Aruba Travel Forum

Hi all,
Me and my husband are planning a trip to aruba for a week in mid may'08. This will be our first and probably last trip to caribbean island, so I wish to make it memorable and any of your help to do this will be highly appreciated. I have a few questions if anyone can help me..

1. Is aruba alone worth 7 days or should i consider adding more islands to my itinary.
2. We will be staying in all inclusive resort for three or four days, but I wanted a more local touch to my trip, and so was wondering If there are any other options like, huts, lodge or may be sea side camping
3. Can anyone suggest some other reasonable lodging options.
4. besides jeep tour and water activites is there something else that one should not miss.
5. any other suggestions ? (we are of late 20's).
Thanks for your help

It depends what you are looking for in your vacation. There is not much to do in Aruba, in my opinion, but 7 days on the beautiful clean beaches is a great way to relax and unwind. You can certainly do water sports and scuba/snorkeling, but unless you're big divers (and if you are, I'd head to Bonaire instead), there isn't much else going on. Hopefully you enjoy lounging on the beach or at the pool. You can rent a car for a day and cruise around the whole island (check out the north side and the lighthouse for a change of scenery). Other than that, it's just resorts and casinos, all pretty much the same (though not all are all-inclusive). Don't get me wrong, Aruba is really beautiful and tranquil, but it's not really where I'd go for lots of activities. You won't be hassled on the beaches like on some other islands. There's a nightlife scene of sorts if that's what you enjoy on vacation. Shopping can be good (jewlery, specifically). The restaurants are excellent, though tend to be a little expensive. I like Aruba because it's user friendly, the weather is always great and it's not affected by hurricane season. The closest islands would be bonaire or curacao - which to me were like smaller, less touristy versions of Aruba.

Thanks for your suggestion guys, We are not too much into diving and snorkeling but wer looking for some quiet, peaceful trip and so hope aruba will not disappoint.. And if, we migh head to curacao or bonaire for day trips. Will surely let you know how it goes.

Aruba is such a beautiful place. It is a small island, so you can hit up the whole thing in 1 week. I went tubing, horseback riding, snorkeling, and best of all I went on the jeep safari tour. http://www.arubasafari.com/ It absolutely made our trip. AMAZING!!!!