So yeah. This will be the first vacation for me and my wife. So far from reading everyones comments and opinions it doesn't look like I made the wrong choice on where to go. I just want to know what everyone favorite things to do where when they were there. I am in the Marine Corps and in Iraq a lot so I don't get as much time with her as I would like so I want to make this time I get with her really really good. So yeah I just want to know what everyones favorite things to do there were and about how much it cost? Thanks everyone.

Welcome

Yes you made a great choice picking aruba as your vacation.
Where are you staying?
When are you going?
what do your wife and you like to do?
are you on a fixed budget or is that still to be determined?
When my wife and I go (son too) we just relax at the beach and pool (radisson) and pick our favorite restaurants to stuff our faces
lets us know more about you and these people here will give you the best advice ( too many names to name but they know who they are) and they will definitely respond and help make your vacation just perfect.
Enjoy

Thanks for serving in the marines

Arubapiggy, Aruba Dreaming

At the Radisson in...

First and foremost, thank you for your service to our country. It is because of brave people like you that we are fortunate enough to be able to live free and vacation in wonderful places such as Aruba.

No matter where you stay, Aruba is a special place. It is not an accident that it has such a high return rate for visitors. Make sure your wife knows Aruba is windy, so no fancy hair-do's.

For a first time visitor, depending on when you are going, renting a car for a week, is relatively inexpensive and you could explore the island and shop at your own pace.

If you plan on spending most of your time on the beach just relaxing, then renting a vehicle for week when it is going to sit in the parking lot may be a waste of money. The big advantage of staying along Palm Beach is the fact that there are so many activities within walking distance.

I would suggest setting aside at least half a day to see the island. This can be done on your own by car or 4 x 4, or by guided tour. ABC Jeep Tours http://www.abc-aruba.com/ is extremely popular and gets excellent reviews. Our family just took a tour with Kini Kini http://www.kinikini.com/kk/servlet/Home via ATV which we really enjoyed. They do jeep tours as well.

The other popular activity is a snorkel excursion. Two of my favorite choices are Jolly Pirates and Tranquilo.

Aruba Bound! ~ Hoosier Kitties ~ Our-Cruises ~ Blogging to Aruba
Back to paradise Trip #18

Yeah I know they will. From reading everything from everyone here. A lot of good people that like to help. We are staying at the Holiday Inn. I just booked the flight and hotel last night. The dates that we will be there are Oct 14th to Oct 28th. I have a budget that I would like to stay as close to $4,000 as I can. The plane tickets and hotel was $3,000. I think im going to have to go over my budget but I just dont know how much. We want to get out and be active for half the trip and relax on the beach the other half. Thanks for all the help guys.

I'm taking my wife to Aruba!!!

Like I said before. You are the go to person lol. And thank you for your thanks about serving the country. I do it for people like you and your family and my family. You guys and your thanks makes it all worth coming and fighting for the people in our country.

I have read about some of those things like the jolly pirate and the tours. Im not to sure which one is better for the tours though. The jeep or the ATVs? Are their any cruises that you can get on for like the day while your out there? Thanks again

I'm taking my wife to Aruba!!!

Some Holiday Inn info:
http://www.aruba.com/forum/f22/upgrades-32212/
http://www.aruba.com/forum/f22/holiday-inn-30899/#post108405
Here is the link to the Holiday Inn Priority Club membership http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/home

Definitely treat your wife to a dinner on the beach at Passions at the Amsterdam Manor www.passions-restaurant-aruba.com/menu.php. It is a $7 each way, taxi ride http://taxiaruba.com/new/farelist.html from the Holiday Inn to the Amsterdam Manor. We ate there last month for our anniversary and loved it. Below is from my trip report.

"Friday night for our anniversary, a friend as well as my parents, had recommended Passions on the beach at the Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort.

When we arrived we were immediately greeted by Diana the hostess/maître d' and everything from the food to the service, it was nothing less than perfect and a wonderful evening. Our table was closest to the water with torches and a lantern on the table. I can imagine how nice it would be at sunset, however since we can view that from the comfort of our patio, and like to eat later, dining under the stars with the Aruban tradewinds are just delightful in my book!

Dd had Caesar Salad with shrimp and a seafood sampler platter with Caribbean lobster tail, shrimp, grouper and mahi-mahi. I had a filet mignon and dh had grilled grouper and shrimp with a creamy spicy sauce. For an appetizer he had goat cheese with prosciutto, arugula and honey dressing, I had a crab salad. Everything was delicious! If anyone has that recipe for the crab salad you just pass it on to me.

Dessert was amazing ...a sampler with full size portions of cheese cake, tiramisu, raspberry mousse, key lime pie and chocolate cake. We practically rolled back to the Tamarijn."

What kind of cruise are you looking for? Do you mean book the day of, or something day long? If day long definitely the Tranquilo.

That is going to be your own personal preference. Go off on your own at your own pace in a Jeep Wrangler for the day (or a car- less expenisve) or take a Jeep Tour or ATV which will just you the highlights and you will not have to worry about knowing your way and getting lost. If you want to see the Natural Pool, imho, the ATV tour is the easiest way to get there. That or maybe horseback. Moderator Andrea may know better on that one. Wasn't an option for us, dh is allergic to horses.

Aruba Bound! ~ Hoosier Kitties ~ Our-Cruises ~ Blogging to Aruba
Back to paradise Trip #18

Oh man that restaurant sounds good. So how much do you usually spend on food out there? Has anyone ever been Parasailing out there? I would like to do that but im not to sure. I was thinking about riding the jet skis too. I was reading on here that the helicopter tour is really good too. Anyone been on that one. So how much is this kind of stuff too? Do you have to reserve any of these activity's and if so how much in advance should you sign up?

I'm taking my wife to Aruba!!!

Definitely put Madame Jeannette on your list of restaurants.
You will not be disappointed

Arubapiggy, Aruba Dreaming

At the Radisson in...

Yeah from what I have read the restaurants that I cant miss out there are the Flying Fishbone and Madame Jeannette. Im sure there is a lot more but those are the ones I keep seeing pop up all over the place.

I'm taking my wife to Aruba!!!

Most all reservations can be made once you arrive on the island. I made a reservation in advance for Passions because they are only open Thursday through Sunday (I think they are extending to Wednesay in October) and wanted a specific time. Madame Janette and the Flying Fishbone are probably the two most popular restaurants on the island so definitely make reservations in advance for those.

Some dinner info:
Less expensive dinners?
http://www.aruba.com/forum/f12/suggestions-family-four-31558/
http://www.aruba.com/forum/f7/family-food-question-32148/#post115045

There are four outdoor restaurants across from the Hyatt, down the road a piece and across the street from the Hyatt. More affordable are Casa Tua (Italian), and Salt & Pepper.
Also close by are Smokey Joe's (ribs) and Tomatoe Charlie's (pizza).

I am sure a Marine like yourself would be interested in at least one good steak dinner! Check out these threads and websites:

LG Smith's through Marriot purchase a dinner certificate for 2 for $109 (4 course dinner & non-alcoholic beverage) https://gifts.marriott.com/
El Gaucho's pricing

Amazonia Churrascaria http://www.amazonia-aruba.com/
Texas del Brazil http://www.texasdebrazil.com/

Some other good info on dinners:
Suggest your FAV Restaurant and Bars
best Italian

Also see http://www.restaurantsaruba.com/topten.html There are links to the restaurant's menus with pricing. The Screaming Eagle and Flying Fishbone are going to be very expensive and the FFB is an expensive taxi ride if you do not have a car.

http://www.arubawatersportcenter.com/pricelist_WS.htm Use this pricelist as a "guide" for what it will cost for jet-ski and parasailing. There are vendors all along Palm Beach and their prices are pretty competitive.

Our family just recently took the helicopter tour for the first time, this is from my review:
"Dh and I always wanted to take the helicopter tour, but had a tough time justifying the expense. This year we decide to bite the bullet and in lieu of exchanging gifts for our wedding anniversary, do the helicopter tour instead. Thursday morning was our helicopter tour of the island.

There is only one operator on the island,Aruba Heli Tours. We decided to reserve the first tour of the day at 10 a.m. in order to have the rest of the day at the beach.

Christian was our pilot and tour guide. We felt it was well worth the extra money for the island tour versus the beach tour. The island tour begins at the helipad at the marina in Oranjestad. We headed north and saw Druif, Eagle, Palm Beach, Malmok, Arashi and beyond. We out over the wreck of the Antilla for a very unique view. From there it was on around the lighthouse and Tierra del Sol Country Club with all of it's palatial homes, flying along the northeast coast all the way up to the Aruba Drag Raceway Park.

Christian then took us back towards the west coast with a view of the refinery, heading back northward over the barrier islands towards to Oranjestad over Savaneta and past the airport, finally land back in Oranjestad. The color of the water during this portion of the flight was just as breathtaking as it is over Palm Beach.

Through 17 visits to Aruba, this ranks in the top 3 excursions we have taken. The other 2 being Tranquilo and the Kini Kini ATV tour."

Admitedly, it is very expensive, $130 per person for the island tour and $85 per person for the beach tour. In my mind, the tour of the entire island is a much much better value.

Photo below was taken during the island heliopter tour of Mike's Reef. The dock at the very top of the photo is the one used by Tranquilo for snorkelers to cross over the reef.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric and Jen Oh man that restaurant sounds good. So how much do you usually spend on food out there? Has anyone ever been Parasailing out there? I would like to do that but im not to sure. I was thinking about riding the jet skis too. I was reading on here that the helicopter tour is really good too. Anyone been on that one. So how much is this kind of stuff too? Do you have to reserve any of these activity's and if so how much in advance should you sign up?

Aruba Bound! ~ Hoosier Kitties ~ Our-Cruises ~ Blogging to Aruba
Back to paradise Trip #18