Is Aruba worth an excursion ?

[igorek]

From reading travel books, I got an impression that Aruba is less interesting than other South Carribean ports (St. Lucia, Barbados, Curacao), so may be we should skip a shore excustion there, and just relax on the beach. Was it a correct impression ?

[Arubalisa]

From reading travel books, I got an impression that Aruba is less interesting than other South Carribean ports (St. Lucia, Barbados, Curacao), so may be we should skip a shore excustion there, and just relax on the beach. Was it a correct impression ?

A 2 - 4 hour tour would hit all of the highlights just so you could say you saw it. Otherwise, I can think of nothing nicer than spending an entire day on the beach in Aruba. Appply sunscreen liberally and frequently. ;) :D

[Engine643]

I have been to Barbados , St. Lucia and Aruba and I must say that I liked Aruba the best of the three. The locals were extremely friendly, not pushy in any way shape or form. We did not feel unsafe on any part of the island and did many tours while we spent 1 week at the Tamarijn Resort. Our favorite was an ATV tour that took approx. 4 hours. You will not be disappointed with any choice you make as this is a beautiful island. Go on a tour or do the beach thing. Good luck and enjoy.

[spearmint]

A 2 - 4 hour tour would hit all of the highlights just so you could say you saw it. Otherwise, I can think of nothing nicer than spending an entire day on the beach in Aruba. Appply sunscreen liberally and frequently. ;) :D

Arubalisa:

I know that you are the Aruba Answer Woman, so perhaps you can help me. Have you any knowledge of the Atlantis Submarine excursion, pro or con? I put a post on here a few weeks ago, but I cannot get any responses. Looks to me like no one has done this excursion and I am wondering if I have made a mistake booking it. If so, I perhpas would like to changed it for the Explorer vessel which has portholes below the water line, as opposed to submerging to 100 feet. Thanks. Bill

[wernew2cruising]

Arubalisa:

I know that you are the Aruba Answer Woman, so perhaps you can help me. Have you any knowledge of the Atlantis Submarine excursion, pro or con? I put a post on here a few weeks ago, but I cannot get any responses. Looks to me like no one has done this excursion and I am wondering if I have made a mistake booking it. If so, I perhpas would like to changed it for the Explorer vessel which has portholes below the water line, as opposed to submerging to 100 feet. Thanks. Bill

Bill, DH and I did an explorer type thing in Grand Cayman. We thought it was lame and not worth the money. I have heard the submarines are really cool. I have not heard of anyone who has done them in Aruba but I heard great things about the one in St Martin.

 

Bill after posting this I found this on virtual tourist dot com....this is about the submarine..... "You really do not see that much fish. All you get is a big old ship and a few sponges. It is not worth the $70

 

go to the beach and snorkel or scuba"

[Arubalisa]

Arubalisa:

I know that you are the Aruba Answer Woman, so perhaps you can help me. Have you any knowledge of the Atlantis Submarine excursion, pro or con? I put a post on here a few weeks ago, but I cannot get any responses. Looks to me like no one has done this excursion and I am wondering if I have made a mistake booking it. If so, I perhpas would like to changed it for the Explorer vessel which has portholes below the water line, as opposed to submerging to 100 feet. Thanks. Bill

 

Bill, DH and I did an explorer type thing in Grand Cayman. We thought it was lame and not worth the money. I have heard the submarines are really cool. I have not heard of anyone who has done them in Aruba but I heard great things about the one in St Martin.

 

Bill after posting this I found this on virtual tourist dot com....this is about the submarine..... "You really do not see that much fish. All you get is a big old ship and a few sponges. It is not worth the $70

 

go to the beach and snorkel or scuba"

Yes, I usually do not comment on anything of which I do not have first hand knowledge or at least know something of from Aruban friends. In this case, I too have ready the same comments as wernew2cruising. For that much money I would much rather see you spend the money on a day sail on the Tranquilo or Jolly Pirates excursion. For just a few dollars more you could take a "Discover Scuba" course and see everything up close and first hand. :D I guarantee there is nothing in the world like that! Just ask my 11 yo.

[spearmint]

Yes, I usually do not comment on anything of which I do not have first hand knowledge or at least know something of from Aruban friends. In this case, I too have ready the same comments as wernew2cruising. For that much money I would much rather see you spend the money on a day sail on the Tranquilo or Jolly Pirates excursion. For just a few dollars more you could take a "Discover Scuba" course and see everything up close and first hand. :D I guarantee there is nothing in the world like that! Just ask my 11 yo.

 

Thanks so much to both you and wernew2cruising. I appreciate the assistance.

[Merv1]

Regarding the original question, we loved Aruba. What we liked about it, was that it was DIFFERENT. Not just another pretty beach with gorgeous sand and water...although it has that as well. When we were there the first time, we did a jeep tour. It was a lot of fun, and allowed you to explore and see parts of the island that you otherwise wouldn't get to see. Aruba is very dessert like, that alone makes it different. To see cactus that are 20-30 feet high, is very cool. There are parts of the island that have volcanic rocks ... it has a very moon-like look to it. Go out and explore! The jeep tour took about 5 hours. You drive your own, but follow a very knowledgeable guide. There was beach time included in the tour. We were on the island for 18 hours, so had time to hit the beach in the morning (took a city bus), came back and ate lunch, then did the jeep tour in the afternoon. Had dinner on the ship, and then headed out to Carlos and Charlies for some cocktails at night. Whatever you decide...enjoy! Mary :)

[Lidolounger]

We did the submarine tour in Barbados - and for the $$ we spent - not worth it. Like another said - we saw minimal fish - just a big old sunken ship. It was interesting to actually get in the submarine and listen to the explanation about the actual mechanical workings of the sub - but if you think you'll see a lot- that wasn't our experience.

[serene56]

We took a sub tour in grand cayman and feel also that it jsut isnt worth it.

(even withlittle kids I would think they would get awful bored quickly.

 

Save your dollars and do something else.

[bplazo]

Aruaba was one of our favorite islands to do an excursion on. We did the ABC all day jeep tour. We had such a great time since my husband was a crazy driver. It also included a nice bbq lunch at an outside restraunt. We saw alot of the island that we would not have seen on our own.

[yellowbird23]

I love Aruba. We picked up our "air conditioned" Jeep and did it on our own and it was the highlight of our entire cruise. Aruba is beautiful. We went to the lighthouse and then found a road at the bottom of the hill that took us through a desertlike, ocean front maze of roads. When we were done seeing what we wanted to see, we just picked a side road and wound up in a residential section and went on our merry way. We also did some snorkeling at a small quiet beach, visited the Aloe Factory, found the Natural Bridge, etc. The only tricky part was finding our way back to the parking lot once in town, but my husband figured it out. I drove the entire time and he navigated. We wound up at one point in the middle of nowhere with wild goats along the beach...I thought that was cool. Explore on your own. Worth it and extremely safe. The island isn't that big really so you really can't get lost (as long as you have a sense of direction, that is).

[mindy41]

We are a group of 4 going to Aruba for the first time. I have been trying to read up on everything I can in regards to what to do, tours vs on your own.

 

Does anyone have suggestions for must sees while we are there? Unfortunately we don't have alot of time Noon - 7PM, being paranoid about missing the ship we would like to be back on board around 5 or so.

Can you rent scooters? Do your own thing? Ship tour?

 

Thanks I appreciate any and all input.:)

[serene56]

Mindy- stay away from ship tours if all possible. They cost dearly and you will be with LOTS of other passengers.

 

Doing tours on your own you can do it at a more relaxed pace.

 

get in touch with abc-tours.com and see what they have going for an afternoon tour

 

you must be back onboard by 6:30 in order to sail by 7.

 

 

once back onboard the ship try to get to the highest deck to see the sunset. I have seen sunsets but not like it does in Aruba. WOW

[mindy41]

Thanks:) - I will look into the abc company.

[jimdicap]

Anyone have a suggestion on a beach for Aruba? My wife and I aren't thrilled with the excursions, and were goin to spend a beach day

[Arubalisa]

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Aruba photos, trip report + tidbits

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Chairs and umbrellas available for rent on Eagle Beach and Palm Beach?

Moomba Beach?

 

 

[jimdicap]

Aruaba was one of our favorite islands to do an excursion on. We did the ABC all day jeep tour. We had such a great time since my husband was a crazy driver. It also included a nice bbq lunch at an outside restraunt. We saw alot of the island that we would not have seen on our own.

 

 

I recognize that photo!!!! I hope, like me, that was the wife's idea:)

[jimdicap]

To Arubalisa---is that your photo?? You look like you are a teenager! How many times have you been to Aruba???

[Aplmac]

We did the submarine tour in Barbados - and for the $$ we spent - not worth it.

Like another said - we saw minimal fish - just a big old sunken ship.

It was interesting to actually get in the submarine and listen to the explanation about the actual mechanical workings of the sub

- but if you think you'll see a lot- that wasn't our experience.

Wow! I'm jaded as hell coz I've lived on Barbados for fifty-six long years

and I've taken the Barbados submarine tour twice now,

but both times I found it quite interesting!

 

I'm even more jaded because I've scuba-dived myself silly,

teaching at least 1,000 people(crash-courses in the pool)

not to mention thousands of night and day dives

- and still I found the sub tours kinda cool!

Maybe it's just me, and my liking for Marine Bio things!

 

I reckon most North American tourists think they're going to see

fantastic out-of-this-world things like big sharks and Manta rays

- guys it's called unrealistic expectations!

but then again I must concede that there are more of you who have said HoHum,

compared to my wow!experiences..

and being I'm democratically inclined, majority rules!

 

Our Barbados submarine tours have managed to stay viable now for twenty years

-they've been going since early 1987-

when I took the original publicity photos for the local newspaper,

so they must be doing something right!

 

. . . . . . . . . . .

 

Here's a clever tip I learned that stands to increase your enjoyment.

 

 

Hang back a bit. Don't be too eager to board the sub right away.

Talk to the guy who's in charge of the passenger loading process!

You want to mention to him that you and your wife/group want those last two seats behind the driver,

and he'll advise you when to board, thru which hatch!

He'll probably tell you to be the very last two to enter.. thru whichever hatch he indicates.

 

Why? Because you get to see not only how the pilot drives the sub

(lots of controls and dials much like an aeroplane's cockpit!)

but you also get to see out of his big 6ft. dia. porthole right up front,

as well as the regular 2 ft. dia porthole along the sides.

Makes a big difference I found.

 

_________

[Aplmac]

what happened to the 4 pics I posted with mine, above????????

anywayyy..let's try again.

 

These pics are from the Barbados submarine operation - not Aruba.

[Coolmama_1]

We did the submarine tour in Barbados - and for the $$ we spent - not worth it. Like another said - we saw minimal fish - just a big old sunken ship. It was interesting to actually get in the submarine and listen to the explanation about the actual mechanical workings of the sub - but if you think you'll see a lot- that wasn't our experience.

 

We did the Submarine tour in Aruba and I felt the same way. Of course it was the 5th day in a row and we had done an excursion in each port. By the time we got to Aruba, my butt was dragging! All I could think about was going back on the ship and taking a nap!:D

[Arubalisa]

Having read this thread, ihmo, enjoyment of this excursion is going to somewhat be based upon expectations. For the price of the tour, they very rightly should have high expectations. Unfortunately the sub company has no control over the fish, but then again, I would imagine from the inside of a submarine, if you have seen one wreck, you will have seen them all. I can totally understand the disappointment. For workings of a sub, a visit to any good naval submarine musuem, you can get all of the education you wish on how the sub functions.

 

A better investment might be actually snorkeling a half way decent reef (wrecks or normally too deep to be seen from a decent perspective) or even a Discover Scuba course, which incidentally is about the same price as the sub excursion.