Things to do in Aruba and Curacao?!

[Jessica&Adam]

Hello!! I'm so excited b/c for DH and I's 1-Year Anniversary on May 24 we will be going to Aruba for 4 nights then Curacao for 3 nights. We will be staying at Hyatt resorts during our trip. I was hoping to get some advice on what are some fun activities/things to do in both of these countries. I've sifted through the wedding threads for these places but didn't find too much info on what to actually do for fun while there. I'm open to any suggestions!!

[Jessica&Adam]

Thanks Maureen! What is the best way to get from the airport to Hyatt - are you taking a taxi or arranging for transportation before-hand?

[~Angela~]

FI and I went to Aruba a few yearss ago. We loved it! My most favourite thing we did was go on a 4 wheeling tour around the island. We each had our own four wheeler and it was super exciting!!! You do get dirty though, but that was half the fun!

 

Enjoy!

[MDLady]

Hi Jessica! I might see you at the Hyatt then! We are arriving on May 25 and our wedding will be on May 30th.

 

There is lots to do but Maureen covered a lot of it but my friends tell me that there are some nice clubs/restaurants in town that could be fun, depending on what kind of fun you are looking for.

 

We are planning to do the jeep tour, sail, scuba/snorkel and probably spend a day in town just exploring. That's all after the wedding of course.

 

Enjoy!!!

[JAM2011]

Hi Jessica,

 

Sounds like a wonderful trip! Can I ask how you are traveling between Aruba and Curacao? We are planning our wedding for May 2011 in Aruba, and were considering trying to move over to Curacao for a few days at the end of our trip as a sort of separate honeymoon. We weren't able to find any flights between the islands... Any tips?

 

Thanks,

Jamie

[Stacy015]

I have been to Aruba several times and my group always goes on the Jolly Pirates - always the highlight of our trip. I have also done the Kukoo Kunuku party bus a couple of times - this is fun with a bunch of people you know, but I don't think I would recommend it for just the two of you.. Senior Frogs is fairly new there and I did try their party bus a couple years ago and really liked that. It's a little shorter and a little cheaper.. only goest to Senior Frogs instead of bar hopping - but there were 4 of us (2 couples) and we really enjoyed it!! I also really enjoyed Mi Dushi sunset snorkel. I don't really snorkel - but there were lots of people on the boat who had the same idea as me ride around on a boat for a few hours having drinks and appetizers! I have heard the jeep tour is great, but I have not done that before. I also enjoy all of the water activities - you will see this all over the beach and prices are negotiable!! We love to tube, banana boat, parasail, etc. The town has some good shopping. Don't go to the mall though... go back a couple roads from the main street and you'll find lots of touristy shops and market stands. Much more to offer at better prices. And there are soo many restaurants - I really like the Iguana restaurants (Iguana Joes, Iguana Cantina, Smokey Joes)

 

I wouldn't recommend a car in Aruba- it's really not necessary. The bus is $1 and comes very often. We always taxi from the airport to our hotel ($25).

 

I'm a huge beach bum - but there are lots of activities to do while you're there! Oh I just love Aruba- you will have a GREAT time!! I could go on and on... haha, so I'll stop now - I'm curious to see what other people love to do there b/c I'm always looking for new fun things!

[A_J_Mitchell]

Go horseback riding!!

 

As for getting to your hotel, you could take any cab but there's one particular cab that I would recommend. You can email him to make arrangements for him to pick you up right at the airport. He will have a sign with your name on it right outside customs. He has gotten a ton of great reviews from the aruba.com forum. I have him picking us up in Aruba for July.

his contact info is: Bully Taxi:

 

[email protected]

 

I emailed him to make arrangements and heard back within a day to confirm.

[Jessica&Adam]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys - keep 'em coming! It seems like there's so much to do and we're only going to be there for 4 nights/3.5 days (in Aruba that is) - I hope we can squeeze everything in that we want to! Thus far I think we'll definitely do a jeep/ATV tour (though I can't decide between Tomcars and the ABC Tours), definitely a snorkel/sail tour, happy hour on the beach (TA Maureen - I know you had mentioned Moomba happy hour or something like that in another post - what is that?!), and dinner at my hotel's restaurants, and hopefully Passions, El Gaucho, Flying Fishbone, Smoky Joes, etc. Does anyone know if any of those restaurants are far from Palm Beach area? I'd prefer to stick w/ the restaurants that are closer to our resort since the farther it is the more expensive it will be to get there I'm guessing!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAM2011 Hi Jessica,   Sounds like a wonderful trip! Can I ask how you are traveling between Aruba and Curacao? We are planning our wedding for May 2011 in Aruba, and were considering trying to move over to Curacao for a few days at the end of our trip as a sort of separate honeymoon. We weren't able to find any flights between the islands... Any tips?   Thanks, Jamie

Hey Jamie,

We weren't sure about the flights either and actually TA Maureen told me to use DAE (DAE - Book your flight to Aruba, Bogota, Bonaire, Caracas, Curacao, Santo Domingo, St. Maarten, Valencia - Dutch Antilles Express - Book your flight to Aruba, Bogota, Bonaire, Caracas, Curacao, Santo Domingo, St. Maarten, Valencia - Dutch Antilles Ex) so we booked our international flight from AUA to CUR through them. It was only $112 for the two of us and it's a 30 minute flight. I'm so excited!!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_J_Mitchell Go horseback riding!!   As for getting to your hotel, you could take any cab but there's one particular cab that I would recommend. You can email him to make arrangements for him to pick you up right at the airport. He will have a sign with your name on it right outside customs. He has gotten a ton of great reviews from the aruba.com forum. I have him picking us up in Aruba for July. his contact info is: Bully Taxi:   [email protected]   I emailed him to make arrangements and heard back within a day to confirm.

Thanks for the advice! I remember reading something about Bully before too - I just emailed him and hopefully he'll be available to pick us up in Aruba!!

[Stacy015]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessica&Adam Thanks for all the suggestions guys - keep 'em coming! It seems like there's so much to do and we're only going to be there for 4 nights/3.5 days (in Aruba that is) - I hope we can squeeze everything in that we want to! Thus far I think we'll definitely do a jeep/ATV tour (though I can't decide between Tomcars and the ABC Tours), definitely a snorkel/sail tour, happy hour on the beach (TA Maureen - I know you had mentioned Moomba happy hour or something like that in another post - what is that?!), and dinner at my hotel's restaurants, and hopefully Passions, El Gaucho, Flying Fishbone, Smoky Joes, etc. Does anyone know if any of those restaurants are far from Palm Beach area? I'd prefer to stick w/ the restaurants that are closer to our resort since the farther it is the more expensive it will be to get there I'm guessing! Hey Jamie, We weren't sure about the flights either and actually TA Maureen told me to use DAE (DAE - Book your flight to Aruba, Bogota, Bonaire, Caracas, Curacao, Santo Domingo, St. Maarten, Valencia - Dutch Antilles Express - Book your flight to Aruba, Bogota, Bonaire, Caracas, Curacao, Santo Domingo, St. Maarten, Valencia - Dutch Antilles Ex) so we booked our international flight from AUA to CUR through them. It was only $112 for the two of us and it's a 30 minute flight. I'm so excited!! Thanks for the advice! I remember reading something about Bully before too - I just emailed him and hopefully he'll be available to pick us up in Aruba!!

It won't really matter how far from your resort you go for dinner (around the beach or to town) because it costs $1 to get just about everywhere. There is one main road and you just hop on a bus and get off when you want.

There are happy hours EVERYWHERE and nearly ALL DAY -- just walk the beach. The happy hours are different at each resort.

[JAM2011]

Jessica,

Thank you (and TA Maureen) for sharing that link for DAE!! That is great! Exactly what I was looking for!

 

TA Maureen,

Also at the top of our list, besides Curacao, is Antigua. Any tips on travel between Aruba and Antigua?? Or Aruba and St. Lucia?

 

Thanks so much!

Jamie