Aruba road conditions??

[Boat4Fun]

We are going to be in Aruba for a day in late Feburary. We would like to do a self guided jeep tour around the island. I've read about the road, or lack of road to the natural pool. How are the roads on the rest of the island? One of our travel companions has a bad back and is concerned about the bumpy roads. If we skip the natural pool are the rest of the roads ok? How much time should we alot for a trip around island. We would also like to do some beach time in the afternoon.

[billfish]

All of the main roads are fine My favorite land based destination

 

Enjoy

[CoralReef]

One of the few Caribbean islands where I wouldn't hesitate to rent a car and self-tour. And I have a bad back.

[Conanc]

I agree. Very easy to get around in Aruba.

[MLYLKY]

We Rented A Jeep For The Day. 1st We Drove From Port To Light House On Northern Tip, Roads Are Fine. Then Drove All The Way South To Baby Beach And Road Was Fine Again. Roads Are A Little Less Condition On The East Side Of The Island. Many Places To Off-road With The Jeep Also.

[soos1]

duplicate post

[soos1]

but just to reiterate- I would not go to the Natural Pool with a bad back, especially driving yourself. to say there is no road is an understatement. You will literally bounce out of your seat. Plus, once you get there, its quite a hike down to the pool, and an interesting trip over slippery rocks to actually get to it (you slide down the rocks to get in ...Doable, but not that easy with any limiting physical factors.....

[new2cruzing]

We rented a jeep and toured the whole island ourselves. The main roads are fine, the back roads-well- quite bumpy. We actually took a "road" behind Baby Beach and it took us about 1 1/12 hours to get back to the main road. We just followed the water and weaved around the bigger rocks, there were huge cactus and very dense areas a pet cemetery, etc. I was a little nervous considering we didn't see one vehicle the entire time. But it was great! The guy at the rental place told us there was no way around the whole island- we found one though. We took our time and spent about 8 hours- but we did stop and see many of the sights.

[MSPCUBS]

Also rented a jeep and had a great time. My only problem was the lack of signage on the secondary roads. I had to stop for directions a couple of times.

[dnl_in_Illinois]

We intend to rent a Jeep during our early April arrival to Aruba. I read that somewhere on the island people have built Inukshuks. Can someone advise me where on the island that is? I understood that there are many of them built. Thanks!

[dnl_in_Illinois]

We Rented A Jeep For The Day. 1st We Drove From Port To Light House On Northern Tip, Roads Are Fine. Then Drove All The Way South To Baby Beach And Road Was Fine Again. Roads Are A Little Less Condition On The East Side Of The Island. Many Places To Off-road With The Jeep Also.

 

Can you give me a general idea of how long it took you to drive from the northern tip (lighthouse) to Baby Beach? You're best guess is better than anything I have -- just trying to get a feel. Thanks!

[vegs1]

dnl_in_Illinois - It took us approximately 35 minutes to drive from the California Lighthouse to Baby Beach. (We didn't stop anywhere along the way). That was taking Highway 2A to 4A and then 1 A to Baby Beach. Roads were fine. We did all of our stops on the reverse such as the Donkey Sanctuary, Bushiribana Ruins and the fallen down Natural Bridge.

 

The Inukshuks are along the roadway going to the Natural Bridge. You can get there taking highway 6A and then cutting off at the sideroad. We did not find anything hard to find.

 

Aruba is a great island to drive around. We had no problems whatsoever and just did the routing I suggested above, bypassing Oranjestad.

[dnl_in_Illinois]

dnl_in_Illinois - It took us approximately 35 minutes to drive from the California Lighthouse to Baby Beach. (We didn't stop anywhere along the way). That was taking Highway 2A to 4A and then 1 A to Baby Beach. Roads were fine. We did all of our stops on the reverse such as the Donkey Sanctuary, Bushiribana Ruins and the fallen down Natural Bridge.

 

The Inukshuks are along the roadway going to the Natural Bridge. You can get there taking highway 6A and then cutting off at the sideroad. We did not find anything hard to find.

 

Aruba is a great island to drive around. We had no problems whatsoever and just did the routing I suggested above, bypassing Oranjestad.

 

vegs1 -- THANKS. This is perfect, more information than I expected and your comments are encouraging. I have the Jeep rented so we're committed. Appreciate your taking the time to respond.

[vegs1]

vegs1 -- THANKS. This is perfect, more information than I expected and your comments are encouraging. I have the Jeep rented so we're committed. Appreciate your taking the time to respond.

 

You are more than welcome. I hope you have a great time! One word on the Jeep rental - we were hoping to get a Jeep but they were gone by the time we got there (our own fault - should have pre-booked). Most of the people staying at our resort that did manage to get a Jeep made comments on how much sunscreen they used during the day if they had the top down. The Aruba sun is very strong...please be careful and use lots and lots of sunscreen and wear a hat! You don't want to end your wonderful day with a bad burn. Have a great time! I wish I were going back instead of just having come home!

[dnl_in_Illinois]

You are more than welcome. I hope you have a great time! One word on the Jeep rental - we were hoping to get a Jeep but they were gone by the time we got there (our own fault - should have pre-booked). Most of the people staying at our resort that did manage to get a Jeep made comments on how much sunscreen they used during the day if they had the top down. The Aruba sun is very strong...please be careful and use lots and lots of sunscreen and wear a hat! You don't want to end your wonderful day with a bad burn. Have a great time! I wish I were going back instead of just having come home!

 

Your advice on the sunscreen is understood and well taken. We will "do" for sure and wear a hat. We have reserved the Jeep already. Didn't want to take the chance. It will be a while before we get to Aruba as our trip doesn't begin until 3/25 and it is the last island we visit. Can't wait -- for the obvious reasons! Thanks for the good wishes. Hope you make it back there soon some day!

[dnl_in_Illinois]

One word on the Jeep rental - we were hoping to get a Jeep but they were gone by the time we got there (our own fault - should have pre-booked). Most of the people staying at our resort that did manage to get a Jeep made comments on how much sunscreen they used during the day if they had the top down.

 

I trust that I can ask one more question. From what you either experienced or observed, are 4 people in one Jeep Wrangler going to be comfortable enough? Does the roof cover the whole vehicle? I realize that the first question re: comfort is subjective -- but once again I'm trying to get a feel for it. I know what a Jeep Wrangler is and what I see here in northern Illinois has a full roof. The other option is to rent 2 Wranglers for the 4 of us. Your input once again will be appreciated.

[Arubalisa]

Below is the Jeep Wrangler we rented through Royal Car Rental. If you do have a 4 x 4 and remove the top, not only wear and bring plenty of sunscreen, but plan on becoming dirty from the dust.

[dnl_in_Illinois]

Below is the Jeep Wrangler we rented through Royal Car Rental. If you do have a 4 x 4 and remove the top, not only wear and bring plenty of sunscreen, but plan on becoming dirty from the dust.

 

Thanks Arubalisa! The photo was very helpful and since we rented from Royal the vehicle ought to be much the same. Any thoughts on how comfortable 2 people would be sitting in the back seats with the top up? I'm a bit concerned about that. Thanks again for your post. It helps and we will appreciate any other thouhts you have re: room in the Jeep.

[Arubalisa]

Any thoughts on how comfortable 2 people would be sitting in the back seats with the top up? I'm a bit concerned about that. Thanks again for your post. It helps and we will appreciate any other thouhts you have re: room in the Jeep.

Only two words...NOT VERY ;) . I was offered one of the spots in the back and declined. Even the kids were not happy about it, but they had no choice. :cool:

Have you considered Royal's Suzuki XL-7, 4X4 for the same price?

 

OR even more comfortable, if they will rent it for only one day, was the Lexus RX300. Don't remember if it was 4 x 4, but it should be able to get you anywhere on the island you want to go with the exception of the Natural Pool.

 

[vegs1]

I trust that I can ask one more question. From what you either experienced or observed, are 4 people in one Jeep Wrangler going to be comfortable enough? Does the roof cover the whole vehicle? I realize that the first question re: comfort is subjective -- but once again I'm trying to get a feel for it. I know what a Jeep Wrangler is and what I see here in northern Illinois has a full roof. The other option is to rent 2 Wranglers for the 4 of us. Your input once again will be appreciated.

 

People we met at the hotel rented the same car as you with 4 people and were not too happy. They put the top down, got sunburned, were filthy dirty and the people in the back complained. We rented a PT cruiser...managed on all the backroads just fine (even down to the Natural Bridge). We just went slow and went around the potholes. Very comfy, had air conditioning and worked well!