Aruba Travel Guide

My husband and I were finally able to go on our honeymoon! We got married in January of 2021 {entire blog post about our amazing vendors can be found here}. A year and a half later, we finally did the dang thing! Aruba wasn’t our original honeymoon plan but it’s been one of my bucket list destinations for a few years now and it was the perfect trip for us to get away for a few days! I am including everything we did in this post so you can plan your trip to Aruba too! Please leave any comments about this Aruba travel guide below this post! Or let me know if Aruba is on your bucket list too!

Getting To/From Aruba

We live in Richmond, VA currently and our trip was a rather easy one. Our flight from Richmond was at 7 am. We had a layover in Charlotte, NC with a direct flight to Aruba scheduled to leave around 12 pm. After our first flight, we found a spot in one of Charlotte’s restaurants to grab some breakfast. After breakfast, we realized there was a morning flight to Aruba set to take off in approximately 40 minutes. We took the chance to ask if we could get on the earlier flight and we only had carry ons with us so they put us on the flight! What a way to start off our honeymoon, right?! The flight from Charlotte was right at 4 hours and when we landed, we went through customs which took approximately 30 minutes.

My only regret is that we chose to go through a self-service customs booth. It was a quicker route but we later found out it also meant we weren’t able to get our passports stamped for the trip as we didn’t see one of the customs agents. That was a bummer but I guess we just have to go back again!

When we left Aruba, we had to arrive at the airport at a designated time based on our flight time back to the US. This was to allow for time to go through customs before our flight. Aruba has a US Customs facility that provides pre-clearance for any travelers going to the US. We had to go through Aruba’s airport security, through the US customs checkpoint, and through another airport security line, this time through the US security. When we landed back in the US, we were already cleared to be in the US which made transfering to our next flight the same as if we were only traveling in the US.

Where We Stayed

We stayed in the Talk of the Town Hotel located just a few minutes away from the Queen Beatrix (AUA) airport. This is a smaller hotel compared to the resorts located a mile further down the island, but we wanted a hotel that wasn’t too expensive and provided a few amenities. The Talk of the Town had a nice pool and a pool bar that we used once and our room was a superior room with a lounge area, king bed, mini kitchen, table, and an outdoor patio. Our hotel also had the option to add on breakfast each morning. We chose to add it on so we could spend a little more on the excursions or dining out experiences.

The Talk of the Town is located approximately 1 mile away from Downtown Aruba and sits across from Surfside beach, a family friendly beach with a few places to eat. Three of them are included in the Where to Eat section of this post. There is also a local beach bar directly across the street {Sandra’s} that was full the entire weekend.

*My opinion: There is so much to do on the island that I would advise against staying in a resort unless you primarily plan to stay onsite. However, if we are able to go back, we will make it a priority to stay closer to Palm Beach. We spent a majority of our time there and the taxi fares can be pricey, so we tried to plan big chunks of time in that area to avoid spending too much in transportation.

Getting Around Aruba

Tourism is the largest contributor to Aruba’s economy, so there are taxis on the roads at all times. Within seconds of stepping out of our hotel, we could flag down a taxi and be on our way. Almost all of the taxis only accept cash, so be sure to set aside cash to cover taxi rides. The rates are predetermined by the government based on the location and we paid on average $20 per taxi. It can add up quickly.

There are car rental options which I would suggest if you plan to stay in Aruba for at least a week. Even though taxi fares added up quickly, we didn’t pay the cost of a rental car for our trip of 5 days. There are also rideshare bikes that can be used by downloading an app. We loved using these to get to downtown quicker and they were so fun to use!

What to Do

Beaches

• Palm Beach – this is the primary beach for a lot of resorts/hotels. Some sections of the beach are reserved for the hotel guests and there are water activities such as parasailing or tubing in this area. It is a very busy beach but is filled with a lot of activities for anyone!
• Eagle Beach – in my opinion, this was the prettiest beach we went to in Aruba! It has crystal blue water, soft white sand, and isn’t as crowded as Palm Beach. We were on our way back to our hotel using the Rideshare scooters and decided to stop at Eagle Beach to see the beauty of it! It just so happened that when we stopped, we were able to see baby sea turtles emerge from the sand and walk to the ocean! I tell my husband that was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I’m not sure I will ever see again and it is something I will never forget!
• Surfside Beach – this beach was directly across from our hotel so we would walk over once or twice a day to this beach. I swear it’s the prettiest place to sit and watch the sunset! There are a few restaurants on this beach that offer fine dining in the sand which I thought was a unique idea!

Shopping

• Palm Beach – by far our favorite place to hang out and an area we visited frequently. There is an outdoor mall with the cutest local shops and restaurants. Palm Beach is the prime spot for nightlife too if you’re looking for a club or karaoke bar!
• Downtown Aruba – this is the area for cruises to dock in. Downtown seems to have a more Dutch feel to it with the shops that have all things Aruba.

Excursions + Adventures

• Snorkeling Tour – we booked this snorkeling tour through Pelican Adventures and it was such a fun experience! We stopped at three different sites and got to see sea turtles at the last stop! It is an all you can drink tour with a light breakfast option and lunch provided.
• California Lighthouse – the lighthouse is located at the northernmost part of Aruba. It’s a quick stop but so cool to see the entire island!
• Conchi Natural Pool – this is the one place we didn’t visit that we regret not going to! I’ve heard the natural pool is beautiful and it can only be reached by foot, horse, or ATV type vehicles. It is also near the Arikok National Park if you are looking for an outdoor adventure.

Renaissance Island

• Flamingo Beach – we could not visit Aruba without making sure we spent a day at Flamingo Beach! It is an adult-only beach located on one side of a private island owned by the Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort. Since it was our honeymoon, we booked an open air massage on the Island Spa Cove and it was such a surreal experience. We had access to the island all day and I was able to feed the flamingos a few times! They walked out on the beach every so often to cool off but they were primarily out in the late afternoon as the temperatures dropped.
• Iguana Beach – on the other side of Renaissance Island is a family friendly beach with a restaurant, Papagayo Bar and Grill. Both beaches offer Cabana rentals and the view is incredible!
• As of right now, there are 3 ways to get access to the island – if you are a guest staying at the resort, if you book a week in advance using the Renaissance Island website, or by booking an open air massage on Renaissance Island. Booking through the website can be risky as only a certain number of passes are offered each day based on hotel guest count and tickets can sell out fast. We opted to do a couples massage and had access to Renaissance Island all day! To get to the island, a water taxi shuttles guests every 15 minutes to/from the main resort.

Where to Eat

Beach Bars

• Moomba Beach Bar – an open air oceanfront bar {and restaurant option} with an upbeat atmosphere! They have a variety of cocktails and typical bar food options.
• Lola Taqueria – This place is a vibe! Lola was easily one of our favorite bars to visit. Although it’s not technically a beach bar, it is located across the street from Palm Beach and has live music or a DJ on site! It is also a restaurant and we went back for dinner. The shrimp tacos were perfect!
• Eduardo’s Beach Shack – known for their pineapple smoothie bowls {unfortunately, they were out when we went}. A cute little beach shack located on Palm Beach and sits right behind Playa Linda Beach Resort. Their smoothie bowl was delicious and perfect for a midday snack.
• Coco’s Bar – this beach bar offers fresh coconuts! It was also on Palm Beach but probably 1/2 mile away from Eduardo’s. This is the perfect refreshment after a long day in the sun and they also offer rum coconuts!
• Surfside Beach Bar – this beachside bar was within a few hundred yards of our hotel and the perfect spot to watch the sunset.
• Hotel Beach Bars – there are a lot of hotels that have beach bars or pool bars onsite. Not all allow outside guests but we found two that we stopped at on our trip! The Renaissance Wind Creek Resort had a bar on a little beach area on the back of the hotel. The Divi Phoenix Beach Resort had a pool bar that we spent a few hours at one afternoon!

Fine Dining

• Pinchos Bar and Grill – don’t let the name fool you, this restaurant is an intimate dining experience and was the perfect way to kick off our honeymoon! Pinchos is located on a pier just off of Surfside Beach. While it is said to be a casual dining experience, I thought it had an elevated and elegant ambiance. I could feel the island breeze and see all of the fish swimming around the pier. And it was nice to be treated to a special dinner to celebrate our marriage!
• Barefoot – as the name suggests, this dining option is meant to be without shoes because some of the tables are located on the beach! We had a table right next to the water and the food was incredible! This was the most elegant dinner we had and it was such a sweet experience! I suggest making a reservation for this restaurant, especially since the sunset reservations usually book quickly!

Other Restaurants/Small Shops

• The West Deck – located near the Renaissance Resort, this was a unique restaurant. They offer all of their plates as a la carte options rather than as set meals {although they do provide a few options for full meals}. It is designed so that guests can order a variety of different foods to eat. We tried 4 appetizers and it was more than enough for the two of us!
• The Paddock – downtown waterfront bar with finger foods. They had some of the best calamari I’ve ever had!
• The Little Fish – a small coffee shop located in downtown as well.

Aruba was a trip I’ll forever cherish and hopefully we can go back to one day!