Aruba in September

[wyecrabber1]

My wife and I plus some friends are planning a week in Aruba during the middle of September. The choice of resorts are the Ritz and the Barcelo (Royal level), it's been 15 years since we've visited. Just going for some R&R, the beaches & casinos and maybe some golf.

Has anyone stayed at these places and what pearls of wisdom can you share?

Thanks!!!

 

[C-man23]

Just got back from the Ritz in Aruba yesterday. It is on the far end of the resort area, so there wasn't much foot traffic on the beach other than people staying there as well. Was fine.

Maybe September will be different because I assume this is the "slow" time for Aruba.

 

[Koolau]

Please understand: NOT a criticism but a search for knowledge: We have been considering other areas "closer" to our old mainland home (for instance, we explored Florida and especially the keys. For a while, yet, we could drive that from our old homestead in the Midwest.)

I've always wondered what is the main "draw" of the Islands of the Caribbean. We've only seen USVI, PR, and Bahamas. They each have their charm and certainly have amazing sun and waters. But my impression is that (to a more or less extent) you typically stay in a "walled off" resort area that is on a tropical Island. If you never leave the resort, why not go to Vegas or Disney or (dare I say it) Waikiki?

As tourists, we stayed in Waikiki (that's where the hotels are) but we always explored the entire Island (by bus or rental car.) It's how we decided that we could live there (and that we wanted to live there.) The "resort" of Waikiki gets old pretty quickly.

I had a friend who went to one of the big resorts (I think it might have been in the Bahamas.) He brought back 100s of pictures. Every one was from inside the resort. It was a fabulous place, very expensive, and my friend raved about the resort. Somehow, I couldn't get excited about that type of vacation. It reminded me too much of a cruise. We enjoyed our cruise but, mostly, I enjoyed getting off the ship and exploring.

Respectfully asking what I am missing about resort life in the Caribbean. I am open to a new way of thinking about the tropics.


Oh, forgot to mention: We don't gamble. I don't consider it a vice, just not our thing. I've certainly done it a few times in Vegas but got no real pleasure from it.

 

[MichaelB]

The thread was moved to the travel forum where it should get better visibility.

 

[MichaelB]

I've always wondered what is the main "draw" of the Islands of the Caribbean. We've only seen USVI, PR, and Bahamas. They each have their charm and certainly have amazing sun and waters. But my impression is that (to a more or less extent) you typically stay in a "walled off" resort area that is on a tropical Island. If you never leave the resort, why not go to Vegas or Disney or (dare I say it) Waikiki?

Respectfully asking what I am missing about resort life in the Caribbean. I am open to a new way of thinking about the tropics.


Oh, forgot to mention: We don't gamble. I don't consider it a vice, just not our thing. I've certainly done it a few times in Vegas but got no real pleasure from it.

For someone living in 50th state the Caribbean doesn’t have all that much to offer. You already have the sun, beautiful beaches, great seafood and island attitude, all local. What does the Caribbean have that Hawaii doesn’t? Money laundering, perhaps. And rum.

It’s been a while since I last visited Caribbean islands (not cruising), but when I did they all offered different experiences, so choice was based on what one wanted to do for a week. One important aspect is most of the islands are very easy to get to from east coast US.

Aruba has beautiful beaches and water activities, good food options and great casino nightlife.

 

[Koolau]

For someone living in 50th state the Caribbean doesn’t have all that much to offer. You already have the sun, beautiful beaches, great seafood and island attitude, all local. What does the Caribbean have that Hawaii doesn’t? Money laundering, perhaps. And rum.

It’s been a while since I last visited Caribbean islands (not cruising), but when I did they all offered different experiences, so choice was based on what one wanted to do for a week. One important aspect is most of the islands are very easy to get to from east coast US.

Aruba has beautiful beaches and water activities, good food options and great casino nightlife.

We keep toying with the idea of moving back closer to family. We are at least "open" to the idea of snow birding in a warm area (maybe Florida or the Caribbean.)

You are right that just about everything is right here in the 50th State. It has so many good things to offer. BUT, it's so far away for those of us looking down the barrel of 80 (in just a few years.) What we would at least consider is "warmth" that is much closer to the Midwest. But we want to "live" someplace for a few months - not hole-up in a resort for a couple of weeks. I'm not sure anyplace other than Florida offers such an opportunity. So far, just about the only Florida city we've visited that seems "livable" is St. Augustine. But we want to keep searching - while we're still young. Our grand kids aren't getting any younger.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[marko]

.
Respectfully asking what I am missing about resort life in the Caribbean. I am open to a new way of thinking about the tropics.
.

We go to the Caribbean once or twice a year. There are some islands in the Caribbean where staying on the resort is a matter of safety. We've stayed at a few places over the many years where going "into town" after dark is "strongly discouraged". I won't name names, but many have armed guards that patrol the beaches etc. It's not that the resorts are so wonderful (some are outstanding), it's that outside the walls is another world.

We've also stayed at some islands where that isn't an issue but these can be quite expensive ($4000 a night) and are essentially private islands with no native population, accessible only by boat. But even they have armed security at night.

One of my favorite resorts is in Mexico where it is so perfect you don't want to go anywhere else, but we've learned that the cartels have been making things difficult of late.

FWIW, Aruba is actually very safe and has almost perfect beach weather year-round. They get about an inch of rain per year. Nice friendly people too. DW just got back a few weeks ago...the only negative is that it's full of Boston people.

 

[Luvtoride]

Please understand: NOT a criticism but a search for knowledge:

I've always wondered what is the main "draw" of the Islands of the Caribbean. We've only seen USVI, PR, and Bahamas. They each have their charm and certainly have amazing sun and waters. But my impression is that (to a more or less extent) you typically stay in a "walled off" resort area that is on a tropical Island. If you never leave the resort, why not go to Vegas or Disney or (dare I say it) Waikiki?

Koolau, as Marko so well summarized about Aruba- "FWIW, Aruba is actually quite safe and has almost perfect beach weather year-round. They get about an inch of rain per year. Nice friendly people too."

We have been going to Aruba at least once a year for the past 14 years. There are no "walled off" resorts there. We have traveled all over the island, day and night, taxi and rental car and have never felt unsafe or threatened. The other draw...living on the east coast, it is a much closer/ easier trip than Hawaii (which we've been too as well), being a bit over 4 hour flight from NY.

Yes, we've been to resorts on other Caribbean Islands and Mexico, which were "Stay on the grounds" and for all the good reasons Marko indicated. Its a different type of vacation for sure...just depends what you are looking for.

As far as the OP, I would highly recommend either of those hotels in Aruba. Although we haven't stayed at either one, but we have visited restaurants and other facilities at both.

The great weather is a key reason for choosing Aruba. We just got back from almost 2 weeks in Florida and the weather was terrible.

 

[Trailwalker]

We went to Aruba just before the pandemic happened in January 2020. As mentioned before, it's a very dry climate. Water is obtained from a desalination plant. It was an interesting place. We stayed at two different Airbnb's, not at a resort. One was a small apartment in downtown Oranjestad. The other was to the north near Cheggs' Supermarket. The beaches are the highlight. Weather was great. We did some hiking also. The big con to me was that it seemed very expensive, but everything in the Caribbean seems expensive to me compared to Mexico, which is my happy place. We ran into multiple people who love it in Aruba and go every single year. Arruba Arribas (a cocktail) can be a bit addictive.

 

[marko]

FWIW, Aruba is about 10 miles off the coast of Venezuela. It is a Dutch holding and Shell Oil, who had/has big oil interests in Venezuela originally developed and set up shop in Aruba because they were leery of Venezuela's political climate(s).

IIRC, it was Shell that installed much of Aruba's infrastructure for their workers, including the desalination plant.

I first went there about 45 years ago when there were only 2 or 3 low-rise hotels, not the dozens of high rises now. Where the high rises are now was just 2 miles of empty beach.

 

[MichaelB]

FWIW, Aruba is about 10 miles off the coast of Venezuela. It is a Dutch holding and Shell Oil, who had/has big oil interests in Venezuela originally developed and set up shop in Aruba because they were leery of Venezuela's political climate(s).

IIRC, it was Shell that installed much of Aruba's infrastructure including the desalination plant.

That refinery was a client of mine when I lived in Caracas. It was one of the few clients we had where techs and support staff begged to get assigned.

 

[Andre1969]

I've been to Aruba a few times, from 2011 to 2019. Usually we stayed at a place called the Divi Phoenix, which does timeshares. My housemate's Mom has a timeshare there and knows some people, so we've been able to get a room for a week or two here and there. The last time, we all went in on a house, at the upper end of the island, that was right across the street from the water, and that was a great time.

We would usually go in November, although the last time, I think we went in early December. I like it because it's pretty laid back, and the people tend to be pretty friendly. The beaches are nice, and there's some cool places to go snorkeling. And then there's also the "wild" side of the island, where there's no development, and you're often best taking a Wrangler or other 4wd vehicle, but there are still places you can get to, with just a car. The "wild" side of the island seems so desolate, like you could really get lost there, but you're never really too far away from civilization.

Most of the people speak English too, and their driving laws aren't TOO different from the US, so it's not that hard to get around on your own. There's probably more exotic places to go to, but for me, a vacation usually isn't much more than going up to Carlisle PA for a classic car show, so for my tastes, Aruba was pretty cool.

Oh, and as an aside, one year when we were there, I spotted a twin to my '57 DeSoto. Same model (Firedome), same body style (2-door hardtop), quad headlight setup like mine (some of them only had singles, and not all states had legalized quad headlights when the '57's came out), and even the same color (red with a white roof and spear). I wonder what the chances are of seeing the twin, to something like that! I've never seen one that identical to mine, even at Chrysler-specific car shows, yet here was one, out driving on the southern end of the island, down towards Baby Beach, just like an everyday driver.

 

[Koolau]

Thanks to all for the responses. DW and I are (sort of) looking for a permanent "winter place" to (possibly) take the place of Hawaii. The 5000 mile slog to see family is getting to be a drag. IOW it's not a "vacation" spot we're looking for so much as a 3 to 5 month winter home.

Thanks for the honest responses about "safety" outside of resorts on some Islands. Heh, heh, right now, Waikiki has been having some "safety" issues itself - though all of Oahu has been going down hill, safety wise of late. But when we are out-and-about it's virtually always before dark. And if not, we KNOW where it's safe and where it's not. Honolulu is similar to most moderately large USA cities. Crime is primarily drug related. Homelessness is becoming a bigger issue, of course.

It sounds like Aruba specifically and possibly the Caribbean generally would be more expensive for "wintering" than keeping our permanent location in Hawaii.

We have considered a couple of alternatives to moving closer to family. We could upgrade to Business or 1st Class travel. That would at least make the travel more bearable. Alternately, we could "bribe" our family to come visit (You know. Pay their way.)

So far our "need" for a change is theoretical and not high priority. But, we see our capabilities going down hill and wonder how long we will be able to continue to travel for family/friends. We've joked with each other that it's probably cheaper to be in a nursing home on the mainland than in Hawaii (actually, we know that for a fact.) SO, if we're ever "confined," it won't much matter where.

But, we still think we have some life left in us and just want to keep our options open. YMMV


Returning you now...

 

[marko]

You might want to look into Florida, the Texas shore and Arizona for wintering. It's where half the country goes already.. Except for the US Virgin Islands, buying property in the Caribbean becomes difficult unless you're a naturalized citizen.

Good luck!

 

[Koolau]

You might want to look into Florida, the Texas shore and Arizona for wintering. It's where half the country goes already.. Except for the US Virgin Islands, buying property in the Caribbean becomes difficult unless you're a naturalized citizen.

Good luck!

I haven't given up on Florida, but so far, Hawaii simply beats every place we have looked - other than the ridiculous distance to Hawaii. We have also visited Texas and Arizona with the idea of wintering. But, so far, only Florida seems an option for us.

We even looked into San Diego years ago, but there, the weather can get pretty chilly. I "resent" it when I have to add an extra sheet to the bed here in Paradise! We don't often need AC or heat (good thing, since we have neither) here in Hawaii. THAT'S what we want and we were wondering if the Caribbean might just offer such living. We've never been there in the winter, so maybe we'll check it out. Thanks for all updates.