A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

I’ve been going to #aruba for the last 20 years or so. The weather is always warm and sunny and it never rains for more than 10 minutes. The people are friendly and it is very safe. So much has changed in the last 20 years. I remember when the airport was outdoors – you had to wait in the hot sun in line and pass your bags under the counter. We started out staying at the now closed Bushiri hotel and have since moved up island to the high rise hotels.

We have stayed at the Marriott, the Westin (now part of the Riu), the Occidental and the Radisson. We frequently go back to the Radisson, which is where we were this year. All beaches in Aruba are public. This year we noticed a huge number of cruise ship people on the beach. Here’s the scoop on these palapas that you see above: you can wait in line starting at 3pm, they open the booth at 4pm. You can only reserve for the next day and whatever they have available is on a first come first serve basis – these palapas are free of charge. You can purchase the palapas ahead of time for a fee (depending on the location it can be anywhere for $18/day to $40/day). If you rent a suite, you get a palapa free of charge for your stay but you don’t get to choose where it is. Or, risk it day of, any palapa that is open after 10am is fair game. So what about the cruise people? Itito’s, the water sport company next to the hotel rents chairs ($10) and umbrellas ($30-$45) and they make three rows in front of the palapas closest to the beach. I question how fair that is for the hotel guests who paid for their palapas…

While there are a lot of activities to do (water sports, horseback riding, off road tours etc.) we generally stick to sitting at the beach. Over Christmas it is super crowded – many of the people there seem to be from the north east (no surprise), mainly New Jersey and New York. If you’re going during the holidays, make sure to make reservations for dinner early!

The Radisson is home to a number of tropical birds – some talk and some just whistle as you walk by. The hotel offers a daily bird interaction for guests – guests can hold birds and have their pictures taken with them. The gentleman who cares for the birds has been there for ages and provides a great experience to the guests.

For more exotic birds, head a few doors down to the Hyatt where they have black swans.

No day on the beach would be complete without a little “woo hoo” from the aloe man. He’s a real character – he walks the beach in brightly colored outfits and crazy hats selling his aloe. Again, we’ve been seeing him walk the beach for years!

The weather this year was a little windier than previous years and it rained a bit more…but it’s better than being back home in 20-30 degree weather! Note that the sun in aruba is intense. Make sure to keep hydrated and eat throughout the day. You will burn faster so even if you normally wear 30SPF and are fine, you may want to consider something a little higher while on the beach.

There were rumors that the hotel was recently renovated, but the room that we stayed in looked the same as it had before. The king size bed was comfortable and the room was very clean.

Stay tuned for more posts this week about our adventures on the island!

For more information on the Radisson, check out their website.

For more information on Aruba, check out their website.

Tags: aruba, trips