place to visit.

Tell me what you like, what you want out of the trip and I can give you a better idea what would likely fit your goals.

Go to Maui. "More things to do, bettter night life, less rain".

But, where do you live because travel time would be a slight concern. East Coast-Aruba. (Never been but it's on our To Do List).

We have been to Maui and would go back to Maui or pick Aruba for something different. So compare Maui and Aruba.
We also may spend one day on Kauai. Also compare Aruba to kauai please.
We want pure relaxation but also have a few options for things to do. Not big on nightlife unless you consider Big Daddy gettin his belly rubbed after a big meal nightlife.
We would fly from the east coast

i guess my real question is ... since I know most everybody would choose hawaii or aruba if given a choice if they have visited neither, is aruba worth a visit in and of itself over a second visit to hawaii?

B_D,
Does you belly get rubbed in the other direction south of the Equator? :-?

Have you posted this Q on the Caribbe/Aruba board? I'm curious, too.

Kal You must be a sage! I have yet to go south of the equator to prove or disprove your hypothesis. But I must admit that I find the concept intriguing and Aruba would be a given if it were south of the equator!

East of the Equator then?

We've been to Hawaii several times (Oahu, Big Island, Maui and Kauai) and Aruba once. Aruba, as mentioned, is arid. The beaches are beautiful, weather is totally predictable - mid80's and sun with a breeze. Very few clouds. Activites will center around the water - snorkeling, parasailing, scuba, etc. They have a couple of golf courses as well and most resorts will have tennis and a spa. It has the highest concentration of gourmet restaurants per square mile anywere (we've been told) and good shopping. That being said, the islands of Hawaii are much greener (except parts of BI obviously), beaches are good and weather is less predictable. We spent 8 March days in Maui one year with pouring rain the entire time. Also had a week on the BI with winds strong enough to blow the tee shots right back at us (and clouds and drizzle). Restaurants are good there as well. If you're going from the east coast, how much time will you have total since travel to Hawaii will take much longer than to Aruba. In either place, we've stayed in great resorts with gorgeous pools and beaches. Aruba is dutch - you will see topless bathers; the people will skip fluently between dutch, french, portguese, papiemento (local language) and english during the middle of a converstation if there are other cultures represented (like in explaining jewelry at a store).

Forgot - gambling is legal in Aruba so you'll see casinos in the hotels, some vegas-type shows advertised. Our children were along so we didn't do any of that.

cmeyer54 you sound like the perfect person to answer this question. you've been to both places (variety of hawaiian islands) Hawaii and Aruba. you have experienced the good and bad of hawaii.
Given what you know now - if you had been to hawaii once and never to aruba - and if given the opportunity to go back to hawaii or see aruba for the first time which would you choose?

I have been to both Maui and Aruba. If given your last choice, Maui twice and Aruba never, I would choose Aruba. Two reasons, it is very different than Aruba, and a whole lot easier to get to. Of course in my dreams, I get to back to both!

I mean Aruba is very different than Hawaii (I have to remember to preview my reply)

We liked Aruba a lot. For one, it was culturally different. yes, there were a couple of burger kings, TCBY, dunkin doughnuts and macdonalds but they also have a weekly folk festival in town that was a blast (sort of a luau but with edible food - not poi). We stayed at the Hyatt and were able to walk the beach and stop in at adjacent hotel's coffee shops/beachfront restaurants for breakfast or lunch. Bus transportation was cheap and efficient. We rented a jeep from the hotel for one day and drove the island - stopped at some small churches and a place they called baby beach. the diving is really good - they are very close to the coast of venezuela and have to keep a close watch on drug trafficking. So, if the little planes have make an emergency landing, they are rarely claimed and end up in the ocean as the beginning of artifical reefs! There is also a great ship wreck to either snorkel or dive with a history from WW2 - your guide will tell you so I won't! We walked to the Marriott and it seemed very nice - even the holiday inn was great! We'll go back again but it won't be for a couple of years unfortunately. I guess Hawaii has become really "american-ized" and please don't get me wrong. I know it is a state but much of the cultural aspects have been homogenized and the traffic can be a nightmare. When we first went to Kauai, there was only one stoplight - imagine it now.

If I were in the original poster's shoes would I go to Aruba?
Yes.
Reasons: 1) I like to see and experience things for myself, so just hearing or reading about someone else's opinion of a particular place doesn't satisfy my curiosity. Until you visit you'll keep wondering whether or not you'd like Aruba.
2) the trip is much shorter from the east coast. If it does suit your taste, you've got a new beach destination you can always count on in a pinch.
3) it's a comparatively inexpensive island, so a relatively cheap 'experiment'. If you don't like it, you're not out a fortune.
4) it's hard to imagine how someone would have a blatantly bad trip to Aruba. It doesn't appeal to some people due to its lack of tropical island look and feel, but if you like beaches, Aruba's almost a sure bet for a decent time. Day-long rains are quite infrequent, hurricanes affect the island only once every 10-12 years, temps are predictable warm and sunshine is long and strong.
5) pure relaxation is easier to manage on Aruba than Hawaii IMO. Can't put my finger on an exact reason, but I just felt Aruba was an easier place to travel. Easy to get around, very safe, very friendly locals (car license plate slogan is "One Happy Island").

One other thing I'd add, since you used the word premium in your message header (not sure what you meant by that), the quality of the best restaurants and best resorts on Aruba is a shadow of what's available in Hawaii. That's less of a knock against Aruba and more of a compliment to Hawaii. Hawaii has many of the world's best resorts. Aruba's best resorts would be average on Maui. Several restaurants on Aruba are very good, but they don't match the best in Hawaii.

One last thought: if you're really a 'premium' beach/relaxation/restaurant guy, you should start researching Anguilla (near St. Maarten/St. Martin). That's the Caribbean's best destination for this combination of elements IMO.