Planning in advance or Winging it?

[Susan&Sunshine]

When I take a vacation, I usually have a list of things I might like to do and ideas for restaurants/bars. The last time I visited Aruba, we didn’t plan in advance to rent a jeep or do a booze cruise. We just stumbled and bumbled along and it all went well.

For our Trip in May we will be traveling with our older children. They have no expectations as they are first timers. One of my sons said, I don’t know what I want because I have never been. My list of “might like to do’s" this time are:

Renting a Jeep for a day and/or
ATV’s
Horseback riding
Shopping!
Jolly Pirates

We are definitely wing it people. Can you still do this in Aruba especially with activities?

[Andrea J.]

sure, WING IT!

you will be in aruba for 5 days right?

i have another question.....are you beach people?
if you are, then your list of activities is too much and not much beach time awaits.

quite honestly shopping is really nothing earth shattering.
if y0u love high end stores and never get to them in your own home town, then yes.....keep shopping on your list.
if you are expecting bahama-like flea market open air stands, you will be somewhat disappointed.
yes there are some, but nothing really special.
jewelry stores, YES........but again, nothing that cannot be bought elsewhere in the states (like boston or nyc or chicago jewelry/diamond districts)

so, are you willing to give up beach time?
if so, keep all those activities.

if your kidlets will look at you with the stink eye when you tell them of the plans, then give up one or 2 of those adventures.

When I take a vacation, I usually have a list of things I might like to do and ideas for restaurants/bars. The last time I visited Aruba, we didn’t plan in advance to rent a jeep or do a booze cruise. We just stumbled and bumbled along and it all went well.

For our Trip in May we will be traveling with our older children. They have no expectations as they are first timers. One of my sons said, I don’t know what I want because I have never been. My list of “might like to do’s" this time are:

Renting a Jeep for a day and/or
ATV’s
Horseback riding
Shopping!
Jolly Pirates

We are definitely wing it people. Can you still do this in Aruba especially with activities?

[Jacki]

yes you can totally wing it! Some of my favorite excursion memories are the ones that started out as a trip to the grocery store that wound up being much longer, much more intense experiences

Andrea has some great advice there, especially re: shopping. Grab some of the Aruban culture too - hit the Bon Bini festival on a Tuesday night! http://www.aruba.com/things-to-do/bon-bini-festival

[Pegmeister]

I'm all for the wing it attitude. Every trip I make a list and really never stick to it. I prefer not to make dinner reservations. That generally works out as we eat out early. I guess one exception would be when we go to Madame Janette I always make a reservation.

As for shopping, we have many high end stores here at home so I don't have as much interest BUT I just love poking in local artisan stores like Coscheca, downtown. Also, local vendors set up at the various resorts on certain days. At the Divi AI it's Tuesday and Thursday evenings. At the Renaissance they have pop up art events (check their Facebook page) and they also set up a on the sidewalk across from the Hilton in the high rise area.

[Andrea J.]

i have moved this thread to Activities and will copy it also to shopping

if you are on Facebook, check out Aruba's Hands for custom beautiful hand made Aruba jewelry
https://www.facebook.com/arubashands...WSFEED&fref=nf

[WaltVB]

When I take a vacation, I usually have a list of things I might like to do and ideas for restaurants/bars. The last time I visited Aruba, we didn’t plan in advance to rent a jeep or do a booze cruise. We just stumbled and bumbled along and it all went well.

For our Trip in May we will be traveling with our older children. They have no expectations as they are first timers. One of my sons said, I don’t know what I want because I have never been. My list of “might like to do’s" this time are:

Renting a Jeep for a day and/or
ATV’s
Horseback riding
Shopping!
Jolly Pirates

We are definitely wing it people. Can you still do this in Aruba especially with activities?

I think you should choose between Jeep/ATV/Horseback for one day and definitely do the Jolly Pirates another. Shop at night. Don't you remember the first time you saw and set foot on those beautiful beaches? How could you not want to enjoy them as much as you can.? As far as restaurants, you will be there at a time that things are pretty slow, so unless you go somewhere small and popular, I would think you could wing it.

[DebMan]

Not sure how old your kids are, the ATVs are pricey and you should have some experience riding. The roads are fine and the guides are good, but getting down to the natural pool is a bit tricky for a novice rider.
Horse backing riding is great, you can book it when you are there, I book activities like that on days there are not any cruise ships in. If you don't bring jeans, just be sure to bring a towel from the resort to go between you and the saddle.
If you haven't tried it before Segways are great for a family, it is a nice tour up to the lighthouse. I am going on my 4th trip to Aruba and will be doing the Segways for a 4th time! http://dannys2wheeladventure.com/
Have an awesome trip!!

[wannagoback]

How old are the kids? Under 15 I would do Depalma Island. They have the water park and other fun activities as well as all the food and drink you would want. Jolly Pirates or Tranquilo are good too.

[cpjones]

Wing it.... except for that one activity you don't wanna miss and that one special dinner you must have. Book those and wing it for the rest.....!

[Susan&Sunshine]

6 days for us. We are not really all day beach people but, this may be different in Aruba. I loved the beach there way back when. I wanted a few things to throw out to my crowd should I sense excitement was needed. My hope is we can find a way to do something easily when the mood strikes.

My daughter will want a few things to remind her of Aruba. A T-shirt, a piece costume jewelry, etc. I think I read something about an Alex and Ani Aruba charm bracelet. Nothing too crazy. A stroll into a few souvenir shops is what I was thinking. I started following Aruba Hands recently. So, I will be keeping and eye out for her schedule

sure, WING IT!

you will be in aruba for 5 days right?

i have another question.....are you beach people?
if you are, then your list of activities is too much and not much beach time awaits.

quite honestly shopping is really nothing earth shattering.
if y0u love high end stores and never get to them in your own home town, then yes.....keep shopping on your list.
if you are expecting bahama-like flea market open air stands, you will be somewhat disappointed.
yes there are some, but nothing really special.
jewelry stores, YES........but again, nothing that cannot be bought elsewhere in the states (like boston or nyc or chicago jewelry/diamond districts)

so, are you willing to give up beach time?
if so, keep all those activities.

if your kidlets will look at you with the stink eye when you tell them of the plans, then give up one or 2 of those adventures.