Winter in Aruba

It was peak doom and gloom in Seattle. The holidays had come to an end and the waiting period between then and spring was grueling onward miserably. I had told myself the previous summer that this winter I would allow myself a weekend after the holidays to escape the icy rain and dark clouds of Washington. I wanted to break the winter up and get a much needed serotonin boost, so my roommate and I got to talking. After days and weeks of scheming and research, we decided on not just somewhere tropical but we chose a teeny tiny island on the border of the Caribbean right along the coast of Venezuela.

Aruba.

After a month of booking flights, scouring through Airbnb's and planning out our vacation to a tea, we actually hopped on a plane and began the first weekend of February on a self care, mental and physical health trip which was very much overdue. This vacation was meant to be relaxing, peaceful, stress free and a way to escape the worries of reality, just for a moment. I can say whole-heartedly that we succeeded. Keep reading to find out why we chose Aruba of all places, what we did there, what we would have done differently and what I wish we knew as tourists before we went.

Why Did We Choose Aruba?

Waterfront in Oranjestad, Aruba (picture taken by Anieka Travels)

When we were brainstorming for this trip there were a lot of island destinations that were thrown out before we narrowed it down to Aruba. We thought of the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Dutch islands (Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, etc.) and the Big Island in Hawaii.

We scratched Hawaii off the list pretty quick because although it's beautiful and only a 6 hour flight from Seattle, it was insanely expensive. We had already determined that we wanted the flights to be the most expensive part of the trip and that would not have happened if we went to Hawaii.

The next destination to be scratched from the list was the American VI. It was just going to be two girls on this trip, going to a region where neither of them had been before and we both knew that we didn't want to be too overwhelmed with extreme cultural differences. An uncle of mine had lived in the VI for years, my sister and her boyfriend went there on vacation and family friends had moved there and almost instantly moved back. What I had heard from all of them was that the government is extremely corrupt, it can be dangerous for only two people traveling alone and the locals have a true hatred for outsiders. This was not an environment either of us wanted to deal with on a trip that was meant to be stress free.

It was then down to two sets of island communities. The British VI and the Dutch Islands. Both of them were listed as relatively safe, they were inexpensive places to travel to and both destinations were desired by people all over the world. They were both prime destinations for us also. However, ultimately the British VI had to be scratched because of the travel time. To get from Seattle to the British VI, we would have needed two or three layovers before we finally reached our destination. Since we were planning on flying out on a Thursday night and then coming back on a Monday, we knew this would be unreasonable.

Finally, we had to narrow down which Dutch island we wanted to visit and after researching both Aruba and Curaçao, we ultimately decided to visit Aruba. It was a more popular destination for Americans, English was more widely spoken and public transportation was more widespread across the island (or so we thought). Although it was my roommate's first time traveling abroad and neither of us had been to the Caribbean before, we both felt confident enough in our research that we were not nervous in the slightest. We thought we knew everything there was to know about the island and because of handy AI Google (lol), there would be no surprises when we got there. Oh boy were we wrong!

Friday, Feb. 7 (Day 1)

The pool at Cocoyoco Airbnb, Aruba (picture taken by Anieka Travels)

Our plane landed in Queen Béatrix International Airport at 1 pm (9 am in Seattle). We had planned to take the bus (Arubus) from the airport to Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba and do our grocery shopping there before checking in to our Airbnb which was located just slightly west of the city, near Eagle Beach.

This plan was almost immediately knocked down when we ventured out of the airport and didn't see a bus station anywhere. However, I was determined to find this bus station. We wandered for nearly an hour around the perimeter of the airport in an attempt to find this supposed bus station, which I knew was there because of a blog article I had read back at home. The article had said there was a bus station right outside of the airport and the buses took you all over the island, making transportation without a car super easy. We would later discover that this was not true. A stray taxi driver discovered us wandering through one of the parking lots of the airport and told us that the bus station was on the other side of the highway. Yes there was a station, but it was on the other side of a road where an endless stream of cars were going at 80 km/hr (60 mph) with no pedestrian crosswalk. We decided to not die that day and ended up taking a taxi directly to our Airbnb, which was a pricey expense we had not prepared for.

We settled into our Airbnb, met our neighbors who were visiting from Nova Scotia in the apartment across the pool from us and then set out for some food because we were famished from the flight. We quickly noticed that there were no sidewalks, no crosswalks and also no other pedestrians. We were so hungry that we shrugged this realization off until we attempted to walk to a grocery store and came across a roundabout. Since there was no crosswalk, cars did not stop and we also didn't know if it was culturally acceptable for us as pedestrians to weave through them, we turned right back around and sulked at our apartment. It would have been different if we had some guidance, but there were no other pedestrians out on the streets so we could not mimic the local people.

We realized within a matter of hours that we desperately needed to rent a car. There were roundabouts all around us and if we wanted to get anywhere important like a grocery store, a restaurant, a beach or a coffee shop, we needed to take a car. All the rental shops had closed for the evening, so our best bet was to wait until the following morning and pray that they had something available on such short notice. Otherwise, it would be a very boring uneventful trip beside the pool within the confines of the Airbnb.

We ordered Pizza Hut for dinner because it was the only place nearby that delivered and capped the night early as the flights began to catch up to us. This one miniscule factor of whether we could get a car was going to determine how the rest of the trip would go and although both of us were extremely exhausted, we could not sleep.

Saturday, Feb. 8 (Day 2)

I woke up at the crack of dawn and did some yoga out by the pool. My nerves were going out of control with our situation and I needed something to distract me, even for the moment.

At 9, we courageously stepped out of the Airbnb and made our way onto the streets of Aruba to hunt down a car. After being turned down by one rental shop for being under the age of 25, we strolled a few blocks over to Amigo Car Rentals and explained our situation in the hopes that they had any kind of scrap piece of metal that was justified as a vehicle. It turned out they did. A massive white van that fit 8-10 people sat in their parking lot. The lady at the register smirked at the two of us, thinking there was no way we'd agree to a van when there were only the two of us. She didn't realize how extremely desperate we were to have wheels. We took the van for a couple hundred and just like that the rest of the trip was smooth sailing.

We got our morning coffee at a cute cafe nearby called Arubean, went grocery shopping and stopped at our first beach.

Eagle Beach was the closest beach to our Airbnb and it was one of the most popular beaches, known for its Fofoti trees. We attempted to sunbathe but the wind was too strong and covered all of our belongings, including ourselves in sand. We swam for a bit, floated amongst the salty turquoise waves and felt the tropical sun beat down onto our skin. We then made our way into the city for some drinks.

On our way back to our Airbnb we got directed by a kind local back to the main road out of the city. It was the second time a local had offered to help us without us asking or searching for help and it honestly surprised me how kind and gracious the locals were.

After lounging around the pool for a bit and chatting with our Nova Scotian neighbors, we got dolled up and set back out to the other end of the island near Palm Beach for dinner. This was definitely a ritzier part of the island right next to all the hotels, and where most tourists lounged. This, coincidentally, was where all the crosswalks and public transportation was. There were scooters and bikes you could rent, sidewalks and the Arubus that stopped every couple of blocks. We parked our van along the side of the road and walked into the center of the Hotel area to Gianni's Ristorante, an Italian restaurant right across the street from the Hilton.

It had been beautiful weather the entire day all the way up until we were about to pay. As our waitress closed out our tab, it began to drizzle and as we made our way back to our car we got caught in a torrential tropical rainstorm. We ran through the muddy puddles so drenched it was as if we had stepped into a warm shower with our clothes on. Just as fast as it started, the rain stopped and by the time we arrived back at our Airbnb that night it was as if the storm never happened. It wouldn't be the only surprising weather phenomena that would occur on this trip.

Sunday, Feb. 9 (Day 3)

Mural in Sint Nicolaas, Aruba (picture taken by Anieka Travels)

My phone had been soaked by the rain and wasn't able to charge the entire night. I had no contact with the outside world, which might have been for my benefit as I woke up oblivious to the potential dangers of island life. I stepped out on our patio and was welcomed by our neighbors, Ken and Kim.

“Has your family been bugging you about the tsunami warning?” Kim asked me as I sat out by the pool with them.

It turned out that there had been an earthquake in Honduras during the early morning hours and there were tsunami alerts for Aruba and the surrounding islands. The only other time I had experienced a tsunami warning was in Hawaii in 2012, but it turned out to be nothing and the island was elevated enough where we would have been able to find a safe hideout. Aruba, however, is entirely flat. There is one “mountain” that's more like a pile of dirt in the center of the island, but everywhere else is as flat as the country that colonized them. Luckily for us, the alert turned out to simply be some high waves on the northern side of the island.

When my phone finally managed to charge, I did have a few texts. My sister had taken my inactivity as death and was praying in the middle of the night for my safe return. She was quite relieved when I did finally respond and told her it was nothing to worry about.

After that alarming wake up, we decided to spend our last full day on the island relaxing.

We ate breakfast in Oranjestad and then drove to Sint Nicolaas, an artsy hippyish town on the southern tip of the island that's known for its murals. We took a self guided tour of the town and photographed the magnificent art pieces painted along the exterior of the buildings. This town did have sidewalks, so once we parked we were able to stroll around stress free without the worry of the cars around us. Sint Nicolaas was still quite a small town, so within 30 minutes we had seen all the murals there were to see. We made our way farther south to Baby Beach, a small alcove in the coast line that provided calm shallows for swimming and a gorgeous white sand beach. We lounged there for a few hours, took some pictures and soaked in the salty clear water.

a dog in Aruba — Nikita, our host's pool dog (picture taken by Anieka Travels)

By mid afternoon, we were ready to just lounge by the pool at our Airbnb for a few hours and chat with Ken and Kim. While we tanned, they chatted to us about their experiences on the island, their home back in Nova Scotia and how they fell in love with Aruba. These two chatter bugs come to Aruba every year from December to March to escape the cold harsh winter in Canada. They stayed so often with the hosts of the Airbnb that the hosts decided to construct a second apartment just for them, so they could stay as long as they wanted. The apartment was much fancier than ours but it needed to be if they were going to stay there for nearly a quarter of a year. They had gotten to know the hosts and their family really well, becoming more than just customers.

It was a picture that I adored and wanted for myself when I’m their age. It was the idea of a warm temperate climate, a loving partner and community that drew me to the idea. I guess we never know what the future holds. Maybe that's what I’m destined for. All I can do for now is manifest.

After soaking up the sun and swimming laps in the pool, I got dolled up again and we drove back on over to Palm Beach. We grabbed drinks at a hopping bar and then strolled through the Hilton Hotel to the coastline to watch the sun set below the horizon. There is nothing more stunning than a tropical sunset with all the sailboats silhouetted against the vibrant cotton candy clouds and the blood red sun streaking across the rippling ocean waves towards the shore. We sat there in the sand taking it all in until the sun vanished below the Earth and the night breeze began to chill us.

That night, we made dinner at the Airbnb to save money and sipped on sangria with our toes dipped into the pool as we reflected on the trip. We already knew it would, but it had gone too fast. It felt as if we had just arrived on the plane and the following day we would be taking off once again back to our dreary home. We toasted to a weekend well spent and prepared for the hours of travel ahead of us.

Monday, Feb. 10 (Day 4 + Our Last)

Northern Coastline of Aruba (picture taken by Anieka Travels)

On Monday morning, we begrudgingly packed up our belongings, cleaned the Airbnb and bid farewell to Ken and Kim. They demanded that we come back again next year and I promised I would, knowing for a fact that I would not miss another tropical winter vacation for a second.

Before we departed for the airport, we stopped by Arubean and got the last best cup of joe that we would have in a while.

I usually order my lattes with oat milk back home because cow milk is so highly processed and watery that it's not even worth the ordeal that the cows go through. However, the milk in Aruba is fresh unprocessed whole cows milk and it's insane the difference it makes in your latte/cappuccino. Living in America, you don't realize that what you're drinking isn't actually cow milk until you travel abroad and taste the difference. One sip and you're like, “shit, that's actually what milk tastes like.”

Once we got our caffeine fix, we drove the van back to the Amigo car rental location at the airport, which was only $10 extra than leaving it at the location we got it from. We lounged around the airport for a few hours, ate some food and then forced ourselves to board our flight. It was sad lifting off from the tarmac and watching the island get smaller and smaller through the window, but I knew that I would see it again and it wasn't the end.

If We had an Extra Day…

Baby Beach, Aruba (picture taken by Anieka Travels)

On the flight back to Seattle, I continued to reflect on the trip and all that we did there for when I visited again. I thought that for how little time we had to explore the island, we did a good job at balancing our relaxing time and the time we spent driving around the island. However, there were a few places I wished we had been able to make time for.

If we had just one extra day to explore on our trip, I would have…

Drove to Arikok National Park

This National Park filled with caves, desert-landscape and deserted beaches that expands across about 20% of Aruba is a must see, and I wish I had an extra day to drive there. It's apparently a very different landscape from the rest of the island, it's untouched with tons of indigenous cave drawings, one can spot plant and wildlife native to Aruba and some of the beaches are hatching grounds for the native sea turtles there. When I go again I would love to get access to this part of the island and stroll around there for a few hours, get away from the busy touristy part and escape into the natural world.

Drove to Arashi Beach and the California Lighthouse

Arashi Beach is another one of the most popular beaches in Aruba, located on the northern tip of the island. We had decided to go to Sint Nicolaas and Baby Beach instead of Arashi on Sunday, partly because we wanted to see the murals, but also because of the tsunami waves that were hitting that part of the island. If I had another day, I would have driven there in the early morning and gotten a good swim in while viewing the tallest sculpture in Aruba, the California Lighthouse.

Walked Around the Bubali Bird Sanctuary

When I travel, I am much more interested in seeing the wildlife that inhabits the region and seeing the raw wilderness than anything else. Going to the city is cool and all but I feel like I build more of a connection to a place when I’m able to see its raw natural beauty. Part of that is birdwatching. Near Palm Beach, there is the Bubali Bird Sanctuary where there are small trails one can stroll on and observe the indigenous bird species of Aruba. I would have loved to stroll through this sanctuary with a cup of coffee in hand, just to simply admire the birds. I feel like it would have been so relaxing and this is definitely something I would do when I go back.

Went Snorkeling

Baby Beach is actually a perfect place to do this, because there are reefs right around the perimeter of the alcove. We were in a bit of a time crunch to get as much done in one day as possible though and weren't able to make the trip to buy the snorkel gear. I was able to do this in Hawaii and had the pleasure to swim with a mother sea turtle and her baby. It was a wonderful experience and if I have the opportunity to snorkel again somewhere else, I'll take it.

Done Yoga on the Beach

This was something I thought I was going to do more of on this trip. I envisioned myself going to the beach every morning, doing yoga in the sand and swimming out into the ocean after for a cool down. Instead I slept in, did yoga once out by the pool and failed to ever set my mat out on the sand the entire trip. I like to think that if I had one extra day I would have been able to drive myself over there at least one out of the four mornings I had. When I go back, that will be one of my intentions.

Went Bar Hopping in Oranjestad

I wish we had spent more time in Oranjestad. There are so many restaurants, cafes and bars there and although we did want to save on money during this trip, I wish we had explored more in those regards. I remember seeing a speakeasy (Apotek Speakeasy) on the map and that really peaked my interest. I think if I go to the island in the future with a bigger group of people, going bar hopping in the city would be more fun and less daunting.

What Will I Do Differently Next Time?

Hotel Area of Palm Beach, Aruba (picture taken by Anieka Travels)

Learning as you go is always going to be a part of traveling, especially when you've never been to that place before. No traveller ever has said, “no, I wouldn't change anything about how I spent my time,” because nothing and no one can ever be perfect. Remember to take that with a grain of salt and take those lessons with you for the next time you travel. Here is what I would have done differently on this trip if I could redo the whole thing over:

Go for Longer

I definitely think the amount of time we went was too short, especially considering it took 10-12 hours of travel time to get there. I think if I went next time for 5-7 days I would be content and it would be enough time to wind down and truly relax. We tried to do that on this trip, but there was still a part of us that desperately wanted to see as much of everything as possibly in the short amount of time we had. It was practically unnatural to relax.

My roommate, Emily, felt this way too. We had both said we were there to relax, but when it came down to it, we wanted to be out and about and see all the sights. I think leaving on a Wednesday night, landing the following day, having a full weekend to explore and then flying out on a Monday morning would be a perfect getaway.

Rent a Car in Advance

Now that I know one absolutely needs a car to get around and cannot rely on public transportation, I will definitely rent a car in advance. It would preferably be through the airport, so I won't have the stress of hunting down a vehicle while I’m there. We were lucky this time that the rental shop had one car left, but the trip could have gone very wrong if we didn't have that luck and weren't able to access a car. I enjoyed the van we had, I just thought it was ridiculous driving it around with only two people. I would rent it again for a larger group though.

Go With a Larger Group of People

On that note, I would definitely bring more people with me next time. The cost of the car rental would go down because we'd all be splitting it at the end, and with more people we'd probably be able to rent a house somewhere with our own private pool for less money. There's also safety in numbers and although Aruba is extremely safe and I never felt like I was in danger while we were there, I would have felt more comfortable going bar hopping and staying out later at night if we were part of a larger group.

Spend More Time At The Beaches

Next time I won't have such a desire to see as much as possible because I've already seen nearly everything. Hopefully, I will have that extra time to spend for longer at the beach and maybe do some yoga, snorkel with some turtles/rays and lay out on the sand. I think the turquoise water and white sand was one of the things that impressed me the most about the island because it was so different from where I live so spending more time there is more desirable for me.

Emily also wished she had more time to stay at the beaches because that was the most beautiful part of the island. Washington has so much beauty with the mountains and glacial lakes but not the white sand beaches and stunning blue ocean around Aruba. Although a lot of the reason why we didn't stay too long at the beaches was because of the wind, she definitely wants to lounge at those spots for longer next time instead of so quickly moving on to the next activity.

Sunset at Palm Beach, Aruba (picture taken by Anieka Travels)

Try More Of The Local Food

Because we were on a budget, we didn't get the chance to eat out throughout the day. This also meant I wasn't able to try any of the local cuisines and I'd like to do more of this the next time I go. I will say that because it's an island community, a lot of the restaurants mainly focus on seafood. I didn't have too much trouble finding restaurants that had vegetarian options but I think vegan food would be more challenging to come by. I don't think it would be impossible though. If I had more time there, I would have looked into all of this more closely, but since I knew we weren't going to eat out much, I didn't research too heavily about how accommodating Aruban restaurants are to dietary restrictions.

Spend More Time Away From The Touristy Areas

Now that I've seen the touristy spots, I want to escape them next time. I want to find beaches that most people don't know about, find hole in the wall restaurants and discover secrets about the island most people don't have the interest of discovering. With tourism there is always a beautified filter set over those areas to glamorize the island life and although I don't want to be one of those people who says they see through it, I do and I don't enjoy it. I'd much rather be out in the middle of nowhere learning about reality for an Aruban islander than being surrounded by fake glamour.

Emily also agreed that there was more to the island than what the touristy parts had to offer but what drew her to those areas was the safety they provided. She wished we spent more time around Palm Beach even though it was so touristy, because she loved how safe she felt while we were there. The coastline and all the hotels were right there and there were so many boutiques and restaurants to window shop. There were also sidewalks haha. What made her feel safe was the amount of people all around us. She didn't like it when we were walking around the area of our Airbnb and there was no one around except for us, which I 100% agree with. It was unsettling. Although, once we got to an area where there were other sightseers walking around, we were less on guard and we were able to enjoy the paradise around us.

I think a mix of the two environments is a good way to go about it next time. Safety and protection are important, especially when you're traveling solo, with just one other person, or a small group, but it is still important to get out of your comfort zone and explore even if the experience might make you a little uncomfy.

What to Know As A Tourist in Aruba

Architecture of Oranjestad, Aruba (picture taken by Anieka Travels)

No matter how much you research for a trip, there will always be surprises. There can also be false advertising on the Internet. Maybe that blog I was reading from was getting paid by Arubus to promote it. Maybe the blogger had good intentions but at the end of the day didn't realize that the touristy street she was staying on was intentionally garnered for tourists without vehicles and the rest of the island wasn't like that. This is just another part of travel that you have to take with a grain of salt. It's definitely annoying, especially when you have people with you that are relying on the information you provided for them but it happens and it's part of the experience. Here were a few of those moments on this trip where I wish I had been given different information or had come across it while I was researching.

You Absolutely Need A Car!

I keep emphasizing this and I’m so sorry if you've been reading the whole blog through and keep reading the same advice over again haha, but it's true! While I was doing my research, I stumbled across a blog that said public transportation was accessible across the entire island, so both my friend and I decided not to rent a car to save on budgeting. What this blogger didn't mention in their article was that this only applies to the very touristy little strips of the island. So for anyone who wants to travel to Aruba or any of the Dutch islands I'll say this again… you absolutely need a car to go anywhere.

Even if you're going to spend most of your time at your Airbnb, you need a car to go grocery shopping, stop at the market for sunscreen/bug spray, get coffee in the morning at a cute café and to cross the highway over to where the beaches are. I highly recommend reserving a car through the airport. We booked our flights through expedia so we would have added a car rental to our trip through that if we had known prior to going. Again, I’m very relieved we were able to get a vehicle so last minute because if we weren't able to, the trip would have gone very sour.

There Are No Stop Lights & Roundabouts Are Everywhere

This is what added to the ‘unwalkability’ of the island and why I keep stressing to rent a car. This system is absolutely great for traffic purposes. Traffic moves very smoothly and unless there is an accident or school buses are letting kids out at their houses, traffic never stops. This makes it really great to drive to places and when you have a car, the entire island is really accessible and you can get from one end of the island to the other within half an hour. As a pedestrian though, keep in mind that unless you are in the extremely touristy parts of the island, there will not be sidewalks, there aren't crosswalks for you at those roundabouts and cars will not stop for you. Traffic stays moving and you standing there waiting to cross is not going to change that.

There Are Mosquitos

Like any tropical destination, there are those pesky bloodsucking pests whose sole purpose is to torment. It is quite windy most of the time on the island because it's so flat and all that's around it is ocean. However, these little buggers come out in the early morning, in the evening, when it rains and if your Airbnb has a pool. They love still air and still water. So if it rains, stay inside for a bit until the sun evaporates the puddles, light a candle that repels bugs, buy bug spray at a nearby market or grocery store, Keep the AirCo going while you sleep at night and if you know that mosquitos are a fan of your blood, like me haha, you might want to invest in some anti-itch cream because getting bitten is unpreventable. At our Airbnb, we just had one little guy that we kept trying to kill throughout the entire weekend and embarrassingly failed. He's probably haunting the next people who checked into that apartment after us. Hopefully they killed him.

If your Airbnb/Condo/Hotel room has a lot of them for some reason and you aren't able to catch them with your bare hands, invest in an electric racket. I didn't resort to that on this trip but when I was staying at a friend's apartment in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh India I had a lot of fun electrifying the little guys. I’m usually all about peace and treating every living thing with kindness but I have a special exception for mosquitos.

Plantlife in Sint Nicolaas, Aruba (picture taken by Anieka Travels)

The Locals Are Fluent In Four Languages

One of the phenomena that amazed me the most on the trip was how fluent most of the locals were in not just two languages but four! On the island of Aruba and I’m pretty sure the other Dutch Islands also, the locals speak the indigenous language of Papiamento, which is a blend of Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch. However, there are three other languages that are widely spoken there. Through my research I knew that the locals also understood and spoke English, Dutch and Spanish but I didn't know to what extent.

Once we got there and began interacting with the people there, I was amazed by their fluency in all four. For example, a service worker would be talking to us in nearly perfect English, turn to another table and begin speaking in fluent Spanish, then joke to their coworker in Papiamento on the side and they did it with such ease.

I’m sure Europeans are reading this like, “yea and?” And I get it. I too have been to other parts of the world where it's common to be fluent in 3 to 4 languages plus a dialect. However, in Aruba you will not find a space where there is only one language being spoken. Wherever you go, you hear all four of them all around you and your brain becomes wired to translate all of them all at once inside your head. It's a wild environment to be in but the locals have no biggy with it.

USD is Accepted in Aruba

There's not much to say about this one. All I can say is because the Florin is basically half of an American dollar, it's really cheap for Americans to travel there. American cash is also accepted there. I tipped all of the taxi drivers and servers we had in USD and they accepted it. At most grocery stores they have the Aruban Florin/Dutch Guilder (Afl/AWG) price in bold and then on the side in small numbers they have the price in USD. If an establishment doesn't have that distinction or they don't advertise that their prices are in USD then the prices are in Florin and you're basically paying half of that amount as an American.

How To Tip

Leave cash on the table after you pay or tell them before they charge you how much you want to tip. I didn't catch on to this until the second or third restaurant we went into. The first time we ate out I expected there to be a tipping option on the receipt after we paid, but there was nothing. When I asked the server, he said we needed to tip before he charged us and he couldn't add it onto our bill anymore. When I asked if American Dollars were acceptable to tip with, he answered me as if it was a crazy question. USD is accepted there as a local currency so you can tip with it. However, if you don't want to tip in cash, make sure to voice the amount you want to tip before they charge your card.

The Locals Are Extremely Helpful

This was a breath of fresh air for me, because I had heard stories from so many people about the US Virgin Islands and how the locals hate tourists. In the Dutch Islands it's not like that at all; I think partly because so much of their economy and infrastructure relies on tourism. Most residents work in either the hotels, a restaurant, a rental store, are a tour guide or own an Airbnb so they rely on tourism for their income.

When we were wandering around the airport parking lot trying to find the bus station, we had so many people calling out to us trying to help us find our destination. We didn't even need to ask for directions. They saw we were struggling and immediately came to our aide.

The same thing happened in the city when I was trying to find the exit out of a massive parking lot woven between various buildings to get onto the main road. There were parts of the parking lot that were one way that I didn't know about and a local on the side of the street saw I was struggling, maneuvering our massive van around the lot. He waved us over, asked us if we needed help finding the main street out of the city and then proceeded to run in front of our van and direct us to the exit. I was skeptical at first, wondering if it was a scam or if he was tricking us into driving through a booby trap or something, but no he was just a friendly local wanting to lend a helping hand.

This made traveling around the island so relaxing because we felt accepted, part of the island and could be guided every step of the way if we needed to. This was something that I admired about the island, with so many ethnic backgrounds, so many languages being spoken and so many outsiders traveling to the island on a weekly basis, everyone was so harmonious. Just like what the Aruban license plate says, we're one happy island. We all have a role to play even if we're not residents.

Emily also felt this way about the locals. She loved how friendly and helpful they were and she never once had an uncomfortable interaction. No one was being creepy (besides the occasional cat call when we were walking along the side of the street around our Airbnb) and she never got the feeling like we were in a sketchy area or that the people in said area could potentially harm us. The island is a very safe place.

Remember that when you travel there. You will be welcomed there with open arms.

Aruba Is Outside Of The Hurricane Belt

Because Aruba doesn't get hit with hurricanes every year, their infrastructure is more secure than other island communities in the Caribbean. This is also good to know when you're planning a trip there. I still wouldn't recommend traveling there during hurricane season because of potential flight delays but getting hit by a hurricane during your vacation is not something you have to worry about there.

The Rain In Aruba Is A Different Breed

The rainy season happens in January (according to Ken and Kim haha) and that is when you would get most of the rain fall but even outside of the rainy season there are still these flash rainstorms that occur when a cloud rolls over a certain part of the island and douses it with a hardy shower. This was what we experienced that Saturday night on our way back to the car after eating dinner at Gianni's. However, these rain storms are done in a blink of an eye. They're so fast you almost wonder if you were dreaming when it happened because afterwards the sun comes out again and most of the water evaporates. If you end up getting caught in one, find some cover and wait it out. It's a marvelous sight when you're not the one getting drenched in it.

girl attempting yoga pose at Baby Beach, Aruba — Me attempting a yoga pose at Baby Beach, Aruba (picture taken by Anieka Travels Associate)

Would I go back to Aruba? There's no question about whether I’ll be back next year. If not to Aruba, then one of the other Dutch Islands. Most likely, I would go to Curaçao so I can compare the two islands to each other and determine whether I have a favorite between the two. I might do some island hopping next year if I decide that I want to spend more time with Ken and Kim at the Airbnb. I loved where we stayed. Our hosts were super nice and respected our privacy even though they were still living in the main home while we were there. I loved chatting with our neighbors by the pool, I loved the proximity to all the beaches and the city, and I loved their little pool dog, Nikita who demanded pets every second of the day. I'll link the Airbnb down below for you to check out for your own Caribbean vaca. Like I said before, I could see myself living on this island for a quarter of the year some day, like Ken and Kim now that they're retired. I would love to one day own my own property there and rent it out to people either through Airbnb or on my own website. Until that day comes, I will be flying there every year from now until I die to capture a little piece of paradise. Hopefully this blog helped you do the same.

Like always, thank you for reading, it means a lot to me.

Go out and explore the world!

Love,

Anieka ♡

Cocoyoco AirBnb