Aruba November 2024

I have always wanted to go to Aruba. My reason being, it is a desert not tropical. I also wanted to see the beautiful blue beaches with the white sand. Aruba also has lots of hiking and activities. We would do our activities in the am and beach in the afternoon, when it got hot. This is not a guide but rather a summary of our experience.

How did we Get There?

From Canada you must either fly through Toronto or USA. There may be a flight from Montreal. It was about a 5 hour flight from Toronto in the morning.

Where did we Stay?

Most tourists stay in the Palm Beach and Eagle Beach areas. I have heard of people stay in the San Nicolas area as well.

In Eagle/Palm there are all-inclusive resorts, hotels, apartment rentals and Airbnbs. I would recommend to stay in a place close to the beach if you are not renting a car. Restaurants are in walk-able distance. We stayed outside of Eagle Beach but a short driving distance to the center.

How Did We Get Around?

We rented a small rental car. Driving was easy according to my boyfriend. They drive on the right, have similar traffic laws and follow the rules. The rental car allowed us to drive across the island and see what we wanted to. There is a small area that requires 4X4 in the back of the island, however I would recommend just renting a 4X4 for 1 day or taking a tour if you want to go there. We did drive our rental on non 4×4 dirt roads and were fine.

Where Did We Eat?

We ate mainly at the grocery store. We shopped at Ling& Sons. Which was like a Canadian Safeway. Another popular place is Superfoods. Restaurants we tried:

Smokey Joes Grill- Okay BBQ food near Palm Beach
Fireson Brewery- Draft beer and simple food. Loved it. Near Palm Beach
Patriza of New York- Fancy Italian food- I thought it was ok.
Julios Corner- Argentinan Street Food- Amazing food near Eagle Beach

We did not eat Aruban food as most of its seafood and one of us has allergies.

To Do?

California Lighthouse- 5 dollars to go up. Which I recommend for the views.
Walk in the California Sand Dunes.
Tres Trapi- Good snorkeling spot.
Butterfly Farm- Pay admission, free tours.
Hike near Alto Vista
Visit Natural Bridge
Gold Mines
Cave pool- Where you can jump in.
Ayo Rock Formations- Sacred to the Aruban Natives.
Donkey Sanctuary- Free to visit but pay to feed them.
Climb Hooiberg- Many steps but great views after.
Visit the caves in the National Park
Hike to the Natural Pools
San Nicolas light house- cool view point

Beaches

All beaches are public and most had parking, so we would just drive up take our cooler and chairs from the AirBnB and go sit and swim. Some places even have bars and toilets. The beaches we visited were:

Arashi Beach- white sand, beach club nearby not many people
Handicuari (fisherman huts)- Water is not as nice but quiet.
Eagle Beach- Crazy busy, nice sand, lots of beach bars.
Drulf Beach- Not busy, near the ferry terminal
Surfside Beach- Able to see planes coming in very close, nice beach bar.
Savaneta Beach- Hidden very quiet.
Baby Beach- Popular, busy very nice water.
Boca Grandi- Only for picnics! The water is rough!

Notes

I found Aruba very safe, I wasn’t worried at night or about my stuff being stolen.
They speak Papiamento which is a creole based language. They also speak English.
They use the Aruban Florin or USD. Florin is very beautiful. Credit Card is widely accepted.
The electric outlets are the same as Canada and the USA.
They are a Dutch colony and the history is very interesting, as the Spanish left them alone because they did not think there was gold in Aruba.
The water from the tap is drinkable! They have desalinated water.
Aruba is very dessert like with cactuses everywhere.