Questions About Apartments

[roadstar]

Good Afternoon Everyone:

It's been over 14 long years since our last trip to Aruba, but we're finally coming back. Now that we're retired, kids are on their own, we can enjoy a holiday on the island that we so enjoy.

This current trip in Jan/2023 will be at one of the high rise hotels on Palm beach, and is only a week long. Although short, it will be a welcome break from our Canadian winter.
However, we want to start coming back for stays of a month, and are looking at apartments / condos that we could rent. The units would need to have a full kitchen and have access to a pool, near Palm beach.

So far, we have picked Golden Villas and Costa Esmeralda Village as places that have what we need. Condos in the Gold Coast community look good, although they're a little further north, and we'd have to rent a car to stay there.
Does anyone have any experience with either of these two places, or have other suggestions for us ?

As our last visit was so long ago, we've watched a number of youtube videos trying to get up to speed on new things there. Several videos touch on using low-cost cabs, I guess similar to Uber or Lyft, but I couldn't find any reference as to how to find such cabs. Any info that could be provided would be appreciated.

Thanks for any help that can be provided, and have a great day.

[WaltVB]

Aruba has changed a bit in 14 years, but it's very easy to get around. We always rent a car, so we don't cab it much. Here are the current rates:

Aruba-Official-Taxi-Price-list-2018-2022.pdf (bynder.com)

[Andrea J.]

congrats on your retirement and return to AUA.
take some time on this visit to visit some places that you may consider for a month long rental.

forum member SCHEXC owns a place at the Pearl and it is close to Eagle Beach, it is equidistant to Palm Beach as Gold Coast.
it is also close to a bus stop. (5 minute walk)

I have no experience or knowledge of the 2 places that you mentioned.

you also may want to research Playa Real (on Palm Beach Rd, near Linda's Pancakes)

get some pricing for a month long car rental.
the pricing may surprise you....a small sedan such as a Hyundai Accent can be found for approx $800 for 4 weeks.

good luck and let us know how you make out in your search.

[robin]

I have heard of Esmeralda-I think it is behind Papiamento. I have not heard of Golden Villas.

We own at Oceania and several people rent for a month or more. There is a bus stop out front and many people walk to SuperFood. People rent through the https://prestigevacationsaruba.com, VRBO, homeaway, Aruba Home Minders, etc. If you use one of the booking sites,such as VRBO and see a company as the contact, go directly to their site because it will usually cost you less because you will not be paying the booking site fee.

[schexc]

You should find a few places that will rent long term, although I think you will find less inventory for that in high season, as the demand for vacation/short term rental is high in demand during that time.

[roadstar]

Happy And Healthy New Year to Everyone

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. We will certainly be looking at these places, and post our findings.

Just another 3 weeks and we'll be there !!!!

[schexc]

Both of the places you mentioned are relatively close to each other. Like Robin said, one is close to Papiamento, the other is a little further south. We stumbled upon Golden Villas a few years ago, when we were looking at condos for sale. You would want a car for both locations if you want to go to any beach areas. Both are quite a walk to Palm and Eagle Beach.