Aruba is One Happy Island! September 2020

Travel during COVID!? We sure did – and it was an experience worth sharing! Another trip that’s impossible to forget and will never be duplicated.

Let me start by saying we had already cancelled 3 trips earlier this year (Mexico twice (April & May) and Alaska in July). We had booked several other trips in July/August/September with high hopes we’d be able to go SOMEWHERE warm. I just kept rebooking trips, but would have to cancel because borders hadn’t reopened (or they'd close again). We were able to visit our friends in New Jersey and Chicago, but it just wasn’t quite the same :) 

So, we ended up in Aruba. Really? We are that spoiled…because ARUBA is where we ENDED up?! Below is a breakdown of all of our 2020 trips canceled:

❌ April Mexico

❌ May Mexico

❌ July Alaska

❌ July Bonaire

✅ July New Jersey

❌ August Bonaire

✅ August Chicago

❌ September Mexico

❌ September Bonaire

❌ September St. Thomas

✅ September Aruba

This was our first time to Aruba and it’s never really been on our list - but during COVID times, they checked every box:

✅ Allow Americans

✅ Strict travel entry requirements

✅ Located out of the hurricane zone

✅ Perfect weather

✅ Beautiful beaches

Due to all of our other cancellations, I booked everything only 2 weeks prior and soon enough, we were off to 10 nights of vacation bliss! 

Before I begin, I will say that in order to enter Aruba, we were required to have a negative COVID test no older than 72 hours. We also had to purchase Aruban health insurance for the length of our stay, but after checking a few other boxes, we eventually received the green light for entry 48 hours prior to our departure. Throughout the entire trip, masks, thermometers, hand sanitizer and outdoor dining were abundant and we never felt anything other than socially distanced. They also practiced contact tracing so it was an all-around excellent place to visit during these times.

Travel

Of course we were nervous about traveling on a plane, but the experience was much better than we anticipated. We flew Delta through Atlanta and it was a seamless and uneventful flight. The airports were pretty sparse, there were no anti-maskers in the airport or on the plane and Delta does not assign middle seats, so we had our row to ourselves.

We returned on United first class and once again, had no issues. They served alcohol as usual and we received snack boxes instead of a warm (and always terrible) meal.

Island of Aruba

Let's get started with our actual destination. So many people have no idea where Aruba is located, so I’ll start with a brief geography lesson. 

Aruba is a Dutch-owned country located 18 miles off the northern coast of Venezuela. It's 20 miles long and 6 miles across with a population of ~117k. 

It's located in the Eastern time zone, which is so convenient for us when traveling. It's a 4-4.5 hour direct flight from NY/NJ/BOS, which is why so many people from the Northeastern US vacation to Aruba regularly. 

Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms the ABC islands. We had originally booked a trip to Bonaire due to it's small size, weather and shore scuba/snorkle opportunities, but they have yet to open their borders, so that's a trip for another time. 

The native language in Aruba is Papiamento, but most locals also speak Dutch, English and Spanish. The local coin is the Aruban Florin, but USD is accepted nearly everywhere.

Aruban Sunsets

Most tourists (like us) stay on the Western side of the island, so we saw beautiful sunsets every single evening. We planned our walk to dinner around the ~6:45 sunset and captured some great pictures.

Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and a desert, cactus-strewn landscape. This allows for warm, sunny and clear skies year-round. It also lies outside of Hurricane Alley, so at low risk for poor weather and a highly sought-after destination during all times of the year.

Aruba is also know for it's trade winds, which blow from the Northeast and the East 95% of the time. This means it's not as scorching hot as you'd expect and there is always a light breeze...and lots of windsurfers. It's fascinating!

We rented a car during our stay so we could visit several beaches. There weren't any working traffic lights, but countless roundabouts. They drive on the right side of the road, but the driver could be seen on either side of the car (strange). Because the island was at such a low occupancy, there were few cars on the road. A rental car is highly recommended, although if you really want to explore the Eastern side of the island, I'd recommend a jeep with 4WD (we did not!).

Boardwalk Boutique Hotel

Many of Aruba’s beaches are filled with high-rise hotels and time shares, so when we sought out a place to stay there were too many options. We love our small boutique hotels and none of these really fit our style – particularly at our price point! 

As we were frantically searched for something…anything…we came across the Boardwalk Boutique Hotel. So cute!! While it’s not located directly on the beach (which I kind of wanted…) it was a short walk and met all of our other needs. It was adorable, beautiful, quiet and affordable. 

We were located in a lower level casita and barely ever saw another guest. We had a small kitchen and patio, so we bought food and drinks at the local grocery store and enjoyed breakfast every morning and drinks on our patio before dinner. 

There were two pools on the property. We spent almost no time at the pools because the beach was so fabulous. 

We had our own section of the beach reserved with chairs and palapas. We were located directly next to the Ritz Carlton and their servers actually waited on us. They were so fast on their Segways and it was entertaining to watch.

Beaches

We visited 7 beaches during our stay, but spent 90% of our time on Palm Beach. The beaches of Aruba are very diverse and we only saw ½ of the island. Some beaches were shallow with perfect turquoise blue water and soft, flawless white sand, while others were ideal for snorkeling – deeper waters with an abundance of rock and coral. 

All of Aruba’s beaches are open to the public, so it was no surprise to see locals at our beach every day. They really only differentiated themselves by setting up their towels and coolers under trees instead of under an umbrella or palapa. 

Palm Beach

Palm Beach was our home base. Because our hotel offered a private area, it was nice to have a place to keep our towels and bag. We were located in between the Ritz and the Marriott with the Ritz being most northern of all the high-rise hotels. 

The water at Palm Beach was perfect – There were zero waves with shallow and clear water and the sand was white and soft. I hate getting salt water in my eyes and waves are so much work. I want to relax in a raft and let my skin wrinkle from the water and get brown from the sun. We’d let the Aruban trade winds cool us down and move us slowly out to sea. This was like a gigantic pool, but so much better! The water was so shallow you could walk out more 200+ yards and the water was still only waist-deep. 

Eagle Beach

Eagle Beach is stunning. There is a reason it’s been named the 3rd most beautiful beach in the world. It has the turquoise waters you see in movies and the softest white sand that your feet have ever touched. It was about a 5-10 minute drive south of where we stayed, so we stopped on two different occasions. Some sections of the beach are particularly wide, but the water is a little deeper and there are a few gentle waves that keep you on your toes. Eagle Beach is where most of the low-rise time shares are located. It’s near the middle of the island, closer to the airport and cruise port. 

Baby Beach

Baby Beach is at the southernmost part of the island and a 45 minute drive from our location. We visited once and walked the entire length of the beach. This part of the island is much less developed. Once again, the water was gorgeous, but the beach itself was relatively small and clearly a spot for locals. 

Rodgers Beach

Rodgers Beach is located next to Baby Beach and mostly where boats docked. Another small beach where locals tended to visit.

Arashi Beach 

Arashi Beach was probably our favorite beach. It was only a 5 minute drive north and another local hang out. It was a perfect combination of my ideal beach (calm, beautiful, quiet), but also had good snorkeling. We entertained ourselves for over an hour. We were relaxed and determined to return (we didn’t…)

Boca Catalina

Just 30 seconds down the road from Arashi Beach was Boca Catalina. It was recommended by the hotel for great snorkeling, and as a result of the low tourism, the water was more clear than usual. I can say Boca Catalina was arguably the best snorkeling experience we’ve ever had. This also confirmed to us both that we love shore snorkeling - you don’t need anyone to drop you anywhere and you’re on your own schedule. At Boca Catalina, we entered the water by walking down a set of steps carved out in the coral stone. From there, we just put on our masks and explored the underwater world. We saw 1,000’s of fish and 100’s of species. It was fascinating. We loved it so much, we went back another time when we were the only people in sight. The water was significantly deeper here (12+ ft) and obviously more rocky and full of coral. This was not a beach to lay in the sun, but almost strictly to snorkel. 

Mangel Halto 

Mangel Halto was a 30 minute drive south of our location and was recommended by our hotel as a nice snorkeling spot. We arrived, tried and failed. This was a true local hangout and the five locals there had their share of laughs as they watched us try to walk on rocks (we have delicate feet!) and snorkel in shallow water with an undercurrent. Let’s just say, we did not return to Mangel Halto :) 

 Food

We were very excited to try different restaurants in Aruba. There are so many to choose from and it’s nearly impossible to really know what you’re getting yourself into if you’ve never visited before. We’re very used to the all-inclusive experience, but our real preference is to try different cultures and step out of our comfort zone. We did a little of everything on this trip and food was surely a highlight.

Wacky Wahoo’s

Wacky Wahoo’s was one of our favorites. We ate here twice and enjoyed 4 different types of seafood - Wahoo, Barracuda, Grouper & Yellowfin Tuna. The seasoning and sides with each was relatively the same, but the taste and texture of each fish was so different. I preferred the Wahoo, while Steve really enjoyed the Tuna. The atmosphere was quirky, the food delicious and prices reasonable. 

Eduardo’s

I’m not sure what to say about Eduardo’s other than it exceeded our expectations 10 fold. The hype is real. Everything I researched said “GO TO EDUARDO’S!!” so we gave it a try and couldn’t stop. In the end, we wish we didn't buy so many groceries so we could go to Eduardo’s every day. It was only a 15 minute walk down the beach and their food was fresh, delicious, healthy, and reasonably priced…exactly what you want before, during or after a day at the beach. 

We loved the tuna ahi bowl and every fruit bowl we tried. The fresh pressed juices were phenomenal too. The Boardwalk Hotel offered Eduardo's for breakfast delivery, so we tried that once...and they even delivered to our beach chairs on our last day! 

Fred Restaurant

Let me start by saying I LOVE pre-fixe dinners more than almost anything. Of course they're expensive, but you're paying for more than food and wine - you're also paying for the experience! Literally, my favorite experience. Aruba offered a few of these and Fred was ranked as the #1 restaurant in Aruba on TripAdvisor. I was tentative. Was it the real deal? There is usually a 3-6 month waiting list to get in, so there is a huge appeal. I did a little more research and it seemed like our style. There were only 10 diners, 1 chef, 1 host and we were all served the same 5 courses. Wine was an optional addition (yes, please!)

We started on an outdoor rooftop patio where each of the 5 couples were appropriately spaced. Tom poured us all a glass of prosecco and let us chat with the other diners who were all Americans from Chicago, New Jersey, Boston and Cleveland. This was the first time Steve and I had talked to anyone in 9 days, so it was sensory overload for a few minutes :)

Our first course was pork belly with a beet and balsamic salad.

The second course was an asparagus and salmon soup, which Fred poured from a pitcher.

After a short break to digest, we enjoyed our third course of an herb crusted cod fish with a mushroom risotto. 

After another short wine break, we indulged in our fourth course of beef wellington with a tarragon cream sauce. 

Our last course was four different desserts (yes, we each had our own plate!) consisting of a creamy yogurt with berries, coconut macaroon, chocolate Bailey's creme brulee and pistachio ice cream. 

This was an unforgettable meal where I was able to step out of my comfort zone and truly enjoy the experience! 

Zeerover

Zeerover is another place we read "YOU MUST GO!!!" and we're so glad we did. We were both 100% intimidated by the experience, but like they say...when in Aruba! It's a local spot where they catch the fish that morning and pull right up to the dock. It's usually packed with both tourists and locals, but due to COVID, we walked right up to the window. They offered two fresh catch of the day (today it was whole red snapper and amberjack) as well as fresh shrimp, fries and a few other sides. We decided to go big or go home and shared a whole red snapper with shrimp and fries, which was then all fried up and brought to us in a plastic basket.

Absolutely intimidating, but also outstanding! I managed to figure out how to eat it without getting any bones and it was probably the most delicious fish I've had in my life. The Hot Delight papaya hot sauce just put it over the top. Perfectly seasoned, tender and crispy and went down nicely with a cold beer. 

Lola Tacos

Tacos at Lola allowed us to enjoy Aruba food without breaking the bank. Not only did they have great tacos, but they also had great cocktails, 1/2 priced wine at happy hour (6-10 pm) and $2 TACO TUESDAY! 

They came in sets of 2, so we enjoyed the Korean chicken, baja fish, smokey pork, shrimp, chicken morita, la gringa and buffalo chicken. The Korean chicken, baja fish and shrimp were the stand-outs of the group.

Barefoot Restaurant

Barefoot was recommended to us by the hotel for sunset dining with your feet in the sand. It was exactly that! We made 6 pm reservations and had a beautiful sunset.

We started with a glass of prosecco and beef carpaccio, followed by Old Amsterdam snapper and a Romance of the Sea trio of grouper, snapper and mahi mahi. To finish off our meal, we tried the chef's selection of 4 desserts and espresso martinis!

Old Cunucu House

We wanted to be sure we tried local Aruban cuisine during our trip and Old Cunuco House was just that. 

We started with iguana soup and a basket of authentic Pan Bati bread, followed by Aruba's national dish of Keshi Yena (basically just gouda cheese and chicken) and coconut shrimp. For dessert we enjoyed Pan Bollo (bread pudding).

I'm not sure what we were thinking when we ordered 64 oz of Aruba's own Balashi beer??? I guess it felt right at the time!

Sunset Grille at the Hilton Hotel

We choose the Sunset Grille on a night when we had no idea where to go and didn't want to drive or take a taxi. We had walked through the Hilton previously and seen their nice patio overlooking the pool and beach areas. They also handed us a pamphlet with this $99 four course menu for two.

So, when we didn't know where to go - we went to a hotel restaurant - which is something we wouldn't typically do. But this was quite a deal AND it included a glass of wine! It was overindulgent and we both could have been done after our first course. Needless to say, we took home a ton of leftovers and ate them for breakfast and lunch a few times - and we saw a beautiful sunset.

We started with a couple of cocktails and bread, followed by a Caesar salad and seared ahi tuna. 

Our next course was a lobster bisque shooter topped with puff pastry. I was done at this point!

For my main course I ordered the chicken Parmesan. Considering this is one of my favorite dishes of all-time, this version fell short. It was so gigantic, so I took 3/4 home and we ate it for lunch twice.

Steve ordered the 12 oz top sirloin. It was cooked very nicely and well presented with a chimichurri sauce. We used his leftovers for steak and eggs the next day!

Dessert...well, the triple chocolate torte came to us in a paper bowl because it was evident there was no consumption taking place. We saved it for a nightcap later that week.

Azia

Azia was a sushi restaurant that is part of a larger chain - also something we don't typically do - but it was different and seemed like a place where we could get smaller portions. 

We started with a couple of fancy cocktails and then proceeded with sushi, stir fry vegetables and Brussels sprouts.

This was probably our least favorite restaurant. The veggies and Brussels weren't that great, but the sushi was exactly what we expected.

Bohemian

We stopped at Bohemian for happy hour drinks and returned for appetizers.

They offered sparking rose at 1/2 price during happy hour as well as some very nice appetizers. We enjoyed the tuna tartare and shrimp au cognac.

Gelatissimo

Gelato after dinner? Of course! We stopped at Gelatissimo 3 times on our walk home after dinner. They offered 20+ flavors and we were not disappointed. 

Grocery Store Cheese

I couldn't write this post without mentioning the incredible cheese selection at the local grocery store. It was overwhelming and I honestly can't even remember how many times we went back to replenish our cheese selection. Dutch Gouda cheese was coming out of our ears. It was amazing! If you visit Aruba, please do yourself a favor and buy some Gouda cheese. You'll thank me.

We stopped at a handful of beach bars during our stay and pina coladas tended to be our drink of choice. The BEST pina colada was the one at the Ritz, which was recommended by Steve's sister. The secret? The honey and coconut rimmed glass! Woah.

Earlier I said we would never be able to duplicate this trip…Why? Well, Aruba was at less than 25% occupancy so we basically had the entire island to ourselves. Beaches were unscathed, roads and roundabouts were easy to navigate, resorts and restaurants were empty…and it was safe and quiet. We happily socially distanced and went 9 entire days without speaking to another traveler :) It was awesome!

We visited One Happy Island and the outcome was incredibly relaxed and very HAPPY!