Hi all!

My family and I will be going to Aruba July 11-21st. Neither my husband nor my girls (ages 2 & 5) have ever been out of the country (US), but I am from Puerto Rico so I am looking forward to the beach. We do fly alot so girls should be ok in flight, but we need to take 3 airplanes as we are coming from pretty far away and about 8-9 hours travel time (not so exciting).

After reading many posts, it looks like we will br hitting Baby Beach, Depalm waterpark, Buccanear restaurant, and the butterfly farm. Any other spots you can recommend for the girls? Also, we were not intending on renting a car -- but it sounds like that might be necessary to go to all these locations. Thoughts?

We will be staying initially at the Renaissance Ocean Suites which actually look from pictures to be directly on the ocean/next to ocean near pool in a 1 bedroom timeshare unit. I am hoping we can cook most of our breakfasts & lunches in the unit and go out to eat for dinners. Any restaurants in walking distance that the kids would like? Also, there is a Kids club onsite -- but I could not find the age requirements. I am not sure if the 2 yr old will be old enough so not sure what baby sitting services are available at Renaissance since we do want 1 adult dinner. I can't wait to visit the private beach, but it sounds like a hassle to get to with kids. Is that true? Does anyone that has stayed at this resort have any hints/tips?

Since we thought 7 days in Aruba was not enough , we will be staying at the Westin Aruba the last part of our trip. The beach there looks amazing. Are there any kid friendly restaurants within walking distance or activities?

Strollers --- ? We usually take a double stroller on trips but it sounds like for this one we will be maily at beach and pools. I am a bit confused if I should just bring an umbrella stroller for the 2 yr old when needed.

I plan on packing LOTS of sun tan lotion, waterproof camera, life vests, snorkel gear, pullup diapers --- what else can I be missing? Do the girls need 'water shoes'?

We are ELATED to be going on this trip and I am nervous I will forget to bring something or miss something great while we are there. Thanks so much for your feedback!

You will need a car to go to Baby Beach - many car companies will rent you a car seat, hence, you do not have to worry about bringing your own with you. Furthermore, a car would be more convenient to pick up groceries for the week (I would suggest Ling and Sons) and the rentals are reasonably priced.

As for activities, you may want to bring your kids to the Ostrich farm and they would probably also enjoy seeing the birds at the Radisson hotel and the iguana feeding at the Marriott. Additionally, Joly Pirates is a reasonably priced snorkel/cruise trip that you could bring them on (I think your kids may be free). Furthermore, walks on the boardwalk by the high rise area (i.e. where the Westin hotel is located) are fun. BTW - I would save your visit to the Butterfly farm for when you are staying at the Westin as the two are located in very close proximity to one another.

Check out the packing list provided by Liz in the "Aruba General" category for things to bring. That being said, I would bring the umbrella stroller but no water shoes (the beaches are sandy).

P.S. there are many kid friendly restaurants around both of your hotels. I would not worry about having trouble finding a restaurant to go to while in Aruba.

Hi couqui,
The Rennaissance is perfect for families. Yes you can cook in the suites. We usually eat breakfast in our room and either eat on the island or buy subs at subway in the mall next door to the suites. I think you will LOVE the location, the island, the boat ride to the island, and the suitesMake sure you say hi to Jorge on the island, he's the best waiter, tell him his friends from boston say hi for us..
Now, restuarants close by, there are TONS...
At the Ren mall there is a lot of food places, I will only mention kid ones if ya know what I mean....Taco Bell, Subway, Sabarro's, Dunkin donuts...downtown which is 3 minute walk or a golfcart ride are the following kid places...Burger King, Casa Tua,Rumba, Iguana Joes...
If you have specific questions you can PM me...Lots of adults too !
Babysitting service is avail. The kids club isn't really a kids club, there never seems to be enuf kids around to have one. Yes, there is a play room that they man, but it never seems used. Probably to many fun things to do with kids so parents never stick them in there....
Your kids will love the island. The boat leaves every 15 minutes, you MUST have a room key for each passenger or you can't get on. The islland is super kid friendly, water not that deep, rafts etc to rent.
As you can see i can go on and on....but will end here. Specific questions can be PM'ed to me if you like. CHeck out the pic gallery, there's plenty of Ren pictures that I've posted. cindy

Cindyo

Girls at the Maid of the Mist- Toronto
Boat ride to Rennaissance Island
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Agree 100% with Cindy's post and she is the expert on the Renaissance. The private island is fantastic and your kids will love it, including the boat ride over. We enjoy the private island more than Baby Beach so we usually skip Baby Beach if we are staying at the Renaissance. As Cindy mentioned, tons of fast food downtown for the kids. Iguana Joe's is also a fun stop for people watching and good food. My kids love the kids appetizers (huge portions) and the kids Mac-N-Cheese is the best they've ever had. Bring a mask or goggles for the kids as they can see many fish in the water at the private island near the opening in the protective rock jettie. When my kids were young, we would rent a raft and they would lie on it with their heads barely in the water and we would push them around by the rocks so they could see the fish. If you bring some cornflakes or a roll into the water, all of the fish will come to you. My kids also loved checking out all of the iguanas on the island. We bought them kid-friendly digital cameras (sold at any of the price clubs or Toy-R-Us for about $40-50) and they had a blast taking their own photos. Some of the pictures were better than ours as they have a different perspective on things. I would bring the stroller for the 2 year old as you will do a lot of walking on the island. I also recommend lost sleeve swim shirts for the girls so they won't get burned as the sun is very strong. You will find some activities at the kids club for the girls although attendance is sometimes lacking. My kids did enjoy the craft type activities and it got them out of the sun for a little rest.

Have a great time! Feel free to PM me with any questions as we always take our young girls with us to Aruba and usually stay at the Renaissance.

See you in Aruba!!!
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You may very well find that you and your kids will love the Renaissance facilities so much, that you won't need to do some of the tourist things.

....with CindyO near California Lighthouse
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Funny - Everyone loves Jorge! You see the same people every year for the most part. A few new faces but mostly the same ones and they are all great!