Aruba is a very arid Caribbean island which is part of the ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) chain. Aruba has beautiful sandy beaches and blue water. It is an ideal place for windsurfing during certain times of the year. 

One of the places we stayed in Aruba was the Amsterdam Manor on Eagle Beach. We recommend this property. Nice quiet location, great beach, and nice fully equipped rooms with kitchens. They also provided two dedicated computers connected to the web via ASDSL. This allowed guests to check e-mail for free during their stay. I used this quite a bit. Very nice touch on their part.

Our room was on the second floor overlooking Mangos. We were upgraded to a nice big 2 bedroom suite with an ocean view.

This was our view from our balcony. The balcony had a small table and chairs along with one lounge chair. It was a small balcony but very comfortable.

The bathroom in the master room had a hot tub. (which we never used) We also had an extra bedroom, shown above, that we never used.

The pool looked very clean and well kept. We never used it because the beach was so close.

Eagle beach is directly across the street from the hotel. We didn't find "crossing the road" a big problem. It isn't a major highway so it was no big deal.

We loved Eagle beach. Amsterdam Manor provided nice lounge chairs and shade. They also provided nice float mats. The water was a nice 82 degrees. 

Renaissance Beach Resort

We stayed at the Renaissance for one night on our way to Bonaire. (It is a long story, but since we landed in Aruba late in the afternoon, we couldn't get a flight to Bonaire until the next day) We chose the Renaissance because we knew it was downtown and close to the airport. We did not have a good experience at the Renaissance. We arrived at around 3:30 PM and it took over an hour to secure our room! We stood in line for about 20 minutes only for them to tell us that "your room is not ready". "Go wait in the lobby and we will come get you when your room is ready". We went to the lobby and saw lots of other people in the same situation. Some had been sitting there for hours! After waiting about 45 minutes we went back up to the front desk, stood in line for another 30 minutes, and then finally got our room. Needless to say, after being on a plane for over 9 hours, this was not a nice way to start our vacation in Aruba.

Our room was very basic and very small. The bathroom reminded us of a cruise ship! We had a tiny balcony which gave us the view shown above. Overall we were not at all impressed with this hotel. I felt as though I was on "business" and not "vacation". They have their own "private island" which we never visited. We paid $120 for our room over the web, which I guess is a really good deal, but I still thought it was overpriced. We would rather be near a beach rather than staying downtown. Even though the "private island" is supposed to be nice, we didn't like the idea of having to stand in line and wait for the ferry just to go to the beach.

Aruba has awesome beaches. We think Aruba beaches are the best in the world when it comes to just spending a relaxing day on the beach. 

This photo was taken with the self timer on our camera while on Eagle Beach, in front of the Amsterdam Manor.

As you can see, Eagle beach is very long and beautiful. Off in the distance you can see the "high-rise" hotels that line Palm Beach.

Look at the tiny beers they have in Aruba! Very easy to watch what you drink when the beers are the size of a shot glass. Aruba now has its own beer called Balashi. It is very good.

Palm beach is where all the "high-rise" hotels are located. It is also a very nice beach, but it is more crowded than Eagle beach. Still a very nice place to relax on the beach!

We had lunch at the Kokoa Beach Bar the day we visited Palm beach. It is located on a pier near the Wyndham. Nice little place with a great view.

Aruba does not have very good shore snorkeling. (Especially compared to Bonaire) But we did find a site that was pretty decent if you are willing to swim out to the reef. It is called Mangel Halto. The snorkeling was pretty there.

Mangel Halto is located near a Mangrove swamp. You can walk out onto the point and enter the water, or you can use the stairs by the road.

There was an organized snorkel tour in progress when we arrived. It was very shallow for a long distance. In the picture above, the reef is located where the water is darker.

Once you get to the reef, the wildlife is pretty nice. Lots of beautiful coral and fish. It does get a little rough.

After our snorkel we headed down to Baby Beach. Around the corner from Baby Beach is Rodgers Beach which is where we found the Coco Beach Bar and Restaurant. This is a very nice place. Good food. Good prices. Good service. If you are on the south part of the island, it is worth the stop. Say Hi to Freddy for us!

On Thursday night we headed over to the Black Hog Harley Bash. We were what they call "bar flies". We didn't pay for the dinner/event. We just showed up at about 7:30, had a few drinks, and watched the entertainment. We hooked up with our friends from over the pond Fru, Zak, and Oliver. As you can see from the photo above, Harley's attract women.

It was Laura Mallory's 90th birthday! The "MC" did a very good job. She was very entertaining.

David, Carroll, Fru and Zak discussing their future business opportunites.

At the end of the show, they ride Harleys through the bar. The girls are looking to hitch a ride.

Fru and Carroll look "pissed"!

Carroll rides off into the distance with one of the bikers.

Aruba is the most "Americanized" of the ABC islands. It has all of the modern amenities you would ever need and has a variety of accommodations and restaurants. The currency is the Aruban Florin AND the US Dollar. We used US Dollars during our entire stay and had no problems. (US Dollars are even dispensed from the ATMs)

The wildlife in Aruba consists of Iguanas, Pelicans, Donkeys, and Goats. We found this Iguana near the harbor in the downtown area.

The major city in Aruba is Oranjestad. The architecture is very Dutch and colorful. Aruba has some pretty good shopping. Almost every day a cruise ship is in town, so this has become a Caribbean shopping Mecca.

We had a lot of nice meals on Aruba. Our favorites included Iguana Joes, Tabasko, The Paddock and Kings Ribs. Aruba has some great restaurants and the grocery stores have a great selection of food. 

On the way to the Natural Bridge we stopped at the Ayo Rock Formations. This was a nice little stop. Lots of beautiful boulders and cactus.

The Natural Bridge is always a favorite stop. It was quite full of people while we were there.

We decided to take the "scenic tour" from Baby Beach to Boca Prins. What the map fails to show you is that the road is dirt and meant for a 4-wheel drive. We had our little Toyota from Alamo but we made it. We came across a stretch of road that warned us that we were entering a "Military Live Firing Range". This was a little nerve racking, but we continued forward.

Then we came across a car that was blown to bits. Needless to say we went through this section as fast as we could!

In 1996 we visited Aruba and stopped at the old Gold Ruins. This time there were TONS of people on the back side. We think it was because there was a cruise ship in town. It was interesting to see the difference that a few years make.

We finally made it to Boca Prins. We found a great little restaurant that provided a needed bathroom break and a cold drink.

Boca Prins is a mini sand dune. Very scenic but it is out in the middle of nowhere.

The most photographed Divi tree in Aruba! (Located in front of Amsterdam Manor)