My wife and I visited Aruba for our honeymoon from 9/30 to 10/7. This was the first time
either of us had been to the Island. We relied heavily on the BB's and Trip Reports. So
I'm hoping our experience helps someone else. Let me start by saying that this island is
definately paradise. I can not wait to go back.
To begin the trip we flew Delta out of Laguardia. We were suppossed to fly direct out of
JFK but due to the terrorist attacks this flight was cancelled. So we were rebooked on a
flight with a layover in Atlanta. This was completely understandable. The first leg of the
trip was fine. The second leg was great. They put us in first class and we were treated
like royalty. Once in Aruba we took a cab to the Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino. The
cab ride was $20. Well worth it and we got there fast. But be forewarned, they drive like
maniacs.
Check in at the Marriott was fast and the hotel is beautiful. It's the last hotel on the
strip and is because of this is a bit quieter and more peaceful. The lobby is huge and
open and the staff was completely attentive. We had a deluxe king ocean view room on the
8th floor. The room was beautiful, spaceous and clean. We could lay in bed and stare at
the ocean. As a matter of fact that was our morning ritual. The patio was huge and we
loved just sitting out there and watching the sunset. It's also a great spot for some wine
or champagne at the end of the day. Mid-week we were upgraded to an Executive King suite
with the wrap around porch. This was great for watching the sunset and eating breakfast on
the balcony. After check in we headed down to Waves (Marriott's bar by the ocean). It was
happy hour so we grabbed a bucket of beer and a hut and watched the sunset. Not a bad
start to the day. That evening we ate at Tuscany's at the Marriott. All in all I was not
impressed. My wife got ravioli which she loved and I got a veal chop which was expensive
and nothing special. I wouldn't recommend the restaurant in general. It was expensive and
just didn't have much atmosphere to it. Atmosphere is almost as important as the food in
Aruba in my opinion. The mean with wine was $107.
Monday:
On our first full day we got a hut by the beach. We were there by 9:30 and didn't have a
problem getting a hut. I did hear that the Island was very quiet since the attacks, so
that could have something to do with it. That evening we went to Ruines Del Mar at the
Hyatt. First of all the Hyatt is beautiful. The lobby is an open air lobby and the pool
area is awesome. But the rooms don't appear to have balconies and the stone in the pool
area is very hot. Ruines Del Mar was great. We had a table outside by the swans. Nothing
like eating dinner under the stars. My wife had chicken alfredo and I had Grilled
Swordfish. The food was great but perhaps a little pricey.
Tuesday:
We started the day with a full day Jeep Tour. We used North Star Tours and our guide was
Nicco. He was absolutely great. Very funny and personable. Be prepared for the ride of
your life. This was an off road tour and we saw everything on the Island. The tour
included a snack and authentic lunch. The food was great surprisingly. We saw the shark
feeding site, the lighthouse, gold mine, wish garden, fed goats, saw the natural bridge,
the national park, etc. All in all well worth the $50 per person. My wife threw
her shirt out at the end of the day. We were covered in sand. That evening we went to
Pappiamento's. This was our #1 restaurant. Our waitress was Jenny. She was so attentive
and so friendly. The atmosphere is amazing. This is an old Aruban house that was converted
to a restaurant. We sat and had some drinks for about an hour and a half before dinner.
This was the perfect place to relax. I had the fish sampler platter which is served on a
hot stone so you can cook it more if you'd like. I loved the food. My wife had chicken
parm and wasn't impressed. The meal was the most expensive of the week at about $140 with
wine, drinks, appetizer, dinner and dessert.
Wednesday:
Today we rented a Suzuki Jimny 4X4 for 3 days. In my opinion this was a waste. Although we
used the car it didn't save us money. We rented through Hertz and the car was $45/day. Had
we not done the jeep tour and went into town more often it may have payed off. We went
into town and did some shopping. Nothing special, lots of souvenirs. But reasonably priced
and you can certainly bargain with these people. We ate at El Gaucho this night. The best steaks we've ever eaten. We each got
the Gaucho which was awesome. The garlic sauce was great. I would recommend splitting the
steak since we each had over half of our steaks left.
Thursday:
Hung out at the pool with some other honeymooners. That evening we went onthe Tatoo Party Cruise. We had the "One Cool Honeymoon" card
which saved us $10 per person. So it was $78 total plus you had to buy tokens. Domestic
beers were 1 token and Imports were 2 tokens. Unfortunately bud light is considered an
import there. The food was terrible...dry chicken and veggie lasagna. Neither of us ate
our meal. The cruise was fun though. This was honeymooner night and there were lots of
young people. But there was definatley a mix of ages. The cruise director had everyone
dancing and playing games. We danced all night.
Friday:
We drove to the other end of the Island and each had 1 hour massages.Cosmos Day Spa is the
same place as Flying Fishbone. They turn it into arestaurant in the evening. This was
amazing. The huts for massages are right on the beach. It was so relaxing. I'd recommend
this to any honeymooner. Afterwards we headed to San Nichols for a drink at Charlies Bar.
Check this place out, it's hilarious. We then went to Flying Fishbone for dinner. The
atmosphere was awesome. We ate with our feet in the sand and watched the sunset. Get there
by 6pm in order to see the sun set and make sure you get a table by the water. That
evening we went out with a few other couples to Carlos and Charlies. Then we headed back
to the Marriott to gamble at the Stellaris Casino. We lost but it was fun.
Saturday:
We went horseback riding through Rancho Notorious. $50 pp and well worth it. The trip was
about 2.5 hours and took us to the natural pool. The views along the way are amazing and
the pool itself was incredible. We couldn't go to it because the waves were too choppy.
Once the horses hit the beach they take off running. So be warned. This was a great way to
end the trip. That evening we at at Simply Fish (Marriott's restaurant on the ocean). We
got there in time for sunset and had a perfect view of the ocean. I had the seafood
sampler (lobster tail, shrimp, red snapper, and scallops). My wife had the parmesian
crusted mahi mahi. Both were delicious. We danced in the sand to the live band. Great last
night there. The meal was about $90 with tip. They gave us the bottle of wine for free.
Sunday we left. The airport was a little crazy but not ridiculous. Delta's customer
service was terrible and we wound up being 4 hours early for our flight because the time
got changed and no one told us (although I had called the day before to confirm). I would
highly recommend this Island to anyone, especially honeymooners.
Jill and Shawn
