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“Live in the sunshine. Swim in the sea. Drink in the wild air.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

My husband and I chose Aruba as our honeymoon destination back in December 2018. We spent a week here over the Christmas holiday. It was the first time I’ve ever traveled over the Christmas holiday, which was an experience all on its own. Definitely get to the airport early around this time of the year as we had an hour and a half wait to get through security, with TSA Pre-Check.

Aruba is also a great spot to utilize travel rewards points if you are looking to stay on a budget. We were on a pretty strict budget for this trip after our wedding expenses so we definitely utilized reward programs. My husband flew Southwest Airlines a bunch and had accrued a good pile of points with their loyalty program, so we purchased his ticket completely on points. Another great perk of flying Southwest is the Southwest Companion Pass, which allowed me to fly for free (excluding only a few $ spent for taxes and fees) when my husband purchased a ticket with Southwest. In addition to using travel rewards points for our flight expenses, we also used points that we had saved up with Marriott to book our hotel accommodations.

Where to stay

We chose to stay at the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino by Marriott. The hotel is split into two different areas - one that is family friendly, and one that is adults only - we opted to stay in the adults only portion. In this part of the resort, you are greeted in an open-air lobby area equipped with a full bar and an infinity pool. The rooms themselves were spacious and super clean. We lucked out and received a room that overlooked the pool.

One of the other benefits to staying at the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino was the free access to their private island, Renaissance Island, which is home to Flamingo Beach with real flamingos that you can swim with and feed! If you do not stay here you can still go to the island (I believe…), but when we were planning our trip the fee for such access was $125/person per day.

Renaissance Island

There are complimentary ferries that run many times throughout the day to and from this island departing from the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino. Depending on time of year, I advise going early as it can fill up during the peak hours of the day if the hotel is fully booked. We took the first ferry of the day out to the island both times we went and got to pick out the perfect chairs for us. Coming early also allows you to get gorgeous photos without anyone in the background.

The first day we went to the island, there was a beautiful rainbow perfectly situated over the island. It was gorgeous! There are many things to do on the island, including swimming and feeding the live flamingoes, hanging out with the iguanas, sunbathing, snorkeling & other water sports, renting a cabana right on the water with a hammock over the water, relaxing at the semi-outdoor spa, eating at the restaurant, or enjoying delicious cocktails from the beach bar. The options go on and on! It was a perfect place to spend the day just relaxing. We took advantage of the island’s spa center, and enjoyed an amazing couples’ massage. You also can rent one of the cabanas for an exclusive overnight stay - talk about living in luxury!

*** Disclaimer: Only feed the flamingos pellets from the feed machines on the island. Do not feed them anything else as it could be harmful for them. ***

Arikok National Park

Arikok is the one and only National Park on the island, but there is plenty to see there! The best way to get around while there is to rent either an ATV or UTV, as a lot of the roads are not accessible to cars. Even on the roads open to cars, you’ll be in for a bumpy ride - I wouldn’t recommend it. There are plenty of companies that will rent ATV/UTVs to you or even take you on a guided tour in them. We opted to rent an ATV from Around Aruba for the 8 hour block of time and explore on our own rather than join a tour. When we went, the 8 hour block cost $160. Around Aruba conveniently dropped off the ATV at our hotel and picked it up at a pre-agreed time as well, making the experience completely hassle free! Make sure to double check the park’s hours ahead of time on its website.

Natural Pool

The ride to the Natural Pool is an insanely bumpy one! It is referred to as Conchi on the park signs. Again, get here on the earlier side if possible as it is the number one spot for visitors in the National Park. Wear your swimsuit and bring your snorkel mask as there are plenty of colorful fish to see here.

Jamanota Hilltop

Jamanota Hilltop is the highest peak on the island. From the top you get incredible 360 degree views of the whole island and Caribbean Sea!

Boca Prins

Boca Prins is one of the beach areas in the National Park. It is largely famous for the sea turtles that nest onshore. Even if you aren’t there during turtle nesting season, this beach is gorgeous to see. It is bookended with high cliffs on either side so you have to climb down the staircase to get to the beach area. It was nice to just relax here for a bit and was far less crowded than the Natural Pool.

Fontein Cave

The most visited cave in Arikok National Park, there’s a walkable pathway through the cave with stalactites and brownish-red pictographs.

QUADIRIKIRI CAVE

We stumbled upon this cave accidentally as we had no idea about it ahead of time. It was a cool discovery as my husband loves caves. It also has roof openings in the cave which lets sunlight beam in illuminating the cave’s chambers.

Aruba Aloe Factory & Museum

You can join a complimentary tour group here that starts every hour. The tour starts outside near one of their Aloe fields where the guide will show you how to properly cut open an Aloe plant and remove the gel portion. After this, they will take you through the factory showing you all the equipment used to make all of their Aloe products. You will end in their shop, which has so many different beauty and skincare products. I ended up getting a little travel set of some Aloe gel, chapstick, and lotion. I absolutely loved all three! For up-to-date hours and other logistical information check out their website.

S.E.aruba fly & dive

This was my first time SCUBA diving and it was a wonderful experience. S.E.Aruba Fly & Dive was great! They sent a driver to our hotel for our ride out to the dive center, and conveniently dropped us back at the hotel afterwards. Because I wasn’t yet certified I had to sit through the safety video and experience the shallow-water training…but before I knew it we were off! The dive site itself was accessed via a 20 minute boat ride out to a protected reef. Once there, we got in the water one by one and had about 45 minutes to explore the aquatic beauty under the surface. I wasn’t sure what to expect with it being my first time, but I absolutely loved it! Check out their official website for details on the different experiences they offer!

Just a tip for those who get cold easily like me - wear a wetsuit even if everyone else thinks you’re crazy for wanting it. I still felt chilly during our dive even while wearing the wetsuit. Lastly, make sure you are wearing reef-safe sunblock (look for the “Protect Land + Sea Certificate”) as these products do not have any chemicals or minerals in them harmful for the coral reefs. Reef-safe sunblock is good to wear all the time over other sun-protection products, but is especially important when you are diving!

Baby Beach

Baby Beach was our favorite public beach on the island, and we weren’t the only people to think so! If you want to secure a good spot under one of the beach’s huts, then you have to get there early! We didn’t manage this ourselves, but we were able to find an area in the sand that was partially shaded (for my husband) while I could lay in the sun! There were a few restaurants right by the beach so if you plan to spend all day there, you can forego packing lunch (or snacks) and eat on site instead. The water was crystal clear and there were actually two sea turtles just swimming around with everyone! This was a great spot for snorkeling as well!

California Lighthouse

Designed by a French architect in 1910 and completed in 1916, California Lighthouse is a stone lighthouse named after a ship that sank nearby, the S. S. California. There are incredible views from here, especially at sunset, and from the top of the lighthouse you can see the entire island! There was a small fee of $5 to climb the steps to the top when we went. I recommend checking Aruba’s own tourism website for up-to-date information about this picturesque location.

Downtown Oranjestad

If shopping is your thing, downtown Oranjestad doesn’t disappoint. My husband and I briefly walked through here to admire the pastel colors and unique buildings…though admittedly we aren’t prone to spending much time shopping so this was a short stay for us.

Where to Eat

Passions on the Beach: A semi-formal restaurant actually located on the beach, it was very nice to be able to eat with my toes in the sand and feel the ocean breeze! The service was great and the food was excellent. Depending on how your body temperature runs and what time you’re going to dinner, I recommend bringing a light sweater with you as I got chilly throughout dinner - though, I am always cold!

Flying Fishbone: Looking for a truly unique dining experience? Here you can eat while actually dipping your feet in the ocean! To reserve a waterfront table, you must be prepared to take a reservation at 5 PM and call in advance as reservations book up fast. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get there by 5 PM as it was the same day as our SCUBA experience, so we didn’t get to experience the waterfront tables. But that didn’t take away from our fun or full bellies. The atmosphere has a very chic feel to it as well, with white linen dividers throughout and twinkling lights by the bar area. The service was superb here and the food was again delicious!

La Trattoria Faro Blanco: Located mere steps from the California Lighthouse, this restaurant offers spectacular views of sunset over the island. The Italian cuisine was great along with wonderful service. They have a large patio area where you can look out over the island and water while you enjoy your meal. When we were there a few hermit crabs came to join us on the patio to grab a snack as well!

Surfside Beach Bar: We ate here a couple of times. It provides typical beach bar fare, but the service was great and the scenery was wonderful. The beach area barely had anyone there in comparison to other more touristy locations, which was much more appealing to us. As I mentioned, the service was top notch. Both days we ate lunch here the bartenders were super attentive and shared with us some spots to hit while we were there. One of the bartenders was originally from Denmark and told us that people really are as happy as they seem in Aruba!

Lucy’s: This spot is right across the street from the Renaissance’s adults-only location. It’s an open-air restaurant whose specialty seemed to be extravagant beach cocktails, which were quite delicious!

WHAT TO PACk

It’s pretty much a given that bathing suits are already on your packing list for Aruba, but here are some of my favorites! I’m a huge fan of CUPSHE bathing suits. If you’re a one-piece kind of gal, this is by far my favorite one. If bikinis are more your thing then check out this one with its cute stripe design and this leaf one with more of a tankini top! My favorite style right now is the high-waisted bikinis! I love this one with its floral bottom & solid color top and this one with its floral top and striped bottom!

While we are on the subject of bathing suits - let’s talk beach cover-ups! I love the lacy bohemian look for cover-ups! This one looks like it is straight out of the 70s with its fringe and pattern! If you’re not a big fringe chick, but still like the bohemian look then this one is right up your alley!

Every tropical beach vacation needs a big cutesy sunhat - am I right?! This one is perfect for this romantic getaway for you and the sun!

If you use your phone to take travel photos - investing in a good waterproof case like this one. You can even take photos underwater using them!

No beach vacation is a success without a good beach bag! This one is my favorite so far. It has a small cooler on the bottom of it which is super handy! You won’t be able to pack a whole day’s worth of food and drinks in it for a family, but it is at least a good start. Heads up that the bag doesn’t continue to stand up straight when the cooler isn’t full. That’s apparently a huge complaint of people in the Amazon reviews, but it doesn’t bother me as that honestly makes sense, and the convenience factor is just too big with this one!

Compact beach towels are so important when traveling as regular beach towels take up so freaking much room in your suitcase! These are the ones that both my husband and I have. We love them! The sand comes right off and they roll up super small!

Last but not least, you will definitely want to make sure you bring some good sunblock with you - as my embarrassing story above should have taught you!! My favorite sunblock brand is Sun Bum! They are vegan, cruelty-free, and reef friendly! Here’s their all-over body sunblock and their facial sunblock. If you are going out or putting make-up on, you might want to opt for my favorite tinted sunblock by Bare Minerals - just make sure you figure out what your shade should actually be as mine will only work for my fellow super pale gingers! :)

For more packing ideas for Aruba, check out my beach packing lists on my Resources page! I have one just for Women/Womxn and one for Men that my husband helped me put together!

Magical 8-Day Honeymoon in Aruba

Where to stay

Renaissance Island