Paradise Aruba

The image that I had in mind about Aruba, was an island with long white sandy beaches and a very blue sea. This picture was exactly right! Aruba has miles of white sandy beaches where you can relax in the sun, but also can walk around. It is really a must to rent a car because there is plenty to see on the island.

Stroll through Oranjestad

Oranjestad is the capital of Aruba. A nice town, but you do not have to go there on Sunday… We arrived on Sunday and thought it would be nice to walk around Oranjestad and explore the city. Well, it was nog so fun because it was totaly extinct. Apparently this is quite normal on Sunday, we found out after we spoke to some locals. But Oranjestad is centainly worth a visit on all other days of the week;). Go shopping in the many shops, taste local snacks such as batidos (sweet milkshake-like drink) and pastechi’s (dough patties with meat, fish or cheese) or look for a guide who can tell you more about the city. Because we find it interesting to know more about the city we have done a city tour. It is always nice to hear a bit of history about different buildings and places in the city.

Baby Beach

Baby beach really is a paradise, it is in the south of Aruba and about a half hour drive from Oranjestad. A beautiful lang beach in the shape of a half moon. The water is pleasant and shallow. Chil on the beach or jump in the blue water. Here you can enjoy yourself for a few hours.

California Lighthouse

It is absolutely worthwhile to visit the lighthouse on the island. This is all in the north of the island and gives you a beautiful view. From Palm Beach you easily can walk or cycle.

Flamingo Beach

I think this is the best known beach of instagram. On this beach, just as the name is saying, they have flamingos. These are the flamingos you see on all the pictures on instagram. Unfortunately this beach is not accessible for everyone. There are two ways to get there: 1. You book a room in the Renaissance Resort. The beach with the flamingos is a beach on the private island of the resort, so it is free to visit for hotel guests. You have to go there with a boat, but when you show your hotel room pass you can enter the boat free of charge. Unfortunatley, I have to tell you that staying in this resort is certainly no budget-friendly;). 2. Buy a day pass for the island, which is also not pleasant for your wallet. This joke costs you about 125 dollars per person. And they sell the day passes very limited, this depends on the occupation of the hotel. It is therefore possible that you can not gat a day pass for the island at all…

Now you are centainly wondering how we ended up on the island. Well I (diede) was lucky to be able to stay 1 night in the Renaissance Resort for work. Because of this we had free access to the flamingos and we definitely made use of that;).

Arikok National Park

Would you like to do something different other than go to the beach or pet flamingos? Book a jeep tour through the national park of Arikok on Aruba. A fun activity that lasts half a day. Do not try to drive through the park with your own rental car, I think the rental organization will not be happy about this haha.. Or you have to rent a pick-up or jeep of course. You can also rent a mountain bike and explore the park by bike, well worth it.