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EricaS · 02-01-2011, 02:17 PM

This year my boyfriend and I had the opportunity to go to Aruba twice-

once in April and again in August. The report is slightly outdated but the snow had got me daydreaming and reading all the other reports so I thought I would give it a shot..
Part 1: April 2010:
In April we stayed at the Playa Linda in a studio unit. It was April vacation week and we had friends also staying at PL. The weather was perfect! IMO the beach at PL is one of the best. It was very easy to get a chickee on the beach every time we attempted to- no matter what hour it was.
We arrived on a Saturday and stayed downtown at the Renaissance for a night. We used the private beach that afternoon and had dinner at Old Man and The Sea. Beautiful place, food was nothing special.
Sunday- Ling and Sons then check-in at PL, beach all day.
Monday- Rented a Jeep, drove around the desert; god was it hot that day! I insisted we put the top down and cruise around… after an hour and an entire spray can of sunscreen, he put the top up. We packed food and waters and drove around to all the landmarks we could find, the rock formations, caves, natural bridge, lighthouse, different beaches..
Tuesday- fishing charter- we booked with The Driftwood fishing charter- it was one of the highlights of the trip! There were 6 of us and all 6 of us caught something! We caught a huge Wahoo and a Mahi Mahi- I caught a tuna the size of a tuna can… biggest fish in the sea, smallest fish of the day, go figure! We gave half our catch to the crew, ate fish for every meal and snack we could manage and ended up giving away to some staff at PL and also friends arriving as we were leaving at the end of the week.
Wed. we did the morning brunch snorkel catamaran with Pelican Tours I think (Blue boat?) It was a little too long and also too early to get your money’s worth of an open bar,
The rest of the week we lounged in the ocean. We each bought a large thermos and pool floats at Target for $15 (they were mesh seats with a ring around them that floated enough so that only your head and toes are poking out of the water) - I am hooked on these floats. We made drinks in the room before we set out for the beach and we floated for hours! When we ran out we hit up the happy hours at PL or Bugaloe! All very fun! We also wore blue lizard sunscreen on our 4 hour ocean binges- no tan at all! On our last day someone came up to us to warn us of how strong the sun was and to be careful because we were so pale… that Sunscreen works a bit too good!
Weather: Perfect, no rain, huge beach, no bugs, just hot! Less windy that normal perhaps but not worth complaining about- its paradise!
Studio accommodations for two were more than adequate. We were comfortable, had plenty of space. Could have used an oven to cook some of the fish but the kitchenette was fine- used the outdoor grills and stove top instead. Love the Playa Linda!!
We ate at OMATS (not one of our favorites), El Gauchos (standard great steak, garlic bread, and sangria!), Smoky Joe’s (fun outdoor sports bar scene, easy to walk to but just average food), Paddock (great lunch!) Aqua Grill (Loved it! Upscale atmosphere, delicious meals, one of the best mudslides of the week!), Screaming Eagle (very cool feel to this place, food was good but a little expensive), and Windows on Aruba (upscale, loved the food, staff was great, views were awesome!)
For April vacation week we felt like it was not nearly as crowded as everyone made it seem. No hut issues, no dinner reservations needed anywhere- absolutely awesome trip! Sorry so long winded!!!

*Andrea J.* · 02-01-2011, 02:34 PM

never be sorry for being long winded!
many many of us love reading trip reports.
thanks for posting!!

02-01-2011, 02:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
EricaS Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 21	Very Delayed Trip Report April Vacation 2010! This year my boyfriend and I had the opportunity to go to Aruba twice- once in April and again in August. The report is slightly outdated but the snow had got me daydreaming and reading all the other reports so I thought I would give it a shot.. Part 1: April 2010: In April we stayed at the Playa Linda in a studio unit. It was April vacation week and we had friends also staying at PL. The weather was perfect! IMO the beach at PL is one of the best. It was very easy to get a chickee on the beach every time we attempted to- no matter what hour it was. We arrived on a Saturday and stayed downtown at the Renaissance for a night. We used the private beach that afternoon and had dinner at Old Man and The Sea. Beautiful place, food was nothing special. Sunday- Ling and Sons then check-in at PL, beach all day. Monday- Rented a Jeep, drove around the desert; god was it hot that day! I insisted we put the top down and cruise around… after an hour and an entire spray can of sunscreen, he put the top up. We packed food and waters and drove around to all the landmarks we could find, the rock formations, caves, natural bridge, lighthouse, different beaches.. Tuesday- fishing charter- we booked with The Driftwood fishing charter- it was one of the highlights of the trip! There were 6 of us and all 6 of us caught something! We caught a huge Wahoo and a Mahi Mahi- I caught a tuna the size of a tuna can… biggest fish in the sea, smallest fish of the day, go figure! We gave half our catch to the crew, ate fish for every meal and snack we could manage and ended up giving away to some staff at PL and also friends arriving as we were leaving at the end of the week. Wed. we did the morning brunch snorkel catamaran with Pelican Tours I think (Blue boat?) It was a little too long and also too early to get your money’s worth of an open bar, The rest of the week we lounged in the ocean. We each bought a large thermos and pool floats at Target for $15 (they were mesh seats with a ring around them that floated enough so that only your head and toes are poking out of the water) - I am hooked on these floats. We made drinks in the room before we set out for the beach and we floated for hours! When we ran out we hit up the happy hours at PL or Bugaloe! All very fun! We also wore blue lizard sunscreen on our 4 hour ocean binges- no tan at all! On our last day someone came up to us to warn us of how strong the sun was and to be careful because we were so pale… that Sunscreen works a bit too good! Weather: Perfect, no rain, huge beach, no bugs, just hot! Less windy that normal perhaps but not worth complaining about- its paradise! Studio accommodations for two were more than adequate. We were comfortable, had plenty of space. Could have used an oven to cook some of the fish but the kitchenette was fine- used the outdoor grills and stove top instead. Love the Playa Linda!! We ate at OMATS (not one of our favorites), El Gauchos (standard great steak, garlic bread, and sangria!), Smoky Joe’s (fun outdoor sports bar scene, easy to walk to but just average food), Paddock (great lunch!) Aqua Grill (Loved it! Upscale atmosphere, delicious meals, one of the best mudslides of the week!), Screaming Eagle (very cool feel to this place, food was good but a little expensive), and Windows on Aruba (upscale, loved the food, staff was great, views were awesome!) For April vacation week we felt like it was not nearly as crowded as everyone made it seem. No hut issues, no dinner reservations needed anywhere- absolutely awesome trip! Sorry so long winded!!! Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook

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02-01-2011, 02:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
Andrea J. Aruba since 1979 Moderator Join Date: May 2007 Location: renaissance island, eagle beach, amsterdam manor/passions beach bar, Hung Paradis, alto vista chapel, madam janettes, big porch at B55 Posts: 13,258 Images: 80	never be sorry for being long winded! many many of us love reading trip reports. thanks for posting!! Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________ Please, I'll have a Grande' decaf Mocha Latte' with a shot of liquid tranquilizer.