Travel Bae Jay

Aruba has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember, I actually visited once on a cruise when I was younger but I don’t remember which means it didn’t count. In celebration of my 30th birthday and because we’ve been in lockdown forever and I needed some sun I decided to a girls trip to the happy island of Aruba. I chose Aruba because it’s a beautiful island with amazing people, they have very low crime rates, the weather is very stable sitting at 25-29 degrees all year with very little rain, plus I’ve never once heard someone say they regret visiting Aruba. I would rate this island very safe for solo travellers and people of colour, we were always welcomed everywhere we went and people went out of their way to make sure we felt safe and comfortable. 

Something to know about me is I’m a planner. I loveee planning things, especially trips, so I made everyone a full info sheet for this trip and an itinerary. But the one thing to remember when you travel (especially during Covid) is that you need to be open to being flexible. Now just know that I changed these plans 5 million times and even though I planned and researched for hours I ended up changing the itinerary once I was there and talked to the locals. If you’re just interested in what the food options are in Aruba then check out my guide here.

Day 1- Tuesday (First day in Aruba)

We got in around 2:30, then got a taxi from the airport to our Airbnb. Our host was amazing and super accommodating so thankfully we were able to check in a bit early as check-in wasn’t actually until 3pm. Our Airbnb was a short drive to Eagle beach and was in a very safe neighbourhood, luckily we were about a 5-7 minute drive from everywhere we needed to go to (except San Nicholas). The Airbnb was beautiful- absolutely no complaints, we had a courtyard with a BBQ (that we didn’t use), a balcony (that we used quite often), AC with separate controls, and it was very spacious.

I decided to stay in an Airbnb because I typically like to be more among the locals instead of where all the tourists are and that was the vibe that I wanted for this trip. There’s pros and cons to each depending on what you want to do on the trip (the biggest con for this trip was we ended up spending more on taxis but we saved money on our accommodation so we could do more excursions). 

After settling in, unpacking and dancing around excitedly, we were starving when we got in and thankfully there was a pub literally right beside us. So we headed over to The Old Dutch Cafe and got our first taste of the amazing hospitality that Aruba has to offer. Once we were full and liquored up we took a not-so-quick walk over to Eagle beach and got our first taste of the beautiful white sand and Caribbean sea.

For dinner we headed over to Hanasaki Fusión which is a beautiful Japanese, Peruvian fusion restaurant in Palm Beach by the Mill Resort. This was so beautiful and aesthetic, perfect for photoshoots and content but they also delivered on the food and drinks and gave a wideee variety of options to choose from. After dinner, we decided to have an early night and headed back to the Airbnb since it was a Tuesday and we had spent the day travelling. Day 1 recap TikTok.

Day 2- Wednesday

This was one of my favourite days! We went to Flamingo beach which is owned by the Renaissance hotel. We took a taxi to the hotel marina, quickly got some Starbucks then caught the free water taxi inside the hotel to the private island. I booked our tickets online for $125 USD days before because I heard it can sell out pretty quickly, as they give priority to the hotel guests and I chose to go on Wednesday so it wouldn’t be too busy.

Tip: Take a look at the boat and see where it’s wet, we found the best place to sit was at the front of the boat by the captain, or you’ll get soaked.

We got to the island and I immediately had to deal with a wardrobe malfunction (my bodysuit completed unclasped 😓) but after that, I met back up with my girls and finally got to see the beautiful flamingos and a couple of iguanas. Thankfully it wasn’t too busy so we all got to take our pictures with the flamingos but we didn’t get to feed them since they were already full. The flamingos were pretty calm since they’re around people all day and mostly stuck to one area, so you don’t really have to worry about them.

We had lunch at the restaurant on Iguana Island- which is the sister island to Flamingo Island. Free lunch and 1 cocktail were included with our ticket- make sure you show your server your receipt when you order (if you stay at the hotel you get to visit the island as much as you want for free and the free lunch and drink aren’t included). Again the food and the service were amazing and our server made sure we got our money’s worth.

Now let me tell you, do not underestimate the Aruban sun. I 100% got sunburnt this day and because I’ve only been sunburnt once in my life I honestly didn’t think I would get sunburned so fast but we were directly in the sun for most of the day as we didn’t get there early enough to secure an umbrella so I highly suggest you take the time to reapply sunscreen. Day 2 Recap TikTok.

Day 3- Thursday

Since we didn’t get to actually explore Palm Beach on our first day there, we decided to go check it out today. Our taxi dropped us off at Craft, a super cute spot right on the strip that’s right beside its sister restaurant Lola (we tried to go here on a different night but it was packed so I suggest making a reso). Our brunch here absolutely did not disappoint! I literally could’ve come here every day. I got the Fried Chicken and Waffle and the Blueberry Cooler (these are a must try) and I also got to try the Nice Staxxx pancakes which were heavenly. Even though we were full after brunch we decided to get alcohol slushies from Fat Tuesday which was right beside us. Honestly, we could’ve skipped these, it was so hot and it melted really quick, I barely tasted any alcohol, and it was super sweet.

After that, it was time to head to the beach, it’s a public beach but we really could not figure out how to actually get to the beach so we just went through one of the hotels. Even though none of us can swim we were set on doing some water activities and jetskis were something all of us wanted to do. Palm Beach has a lot of huts lined up offering activities so we just chose one and went with it, it was $65 USD each and cheaper if you paid cash, they took us on a water taxi to another part of the island then it was time to go! If you’re thinking of jetskiing in Aruba, let me prepare you. The water is incredibly salty and you will get drenched, like to the point where you can’t see… once I realized there was no avoiding it, I just embraced it and started flying through the water. But seriously, leave the makeup at home, don’t do any fancy hairstyles, the water will destroy everything and you’ll be sandy and salty. So if you want any pictures make sure you take them before you go.

With that being said, we still had a blast! I was definitely scared at first but it was really easy to get the hang of and super fun, my girl even saw some turtles swimming. The only thing is I wish that we would’ve done this right before we were ready to leave the beach. Once we were done they took us back to the main beach and we lounged around until we dried off.

Once we were back at the Airbnb we all took very long showers to get all the salt and sand off us and out of our hair and took a quick nap. Then it was dinner time, through my research I came across Elements at Bucuti and Tara hotel. I figured it’d be a cute fancy place to have my pre-birthday dinner and this place did not disappoint. It was even more beautiful than I expected it to be and even though it was filled with uppity looking white people we felt very welcomed by all the staff and had the most amazing server who even moved all the tables so we could take photos. This restaurant definitely has a $$$ price tag but I personally think it was worth it, there was live music, we sat outside near the beach, the service was wonderful, the aesthetic was so calm, and of course the food and drinks were great. Day 3 Recap TikTok.

Day 4- Friday

I figured we would be pretty tired by this day and we definitely were! We decided to take this day to just relax and chill (we are on vacation after all). We ordered Pizza Hut, watched The Ultimatum and just enjoyed the Airbnb and that we had nothing that we actually had to do today.

After we were well-rested it was time to get ready for another amazing dinner. This night we went back to Palm Beach to check out Azia. I highly recommend Azia, it was so beautiful and the food and drinks were amazing! I’m definitely going to be recreating these ribs soon! Since it was Friday, after dinner we walked over to I love South Beach because we saw that they had Shisha when we were here the other day. I honestly only recommend this place for the vibes it was very Black friendly but it was overpriced, regardless we still had a great time and enjoyed ourselves because that’s what we do.

Day 5- Saturday

I cannot get enough of the beaches here! I honestly wish we rented a car so we could explore all the beaches but today we went back to Palm Beach (I know you’re thinking, again?? Yes, again!). As you read we were here a few days ago and somehow missed this awesome beach find- Eduardo’s Beach Shack. Eduardo’s is a vegan/ vegetarian restaurant (by this time we were craving something a little healthier) and this place absolutely did not disappoint, the portion sizes were well worth the money and the ingredients tasted so fresh. We spent the day being lazy on the beach, “swimming” in the ocean and just enjoying the beautifully hot weather. 

We went back to our Airbnb, took a nice rest because that sun really does drain you then headed next door back to Old Dutch for a light dinner and some drinks, okay lots of drinks…

Day 6- Sunday

This was one of our most fun days! We were actually supposed to do this UTV tour with Around Aruba on Friday but this was one of the things I waited to book because I wanted to see options once I was actually in Aruba. Anyways by the time I went to book it the timeslot we wanted was sold out but it worked out because a lot of things are closed in Aruba on Sunday. Now I’m going to give you some actually helpful advice here and I hope you take it seriously. Do not to the ATV tour, unless you actually know how to ATV. Our tour group had a mix of UTVs and ATVs and I booked the UTV after reading some reviews that a lot of people didn’t have the best experience on the ATVs. I would also suggest bringing Advil as it’s quite bumpy and hot.

The purpose of this tour is literally an off-road guided tour around Arikok National Park and the Island itself. Most of this tour is literally off-road like super bumpy over rocks, going sideways up hills and all that and there were so many times when we would look back and only 1 of the ATVs would still be with us and tons of people almost flipped over. Not to scare you of anything, haha, there was one person who was completely fine doing the tour but he was experienced so if you’re new to this, do the UTV tour! I promise it’ll be tons of fun. Watch my little recap here.

Our tour guide was great, he took us to see some extra sights that weren’t actually included and kept us laughing the whole time but he made sure to tell us in the beginning- pay attention and don’t lose your phone. And he was serious because sometimes he would just take off and drive away with no warning! The drive itself was so fun that we almost didn’t care about the sights but the one thing I really wanted to do was cliff jump at the Natural Pool. But… I definitely chickened out when I saw it. Honestlyyy I can’t swim and I’m terrified of heights so I don’t even know what I was thinking. You have to climb down a ladder and then do this kind of unsafe jump then swim back out and I was not prepared for all of that but it’s definitely on my bucket list and I’m going to learn how to swim again, I swear.

I’m pretty sure I had the best Birria tacos of my life this night. We were pretty tired out from the day so we walked over to another plaza near where we were staying and decided to get some tacos. These Birria tacos were so good that I didn’t even get pictures or anything but trust me, so worth it, you need to hit up Senor Burrito. Don’t sleep on these regular fast food places, we were so mad that we didn’t go try them out sooner.

Day 7- Monday

Ugh, the day before we had to go home= the worst day ever. We were all super sad but reminded ourselves that we need to enjoy this day and not waste it. So we went and got our Covid test done and out of the way but this ended up taking way longer than anticipated.

Today our plan was to see the end of the island and check out Baby Beach and the San Nicholas Art walk. Unfortunately, this ended up being the worst day to do this and we didn’t get to fully enjoy it but our amazing taxi driver tried to make it work for us.

Our taxi driver had driven us a few other days (we had even met his wife) and when we told him our plans he let us know that unfortunately as it was Monday and already a bit late in the day it’d be really hard to get a taxi back to where we were staying. Thankfully he was so nice he offered to stay with us so we wouldn’t be stranded, this obviously ended up costing more but was worth it in the end. So we started the long drive over to baby beach first- omg this beach was so nice, the water was literally perfect and I wish we could’ve stayed longer here but the sun was starting to set and we had other things to see!

Next, we went to San Nicholas to see all the beautiful art, our driver gave us a mini-tour and it was so nice to hear the history from a real local. So we went to check out all the street art while our driver caught up with some old friends and he even ran into a tour guide that he knew and sent him over to tell us about some of the art which was actually really cool.

Tips:

• Go on the weekend in the daytime or rent a car and visit as it’s not the best area and it’s hard to get a taxi back, our taxi driver had driven us a few times throughout the week and offered to stay with us as it was getting late 
• Get a tour guide to learn the back story of all the art, we were lucky that our taxi driver knew the tour guide and once he was finished doing his tour he came and told us a bit about the history and hidden gems
• Visit the musuem

After all the exploring we got back to our Airbnb pretty late, we were at the furthest point of the island so it took some time to get back (about 30 minutes). Since it was our final night in Aruba we went back to our favourite area, Palm Beach of course. We decided to go to Brutto, it was on my list but I wasn’t sure about it, then we walked by and decided to give it a try since it looked so cute. This is more of a sharable restaurant to enjoy tapas-style as some of the portion sizes are a bit smaller but again the food, drinks, and aesthetic were great.

Day 8- Tuesday (Last day in Aruba)

It was officially time for our vacation to end, no more living in denial. Back to the cold and dreary Canadian weather. Going back home was actually super stressful so be prepared to have all the patience today and eat before you get to the airport if you have time. If you’re also flying back to Canada you’ll have multiple customs, security and bag checks and it really feels like a never-ending ordeal. I’ve put some tips below but let me know in the comments if you have any questions about anything I missed.

Goodbye Aruba but I will definitely be back!

Tips for Aruba (that your girl mostly learned the hard way):

• Oranjestad is only open from 9am-6pm and closed on Sundays
• Palm Beach is more of the touristy party area
• If you love food and more lively areas, stay in Palm beach
• It gets pretty hot between 1-3pm so I recommend not being directly in the sun there (trust me I have the sunburns as proof)
• If you’re the first flight with your airline there will be no staff at the airport until 3 hours before the flight (I learned this one the hard way too)
• You can only go to the airport between certain times (They let you know when you register)
• You can actually smoke in a section of the airport and there’s a crying area if you need to get your tears out before your flight back home
• Use Whatsapp and turn off your data if you don’t have a good international roaming plan