One Happy Island: One Day in Aruba

Mar 14, 2024

We set sail on the Sunsets in the Lesser Antilles Cruise this past January which left from San Juan, Puerto Rico and stopped in Aruba, Curacao, Martinique and St. Kitts! We arrived in Puerto Rico a few days early to explore, and I will do a complete write up of our time there, because WOW, but first, I want to highlight our first stop on this amazing adventure, ARUBA!!!

Arriving in Aruba

Aruba is known as “One Happy Island” and it did not disappoint.

With 365 days of sunshine and located safely outside the hurricane zone, it is rare to have a rainy day here. We docked at 9 AM and with Virgin, you get late night stays and even overnight stays at some docks. We were lucky to get to explore Aruba until MIDNIGHT!!!

With this type of freedom, we decided to rent a Jeep and set off on our own! Do not be scared to venture outside of the “shore things” or excursions offered. While Virgin does offer some very unique and locally sourced outings that focus on culture and experience versus just shuffling tourists around, a little research prior can help you consider alternate options and have an amazing shore day!

I decided to rent from a local company: Royal Car Rental Aruba. I secured my Jeep in advance and they met us at the Cruise dock with paperwork and keys! It was so simple. They gave me their phone number to call when I was ready to return after 5 PM. Done! You drive on the right side of the road in Aruba, which is nice, but they utilize roundabouts for everything so that was fun to get used to! 😂 (I am the driver, always! Will is always filming!)

First Stop: Arashi Beach

After some recommendations from friends, I found that the north side of the island offers the best beaches, snorkeling and even shipwrecks, so we started our morning here. Arashi beach is beautiful and windy with white sands and tons of spots to park alongside the road. We parked at the lot at Arashi Beach Shack and posted up for a few hours. We purchased a burger and fries and had a few rounds of Margaritas! The snorkeling was wonderful here and you are close enough to the SS Antilla shipwreck to swim out alongside the reef and safely enjoy this beautiful underwater site. We also walked down to Boca Catalina Beach and Tres Trapi (two photo worthy spots on the map 🙂). All in all, this area felt very “Destin/30A” to me - very developed, with a clear Floridian vibe, but with a REEF.

Second Stop: California Lighthouse & Sasariwichi Dunes

After lunch we drove up to the California Lighthouse as it’s right next door. We had not planned on driving down in the dunes, but stopped for the Vistas and then spotted a few other Jeeps doing some donuts! Will took the wheel for this one and we drove down and spent about an hour driving in the sand dunes and walking the beach. It was SOOOO windy and beautiful - it felt like another planet, not part of the same island we experienced 30 minutes prior. It was an awesome break in the day and provided some great footage.

Third Stop: Pizza Bob’s & Eagle Beach

After this, we wanted to head toward probably the most popular beach on the island, Eagle Beach. I can see why, as this is a true Beach Lovers paradise with football fields of sand to get to the shore. We set the GPS to “Pizza Bob’s,” a local must stop and we will never turn down pizza! We were the only two people there, had two rounds of handmade frozen margaritas and a large pepperoni pizza - Perfect lunch!

We were RIGHT next to several resorts I have researched for clients, so we headed over to check them out and I am so glad we did. You can literally just walk from one right into the other, which is great to know. Manchebo Bay Resort is wellness focused; they had a beautiful yoga pavilion and spacious, nature focused suites. Divi Aruba and Tamarijn are all-inclusive options that are also located right on the beach and offer excellent dining and beach experiences. I personally would not recommend an all-inclusive for Aruba - you are going to get out, walk around, eat out, so don’t limit yourself to just the food at the resort. Maybe consider a breakfast only option or European plan (breakfast and dinner only). These resorts all offer flexible AI and meal plan options.

Fourth Stop: Downtown Aruba

After exploring the Eagle Beach area we were pretty tired from the sun so headed back towards downtown to walk around. We returned the car since we were done driving so that was very helpful with the location being downtown and by the cruise ship as well. The area is very Dutch inspired with beautiful, colorful buildings and the 4-globe lantern street lights that mark the main thoroughfare at night. We walked around and ended up buying two pieces of local artwork that looked like they should be in a museum. I can’t wait to hang it on our travel wall! (I will have to do a post about that soon!).

Travel More Tip:

While we only spent one day in Aruba via Virgin Voyages, we will definitely be traveling back for a longer stay. A very cool benefit I’d like to note about Aruba is their Customs process. Aruba has US pre-clearance for all passengers traveling to the United States, which means that you will go through passport control in Aruba for U.S. Customs. Aruba is the only Caribbean Island in which you clear US customs before leaving the Island. If you have a connecting flight without much time in between, this could definitely help save you some time and stress.

The only requirement prior to travel to Aruba is to fill out the Aruba ED Card for entry and exit into the country. This can be done online, prior to your arrival and will be required to show at immigration.

Ready to experience Aruba?

Visit the “Contact” page now to easily schedule an initial discussion with us to get things started! Thank you for reading and following our travel adventures! Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel and to follow along @travelmorewithkristin on Instagram for the latest travel tips, tricks and our newest locations visited.

Thank you!

Kristin & Will

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