In 2015, not having taken a vacation of any sort in over two years, Ryan and I opted to take our first vacation together. We didn’t really care where we went, as long as it was warm. I kept my eyes on the various flight deal websites, and when cheap airfare to Aruba popped up I thought, why not? No, it wasn’t the most adventurous trip I’ve ever taken, but being a little stressed out from work, and working on my house, a week of perfect relaxation was just what I needed. We stayed at Beach House Aruba which I would highly recommend. You’re unlikely to fine cheaper accommodation this close to the beach, and the whole place was just lovely. We were right across the street from the beach, and just a 5 minute walk down the beach from the major resorts. We spent most of our beach time sitting right in front of the Ritz Carlton (all beaches are public) enjoying the same beach as people paying 5 times what we were paying. Our room was simple, but including a huge outdoor kitchen and seating area. The weather in Aruba was downright perfect. Warm, but with a constant light breeze that kept you from getting too hot. The water on the sheltered side of the island was calm and clear as a swimming pool, while the eastern side was exposed and quite rough. We rented a car and drove as far as we could around the island until the paved roads ended. Seeing the water along the coast slowly turn from calm to wild ocean waves was quite the sight. We visited a few inland sights, including a wonderful zoo and a donkey sanctuary, and drove through the large park occupying much of the southern end of the island, stopping to hike up to various points. Mostly though we snorkeled and enjoyed some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen. The marine life wasn’t much to write home about, but with warm clear water, I couldn’t complain.
Even just the flight down was gorgeous
Here’s a picture of Beach House Aruba, and the view across the street. Definitely a great find.
The seating area was one of the best parts. I enjoyed many hours just sitting, drinking coffee, and reading a good book.
These little lizards enjoyed exploring our kitchen quite a bit, and showed no fear.
We headed out to the donkey sanctuary and arrived sanctuary just as the owner was leaving, and weren’t too comfortable walking around with nobody there, although it seemed as if we were allowed to. We hung out a bit at the entrance instead and let the donkeys come to us! These guys must be able to smell carrots from a mile away.
From there were headed to an awesome zoo. I wasn’t expecting much from a small island zoo, but apparently a lot of rich eccentric people bring animals to the island and then abandon them, so the zoo has a pretty good collection. They give you a bag of food with admission, and instruct you on which animals you can feed, and how to do so without losing a finger.
Look how tiny this little goat is!!! I bet I could have smuggled him back in my luggage…
The other main inland highlight was Arikok National Park, which had some nice little hiking spots and overlooks, a few caves, and great views of the exposed side of the island.
The entrance to this cave was pretty cool. A few caverns had little openings in the roof, which felt very Indiana Jones like, and of course, like any good cave, there were quite a few bats.
Coming out on the other edge of the island we got to climb down to this great rough beach. I wasn’t going to risk getting in the water though.
We also drove up around the north end of the island and were treated to the great sight of the water slowly turning from swimming pool to wild exposed ocean.
We spent quite a few evening exploring the towns, found some great Thai food, and a few nice little markets.
Lots of little inlets like this dotted the sheltered side of the island, with decent snorkeling.
Ryan got excited about the tide pools.
On one of our last days there we took a boat trip out to some of the harder to access snorkeling destinations, including a ship that was sunk (on purpose) not too far off the coast during WWII.
It was nothing though compared to the love I got from our own little pooch when we arrived home 🙂
Aruba itself was quite bit pricey, but for a weeks vacation of great relaxation, it was the perfect destination for us.