Flew July morning, from JFK to Aruba direct on AA. Flight was uneventful, security was
tight, got to the airport 2 hours before, got to gate with 1 hour to wait at gate. I would
rather wait at the gate for 1 hour to wait then miss the flight.
Arrived in Aruba at 3:30pm, went through customs, very efficient, maybe a 10 minute line.
Waited 10 minutes at baggage carousel and off to Economy Rental Car. They were highly recommended on the bulletin board
and they were efficient. We rented a Toyota Yaris and it suited our needs for 5 days.
Drove out of airport, stopped by PriceSmart (affiliate of Costco/Price Club)
Bought 1 liter of water for 1.50 florins (.85 cents), 3 pack of orange juice/apple juices
for 1.50 florins. We just filled up on drinks/water here for the week. Bought other
goodies at the supermarkets in town. Water and drinks were the cheapest here and you did
not have to buy big multipacks. No lines at the store as it was a weekday.
Then checked out Ling and Sons and Kong Hing in town. Kong Hing was definitely a nicer,
cleaner, bigger supermarket. Juices that were Afl. 1.50 at PriceSmart were about Afl.
$2.25 at the supermarkets.
Holiday Inn - Arrived about 7pm, no line checking in, got a room in the Bonaire Tower,
overlooking the pool. It was loud, even on the 6th floor (of 7 floors). Loud because they
played music from 12pm - 6pm then they either had a show or band from 6:30pm - 10:30pm. If
you don’t want loud music, ask for a room elsewhere. Bonaire tower fit us fine, it
was closest to the parking lot, pool, casino, and restaurant.
Breakfast Buffet - At most a 3-4 minute wait, but they were efficient. A lot of items, but
quality of breads and cakes were disappointing. Hot foods- potatoes, scrambled eggs,
vegetable scrambled eggs, bacon, sasusage. Cooked to order omelets, pancakes or waffles
(switched every other day), Corn flakes and about 3 other cereals, oatmeal, Danish cheese,
Yogurt, bananas (over ripe), whole oranges, whole apples. Canned peaches, stewed prunes,
½ grapefruits, watermelon,cantelope,honeydoo (3 of 5 mornings). Papaya replaced the ½
grapefruits one of the 5 days we were there. White bread, wheat bread, bagels, English
muffins (all seemed like came from the fridge or freezer) not even the white bread was
fresh. Condiments:Jelly, butter, cream cheese, honey, ketchup
Pastries - banana nut bread (dark type), small fruit danishes, marble pound cake slices,
regular size muffins, crousants. All pastries seemed like frozen sarah lee quality,
without being heated up.
We did not do all inclusive, but had breakfast included in our package with MCM tours
(aruba4u.com).
Dinner theme nights, every night was a theme night that was included with all inclusive or
usually cost US $27 + 15 % service charge, but included 2 drinks.
Things we did: Natural bridge, yes we got lost, but not more than 20 minutes, there are
few road signs on the Northern Coast.
Caves, Tunnels, Rock Formations, in the middle or northern part of the island.
MT Hooiberg (not sure if spelled correctly), about 180 meters high, with steps to walk up,
definitely DO THIS. Bring at least 1 Liter per person of water.
We bought a Styrofoam cooler at Kong Hing for about US $4. Ling Ling wanted $7 for a
smaller size.
Walk from Holiday Inn to Wyndham along the boardwalk on the beach.
See Iguana feeding at Marriot at 11 am daily
Butterfly farm we did not do
Flight back - Long line to check in at counter (30 minutes). Then we walked outside,
followed signs, went thru aruba customs, went to waiting area with many duty free shops.
Then picked up our checked bags, went through US Immigration, walked to our gate. Security
was tight, we had to discard carry on tweezers and Loose batteries.
Suggestions - while we did not do a full package (hotel/air/transfers) we did see lines
form at check in once the bus from the airport pulled in. I strongly recommend taking a
taxi or rental car to your hotel, it may cost extra but it is worth it.
Get to airport 2 hours before your flight, better to be early, than miss your flight for
any reason
Do Mt Hooiberg, Baby Beach, Wind surfing/sailing lessons
Tour other hotels, for both restaurants and possible returns back to the island
Only do a timeshare presentation if you are really interested, the free stuff at best is
products worth $100
Read daily newspaper for coupons and even happenings, we saw Miss Aruba and other local
events/concerts
Fly on name brand airline or charter with reputable company
Have fun
zhouse@optonline.net
