HARD TO LEAVE ARUBA
Small island big on smiles, deluxe accommodation, beautiful beaches
“One happy island” is much more than just a marketing slogan. It’s an apt description of what life is like on the southern Caribbean island of Aruba.
Everyone we met on a recent trip was constantly grinning, happy to help, eager to make sure tourists enjoy themselves in this picturesque, wonderfully relaxing locale.
It’s no wonder that Aruba boasts the highest return visitor rate in the Caribbean. What’s not to like? The average temperature is 28 C, there are more sunny days than anywhere else in the region, but the cooling trade winds keep everyone comfortable while they’re enjoying the pristine, breathtaking blue water and white sand beaches (the crushed coral and shells give Aruba’s beaches their photofriendly powdery white look and feel).
It’s also outside of the hurricane belt, everyone speaks English (and most also speak Dutch, Spanish and the local Papiamento language, too). There are plenty of things to do even though it’s pretty small ( just 32 km long and 16 km across).
Like scuba diving or snorkelling ? Check. Aruba boasts intriguing shipwrecks (Second World War wrecks SS Antilla and SS Pedernales draw the bulk of the attention) and exciting reefs with great visibility. Our group had a great day on the Tranquilo Aruba sailing charter with Capt. Anthony, Duane, and Buster the dog, who is always threatening to jump in the water. We went out to the Spanish Lagoon, an overlooked and under-visited part of the island whose beauty has to be seen to be believed.
You can off-road to Arikok National Park to check out the desert, or even visit a natural pool with DePalm Tours, an extremely cool experience. Just fasten your seatbelt in your jeep or ATV and hit the restroom before embarking. The bumps are no joke! It’s rugged terrain to the max.
Want to shop until you drop or eat well? There’s all kinds of highend stores and restaurants to explore on the main strip.
The California Lighthouse, named after a ship that sank, is something to see, and you can check out where locals camp by the water during holidays.
The North Coast is known as the rough coast because of the constantly blowing winds. That’s why you see trees pointing southwest, because of the northwest trade winds. Druif Beach is for local surfers.
The winds and salt from the sea also played havoc with the Bushiribana gold mine, dating from the 19th century, now abandoned ruins (if you’re climbing the ruins, wear good shoes and be careful).
If you like resorts, the five-star Barcelo Aruba located on breathtaking Palm Eagle Beach is exceptional. The water and beach are stunning (we’ve been to beaches all over the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii and Tel Aviv and this one topped them all), the service excellent with a bevy of delicious food selections, particularly in the authentic Kyoto Japanese restaurant, in the delicious Italian spot (L’Olio) and Aruban Seafood à la carte. (There are three other à la cartes, plus buffets stacked with lots of good options.)
Demmi’s Rivas, Barcelo Aruba’s director of sales, showed us a fine time, taking us through the interesting history of the resort, which completed a major renovation in 2016 following a previous renovation in 2006 by former owner Occidental.
With a separate beach area and a bar featuring such high-end drinks as Patron, Grey Goose, bottled Heineken and Corona, to name only a few, plus a private checkin and dining area unavailable to other guests and an excellent, attentive staff, the Royal Club is worth the upgrade.
There are 373 rooms in all, an on-site casino (run separately, not by Barcelo and not included in the all-inclusive package). Mini-bar drinks are refilled daily, free room service is included and some rooms even have outdoor hot tubs.
The Barcy Club has great activities for kids aged four to 12, and takes input from the children when coming up with activities for the day.
The nightly entertainment is well done. The Saturday night fare particularly stood out. The pirate show featured a man juggling fire and gymnasts soaring through the air doing daring exploits for over an hour. It was like watching a smaller-scale Cirque du Soleil performance and the crowd was in awe.
With direct flights from Toronto on Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and from Montreal on Sunwing, it’s easy to get to Aruba, but, speaking from experience, it’s awfully hard to leave!