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Aruba aruba

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ponyo said:
DR should be nice and empty since so many Americans canceled their trips there. I know Delta and JetBlue offered free flight cancellation to DR. Are you local? Most people stay at all inclusive resorts in DR and never venture out or drive there. It's supposedly not very safe island outside the resorts for Americans. I've never been to DR as I'm not a fan of all inclusive. I'm actually going to my very first all inclusive in Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos next week to do some fishing and golf.
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We have a house in the DR, never stay at the resorts. It's safe depending on the area and what you are doing, some areas you should avoid of course but it's fine during the day. I try not to drive after dark too much because a lot of the people on motoconchos are missing lights and the oncoming traffic have their brights on 75% of the time. The people are very nice and helpful, my Dad stays down there for a bit over 5 months (handicapped). We are on the north coast, there usually 1 -2 foreigners killed every season, it's mainly the same shit, 'girlfriend' hatches a plan to get old man's money and has her bf kill the dude, or robbery gone bad (in sketchy areas)

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Food in the DR is also very good, love the fresh red snapper cooked whole (I usually hate most seafood but the fried fish in the DR is amazing when fresh)


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Jeeebus said:
That's the back/'shoulder' bone/cartilage. It's a cross-section cut across the fish (rather than a fillet).

Wahoo is one of my favorite. Fresh caught wahoo sashimi is amazing.
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Sure, buddy. Next thing you're going to try and tell me is that fish don't have buttholes.
 
Jeeebus said:
20160513-114030.jpg
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i have been on this forum for 13 years

and i think this is the first actual "pic of wife" i have seen posted

BLOW5do.png
 
RossMAN said:
No @purbeast0 ?

How is the snorkeling in Aruba, casual snorkelers prefer calm and clear waters.
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We didn't really do any snorkeling this trip even though we took our snorkel gear. My daughter didn't want to and she's the boss. Snorkeling in Aruba is not bad. You can access most of the snorkel spots from shore so there's no need to signup and pay money for snorkeling tours. Just drive to the various snorkeling spots and get in. Mangel Halto area is supposed to be best for snorkeling. That's where the locals snorkel. It's near the mangroves and close to Zeerovers restaurant. Zeerovers is about 2 miles or 5 minute drive from Mangel Halto. Spend the morning or afternoon snorkeling at Mangel Halto and eat lunch or early dinner at Zeerovers.

Bonaire island is supposed to be better for snorkeling. We met a Dutch family at Rogers Beach who were going to Bonaire to snorkel. They were going to spend 7 days in Aruba, 7 days in Bonaire, and 7 days in Curacao. They told me they saw bunch of turtles while snorkeling at Baby Beach.

This site has good info on snorkeling in Aruba. https://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/aruba-snorkeling.html
I've snorkeled at most of those places and the guide is pretty accurate.
 
purbeast0 said:
I haven't been to Aruba since 2017 for my 36th birthday. I spent my birthday on the Jolly Pirates snorkel tour then we ate at Barefoot for dinner that night. I love that damn island!

I have however been to Grand Cayman 4x since then. That is starting to fight for first place on my favorite islands.

Was talking to my wife today about going to Aruba in November for my birthday this year and she wants to go somewhere new since we've been there 5x. The thing is, SW flies to Aruba and we'd have free flights for all 3 of us to go there. If we go to St. Martin or St. Thomas, we will have to pay for flights.
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Listen to your wife. 5x is a lot. If you go back to Aruba, maybe go to Bonaire or Curacao instead of staying in Aruba.

We didn't eat at any expensive restaurant the entire trip. I asked my wife if she wanted to and she said no. We did that on our first trip. We cooked our meals about half the time on this trip. We cooked breakfast 5 out of 7 days. The other two times we ate at the Dutch Pancake House. For lunch and dinner, we either cooked or went to inexpensive local joints. Next time I go, I'm going to take bunch of steaks and BBQ meats from home and my Weber Go Anywhere charcoal grill. They had some nice picanha steaks at Superfoods I would have bought if I had my grill.
 
olds said:
Are there hotels at Rogers Beach ?
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No, there are some AirBnB rentals near Baby Beach and Rogers Beach but no hotel or motels of any kind. But I don't recommend staying down there as you'll be far from most stores, restaurants, and nightlife.
 
Thanks. For a first timer going to Aruba, where do you recommend someone stay?
We are looking for white sand, blue water and beach cocktail service and a room with an ocean view.
 
olds said:
Thanks. For a first timer going to Aruba, where do you recommend someone stay?
We are looking for white sand, blue water and beach cocktail service and a room with an ocean view.
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Palm Beach or Eagle Beach. Just depends how busy you want your resort to be.

Palm Beach is high rise hotels, Eagle Beach is low rise hotels.
 
purbeast0 said:
Palm Beach or Eagle Beach. Just depends how busy you want your resort to be.

Palm Beach is high rise hotels, Eagle Beach is low rise hotels.
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I agree with purbeast0. Palm Beach or Eagle Beach if you want ocean view and beach cocktail service. But I'm completely the wrong person to ask this question as I stay in super cheap AirBnB that's miles away from any ocean view and my version of beach cocktail service is ice cooler I pack with beer, food, and drinks I buy from Superfoods. The AirBnB places I stay at is like $350-$500 total for a week which won't even buy you one night stay at the Ritz.
 
Was in Aruba in August 2008 with the family. Stayed at the Marriot surf club north of Eagle Beach maybe? Was a neat little island and the weather was great for 5 out of the 6 days we were there.

Wouldn't go again with more than a few people, but it was nice to get away. Saltiest water I've ever been in though; actually hurt my eyes lol
 
Reading threads like this gives me the travel bug, it's been 4 years since we've been to the Caribbean.
 
I have to go to the Caribbean multiple times a year. And on top of that I go to the Keys 1-2 times a year too. Not quite the Caribbean but once you are out on a boat at the reefs, it's just as good as some parts of the Caribbean if not better. Keys snorkeling/diving is better than Aruba for sure.
 
Aruba is possibly one of the best spots to vacation if you want tropical weather + beaches. Does get a tad windy but I found it to be more enjoyable than the Bahamas. What I like so much is that you can actually venture into town(s), get food at actual restaurants and walk around safely. Some spots in the Bahamas you can't really do that, or rather maybe... you shouldn't try to do that.

It's also really interesting in terms of landscape. Beaches followed immediately in some sections by large hills/rocky areas, almost like you're suddenly transported to Arizona, Utah or other similar rocky desert area.

Also our little tour bus we were in was a stick shift. Have never seen that in my life here in the USA.
 
z1ggy said:
Aruba is possibly one of the best spots to vacation if you want tropical weather + beaches. Does get a tad windy but I found it to be more enjoyable than the Bahamas. What I like so much is that you can actually venture into town(s), get food at actual restaurants and walk around safely. Some spots in the Bahamas you can't really do that, or rather maybe... you shouldn't try to do that.

It's also really interesting in terms of landscape. Beaches followed immediately in some sections by large hills/rocky areas, almost like you're suddenly transported to Arizona, Utah or other similar rocky desert area.

Also our little tour bus we were in was a stick shift. Have never seen that in my life here in the USA.
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One of my favorite little beaches to hang out there has cactus right along the beach. I too am a huge fan of the landscape in Aruba.

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Yeah really interesting to see the ocean and a cactus in the same frame. Just overall such a cool place to go and a lot to see and do for such a small place. I feel like when I was on Great Exuma all I could do was either sit on a beach and drink all day or be on a boat. The island itself was pretty meh as far as other things to see and do. No horse back riding, no historic places as far as I can recall, no places to really go eat (safely) other than your resort/hotel area.
 
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