Summer Vacay...To Aruba with the Kids

[Andrea J.]

It is almost Summer travel season.
Schools are out in some areas of the country and other places have 3+ weeks to go.

Some thoughts........... I have a few once in a while.

If you and your kiddos are fortunate enough to have an Aruba trip planned during Summer break, that is TERRIFIC.

As a reminder..........look YESTERDAY at your passports and make sure they are valid.
Check on sunblock and hats.
Make sure that your children have rash guard shirts.
Check the passports again!
Pack BRIGHTLY colored bathing suits, hats and rash guards for your family.
You want them to stand out in a crowd and also be easily identifiable when you are watching them in the water.

Watershoes are necessary............not because there are tons of rocks...........but as your kidlets are running around the pool deck, the deck is usually HOT. Ya, they should not be running, but they are kids so they will run, fast and often. They will fall...they will bleed and cry. Bring band aids.

Sunblock...if you think you will need 2 containers, buy and bring 4 instead.
(Needs to be ReefFriendly)
Desitin zinc oxide bum cream is a wonderful block that stays on............I religiously use it on my ears and nose. The "clown look" is in fashion.

Tipping...........remember that with kids in the room/unit, your housekeeper may have to work even extra hard. We used $$$ to encourage (threats) our son to pick up his "crapola" and keep his area of the unit at LaCabana in good shape.........otherwise he leaves the daily tip from his spending money.
Try it with your kids........it will be like a miracle.


Try to schedule dinner at a reasonable time..............we all know kids...........they do not express themselves real well. When exhausted they may lash out at you or their siblings. (OMG use your words!!!) Makes for ugliness in Aruba. The best course of action is an early dinner and good downtime, tv, board game, read time and then bed!! The sun and beach and pool all make kids exhausted. (Not to mention mom and dad)

Nice restaurants........we used to judge that by if they had tablecloths.
Sure kids are welcome at most. To alleviate boredom and kids acting out (me too..I get bored) the old iPad and movies come in real handy!!
The restaurant and bored kid is the ideal place to be the "parent that sticks the movie in for the kid"....ya do it. You are on vacation!! If it makes the kids happy Mom and Dad are happy too. Ignore the disapproving looks from onlookers....Better yet, deposit your kids to their table and say you'll be back in an hour.


It is vacation time...........enjoy, loosen up, go with the flow, improvise always and often if need be.

Be safe, be prepared.

Sunblock, passports, $$$$, iPads ......you are ready to go.

More suggestions............................ ? Go for it!

[WaltVB]

Schedule something fun for the kids to do. Most resorts have kid areas and programs directed to multiple age groups. De Palm Island is a wonderful day trip that is suitable for most ages. We just took our family and grandson and he had a blast eating and going down the waterslides. It's also a great place for parents to sit back and relax, the food is okay and the adult drinks are well made. They will pick you up and return you to your hotel.

[frzummo87]

Oh Andrea, This post brought back memories of the days we travelled with the kids. So much luggage. We were lucky enough to travel with my folks too back then and Grandpa always gave the kids a few bucks to play video games in the resort game room. They also enjoyed playing poolside bingo once or twice a week. And we have a few hand painted tee shirts in our memory box from the resort activity center. If possible it is good to take an afternoon nap before going out to dinner (good for kids and parents). Back then we didn't have the luxury of iPads and movies. Old fashioned paper and crayons - everyone knew how to play tic tac toe.

[Andrea J.]

we have reservations for DePalm for when Kevin, Becca and boys join us in June.
We decided on not renting a cabana.
Are there plenty of lounges and some shade in the waterpark/slide area.
I am thinking that is the place where we will spend most of our time.
Are any of the slides adult friendly?

Schedule something fun for the kids to do. Most resorts have kid areas and programs directed to multiple age groups. De Palm Island is a wonderful day trip that is suitable for most ages. We just took our family and grandson and he had a blast eating and going down the waterslides. It's also a great place for parents to sit back and relax, the food is okay and the adult drinks are well made. They will pick you up and return you to your hotel.

[WaltVB]

Are any of the slides adult friendly?

Pam and I rode them...

[robin]

Sounds like fun. I so Miss the times the kids were little and the fun we had traveling with them.