How to spend 12 hours in Aruba

[debbrilacy]

The ship excursions are sold out!  We are 4 people in our 60’s.  We want to spend a couple hours at Eagle Beach, but are not sure what else are must-sees in Aruba.  Ideally, we’d like to see the sights first, then be dropped at the beach. I can’t seem to find any local excursion companies that do that.  We’ve never set out on our own before, but don’t want to waste the opportunity to see Aruba, and really do not want to rent a car.

[salmn]

Car rental would be the easiest and least costly for 4 people. You could do everything there is to do.

Lighthouse, Baby Beach, Palm Beach shopping and restaurants, etc.  Jay's car rental will meet you at the port. Driving is easy in Aruba--drive on the right side of the road.

If you don't want to rent a car, go on Viator and take an island tour.  Lots of choices. After the tour, take a cab or the bus to Eagle beach. (Uber works there also)

[sailawayward]

You may receive better advice on this thread if you're able share the date and the disembarkation time for your arrival in Oranjestad - also when 'All Aboard' time will be for your sail away.  If your ship excursions are already sold out, it sounds like your sailing is very soon; so securing reservations for activities on shore may be just as challenging.  There are plenty of vendors for excursions you can book independently.  Knowing if anyone in your party has accessibility issues will be helpful, too.

 

Personally, I'd recommend renting a car especially if you can divide the cost with the other couple. Would give you much greater flexibility.  If you're not renting a car and want to include Eagle Beach, you'll need to decide how you want to get there and how you're returning to the ship. There are other threads on here to help you regarding the buses and/or the taxis, depending how you decide to go.  If Eagle Beach is the priority, then you can see how much time you have left; but including other areas like the Arikok Natl Park, for instance, would be difficult to impossible depending on how much time you actually have.  There's retail therapy in Oranjestad as well as Fort Zoutman, the Aloe Museum and the Pepe Margo Distillery close to the pier.    

[debbrilacy]

5 hours ago, sailawayward said:

You may receive better advice on this thread if you're able share the date and the disembarkation time for your arrival in Oranjestad - also when 'All Aboard' time will be for your sail away.  If your ship excursions are already sold out, it sounds like your sailing is very soon; so securing reservations for activities on shore may be just as challenging.  There are plenty of vendors for excursions you can book independently.  Knowing if anyone in your party has accessibility issues will be helpful, too.

 

Personally, I'd recommend renting a car especially if you can divide the cost with the other couple. Would give you much greater flexibility.  If you're not renting a car and want to include Eagle Beach, you'll need to decide how you want to get there and how you're returning to the ship. There are other threads on here to help you regarding the buses and/or the taxis, depending how you decide to go.  If Eagle Beach is the priority, then you can see how much time you have left; but including other areas like the Arikok Natl Park, for instance, would be difficult to impossible depending on how much time you actually have.  There's retail therapy in Oranjestad as well as Fort Zoutman, the Aloe Museum and the Pepe Margo Distillery close to the pier.    

Thank you!  I will edit my original post to include those things.  You are correct— we sail Feb 3!

[debbrilacy]

 

6 hours ago, debbrilacy said:

The ship excursions are sold out!  We are 4 people in our 60’s.  We want to spend a couple hours at Eagle Beach, but are not sure what else are must-sees in Aruba.  Ideally, we’d like to see the sights first, then be dropped at the beach. I can’t seem to find any local excursion companies that do that.  We’ve never set out on our own before, but don’t want to waste the opportunity to see Aruba, and really do not want to rent a car.  We will be in Aruba from 9 am til 10 pm, on February 6.  We do not have accessibility issues.  If we were to rent a car, would we be able to drive to the Ostrich farm, the lighthouse, and the Aloe Museum?  Is there ample parking at Eagle Beach?

 

 

 

[sailawayward]

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

 

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/oranjestadarubaschedule-06feb2024.html

Edited January 23 by sailawayward

[salmn]

3 hours ago, debbrilacy said:

 

 

 

 

You can drive to all those places mentioned.  About the only place rental cars aren't supposed to go is the Natural Pool, unless you rent a Jeep. Not sure about parking at Eagle beach.  If I remember right, there is parking.  Eagle Beach is a long beach, so should be able to find parking spot.

 

Nice restaurants: La Ramblas and Pure Ocean (not beach attire). Smokey Joes has great ribs and more casual. Palm Beach is fun in the evening. Shops and restaurants. There are parking lots

 

If you get a car, Baby Beach was our favorite. Fun beach bar.  There is a charge for restrooms, but if you rent chairs ($10 or $15 each), they give you tickets..

If you are snorkelers, Arashi, Malmok, and Tres Trapi are where the tour boats go, but you can snorkel from shore..

 

We were there in a timeshare for 10 days last sprng.  I think our Avis rental car officce closed at 5?  We are on a cruise in March and have a car reserved from Jay's and I think they want the car back by 7pm at the port.  The taxi's and uber aren't that expensive if you have to drop your car off early and still want to go to Palm Beach in the evening. 

[debbrilacy]

1 hour ago, salmn said:

You can drive to all those places mentioned.  About the only place rental cars aren't supposed to go is the Natural Pool, unless you rent a Jeep. Not sure about parking at Eagle beach.  If I remember right, there is parking.  Eagle Beach is a long beach, so should be able to find parking spot.

 

Nice restaurants: La Ramblas and Pure Ocean (not beach attire). Smokey Joes has great ribs and more casual. Palm Beach is fun in the evening. Shops and restaurants. There are parking lots

 

If you get a car, Baby Beach was our favorite. Fun beach bar.  There is a charge for restrooms, but if you rent chairs ($10 or $15 each), they give you tickets..

If you are snorkelers, Arashi, Malmok, and Tres Trapi are where the tour boats go, but you can snorkel from shore..

 

We were there in a timeshare for 10 days last sprng.  I think our Avis rental car officce closed at 5?  We are on a cruise in March and have a car reserved from Jay's and I think they want the car back by 7pm at the port.  The taxi's and uber aren't that expensive if you have to drop your car off early and still want to go to Palm Beach in the evening. 

Thank you so much for all this information!  I appreciate you being so helpful!  There will be 3 ships in port, so we definitely need to have a plan! 🙂

[debbrilacy]

4 hours ago, sailawayward said:

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

 

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/oranjestadarubaschedule-06feb2024.html

3 ships in port that day?!  It looks like about 9000 people will be there that day!  

[debbrilacy]

On 1/23/2024 at 11:05 PM, debbrilacy said:

3 ships in port that day?!  It looks like about 9000 people will be there that day!  

On 1/23/2024 at 9:17 PM, salmn said:

You can drive to all those places mentioned.  About the only place rental cars aren't supposed to go is the Natural Pool, unless you rent a Jeep. Not sure about parking at Eagle beach.  If I remember right, there is parking.  Eagle Beach is a long beach, so should be able to find parking spot.

 

Nice restaurants: La Ramblas and Pure Ocean (not beach attire). Smokey Joes has great ribs and more casual. Palm Beach is fun in the evening. Shops and restaurants. There are parking lots

 

If you get a car, Baby Beach was our favorite. Fun beach bar.  There is a charge for restrooms, but if you rent chairs ($10 or $15 each), they give you tickets..

If you are snorkelers, Arashi, Malmok, and Tres Trapi are where the tour boats go, but you can snorkel from shore..

 

We were there in a timeshare for 10 days last sprng.  I think our Avis rental car officce closed at 5?  We are on a cruise in March and have a car reserved from Jay's and I think they want the car back by 7pm at the port.  The taxi's and uber aren't that expensive if you have to drop your car off early and still want to go to Palm Beach in the evening. 

Thank you so much for all this information!  I appreciate you being so helpful!  There will be 3 ships in port, so we definitely need to have a plan! 🙂

[debbrilacy]

1 minute ago, debbrilacy said:

You can drive to all those places mentioned.  About the only place rental cars aren't supposed to go is the Natural Pool, unless you rent a Jeep. Not sure about parking at Eagle beach.  If I remember right, there is parking.  Eagle Beach is a long beach, so should be able to find parking spot.

Update: So, we are looking at a rental car!  Besides Eagle Beach, any recommended must sees before we turn the car back in?  This is likely to be our only visit to Aruba!