My wife and I just got back from Aruba two days ago after spending the better part of a week there (08/16-08/21). Before we left for our trip I spent a lot of time reading the message boards and I just wanted to say thank you for all of the information that was shared, it really helped. The people in Aruba were (all) fantastic, the food (Chalet Swiss and Texas de Brazil) was fantastic, the hotel (Radisson) was fantastic and the island tours (Watapana ATV and De Palm snokeling) were fanstastic.

Having said that, I know some people will undoubtedly be looking for the negative even in the most positive of places like Aruba, so in my opinion they would be- 1) how expensive everything is (which I was prepared for given that most everything in Aruba is imported...with the exception of Belashi which should have been the least expensive beer since it was local, but that was definitely not the ca$e) and 2) how much garbage littered the ocean, downtown and the baby natural bridge (granted most of this trash likely came from idiot tourists who have no respect for such a beautiful island, but I would have expected more of a clean-up effort on the part of the government and locals alike...it's your island, take pride in it!; fyi, I clean-up my own trash and the trash of others at every opportunity).

All things considered, we had an awesome time and I don't think I've ever been so relaxed and stress-free in my life. Aruba is a great island and we're thankful that we had the opportunity to experience it.