Trip Report-- Partial

Longer report to follow.

"Items We Forgot to Pack That Might Have Been Very Helpful To Have."

1. Bar Soap -- At the Divi Phoenix, where we stayed, we only received (2) tiny bars of soap for the whole week at check in.

2. Coffee Filters -- We had a standard issue "Mr. Coffee," coffee maker in the kitchen. No paper filters were provided by our resort, and we had to borrow filters from a neighbor, until we could buy a package at Ling's the next day.


3. Bug Spray -- This can be optional, but if you have dinner at an outdoor restaurant on a beach near sunset, (ex. Flying Fishbone), you might want to consider buying a small spray bottle. Again, you could pass on this.


4. Small First Aid Kit -- All you would REALLY need is a couple of band-aids ( medium/large), antiseptic spray,(Ex. Bactine) and tiny pair of scissors. My wife and I did a lot of beach walking, and she sustained blistering, and tiny sand scrapes. If you have small children, I would consider this mandatory.


5. An extra ball cap -- I only brought one and sweat through it quickly on my first long morning walk.


6. Flat Flexible Rubber Drain Plug -- At the Divi Phoenix, our condo unit had two bathroom sinks, and the drain plugs in both sinks did not work. I filed a "work order" on our first day, but it never got fixed during our stay.


7. Motrin, or Motrin IB or Tyelenol, etc. For muscular aches and pains.


8. Sweet and Low Packets. Mostly for coffee.



We just returned from Aruba last Saturday, January 21, and stayed at the Divi Phoenix. We had a great time, and look forward to returning next January.

I have a series of other reports to share as I go through my notes. This is the first. Other reports will focus on:

1. Papiamento use by visitors and its importance to the people of Aruba.

2. An evaluation of "free" Resort Magazines.


F & J Landry
Burlington, Ma.

Plenty more incidentals could be added to your list however people who are not familiar with the island should be informed that all you mentioned and all you may need can be purchased at the local big super markets in a pinch. Somewhat more expensive however esp. sun tan lotions.

Thank you for all your inside info tips, as I will be visiting for my first time in August.

what are you retarded? You can buy almost any of those items at a walgreens or other convenience store. Do you realize that if you ask for more soap they will give you it? I can only sit here and laugh as I imagine you and the kids rationing out the tiny bars of soap. Maybe you should add food and water to the list since you and your kids need a lotta that too. Please be more lazy.

You are a very unintelligent person and what you said tells me you are very spoiled lets go through some bits of your list

1. Bar Soap -- uh ask the front desk for soap??

2. Coffee Filters -- Could you afford the coffee?

3. Bug Spray -- Have you even been to aruba? seriously sir if your that freaked out please stay in doors and dont tell people to waste their money


4. Small First Aid Kit -- What are you made of paper, sir if you cant take walking on the clean beaches of aruba please stay out of aruba


5. An extra ball cap -- ....unnecessary


6. Flat Flexible Rubber Drain Plug -- well first of all why would you need a drain plug (feel free to email me and tell me why)and why not just use a shirt or something to block up the drain???? idiot


7. Motrin, or Motrin IB or Tyelenol, etc. Sure whatever


8. Sweet and Low Packets. Have you ever been to a restaurent, bar, convience store of any kind? yea they are plentiful at those places

Look please dont waste the forum surfers time or anyones time for that matter please dont complain about problems that can be EASILY solved by visiting any drug store and spending what $15 most?

Maybe it is only the Phoenix that won't provide such items for you. We have stayed at several hotels and they all have soap replaced on a daily basis, along with coffee filters, coffee, and sugar and sugar substitute packets.
Most of the people we have met in our travels (3 times a year to different Caribbean locations) all pack some form of first-air kit, so that is now a big deal - just being properly prepared, like with everything else you would pack on a vacation.
Maybe your hotel's maintenance staff doesn't consider it's guest's needs important enough to reply right away; every place we have stayed has responded to maintenance requests within 2 hours.

That last post was unneccesarilly rude...

I had to laugh at the things you wrote down that you wish you had. Almost everything on your list could have been purchased there. And the coffee - could you have bought a cup instead of having to worry about brewing it yourself?

Wow...people can suck.
I didn't think about the extra ball cap.
Thanks to the Landry's, I'm going to bring a spare one.
And just to piss off Kevin and Mike, I'm going to pack some coffee filters and first aid kit.
Take that you petty douchebags!
(Say that last line like Stewie)

wow angry crowd.
although I know it was to be helpful F & J Most people do pack all of what you said, and the soap, first aid stuff you could bring. ( I personally bring body wash for showers.)
I do think the responses were unnecessarily harsh. they were only making suggestions, but sounds like for those who do not travel regularly.