Aruba/st john

[adlnp]

Hello everyone, I need some help. My friends and I have been going on girls trips for years and ALWAYS go to St John. Actually, I have only stayed on St. John and st Thomas because I have not felt the need to venture away from what I consider perfection ( St. John) Now with that said, some of our group want to try somewhere new and are considering Aruba. I am VERY picky about the water conditions and will only go in if it is CLEAR and calm. I have never been disappointed with St. John beaches. Has anyone been to Aruba? I have read different things on line but all from people who love Aruba and may not know what beaches can/should be like? Any help would be great.

[Coconuts]

adlnp: We spent a week on Aruba back in February of 1998, traveling with several other families to watch a total solar eclipse there. The northeast side of the island has rough surf and isn't appropriate for swimming; the hotels are all along the calm upper western side. The water there is clear and calm, but the island overall is quite different from St. John. It is very arid and flat; there will be planted palm trees around the hotel, but for the most part, the vegetation is dry scrub. There are a couple of interesting caves to explore. The sea has a featureless horizon, with no other islands in sight, although if you go a bit south of Oranjestad, you can take a brief ferry to De Palm Island, which was fun. Not much coral is accessible from shore; mostly just sand. I did find some coral on the outside of Baby Bay, down at the southern tip of the island, and on the outer side of De Palm Island. I'm pretty sure that you could take dive boats to find better coral. In the hotel region, it is chockablock with large resorts; high rises for a stretch, and then low hotels. The beach is one continuous extent, not individual bays as in St. John. We found the beach to be nice, but a bit boring. I naturally have my own biases, but even without them, I would pick St. John in a heartbeat for a return trip. The solar eclipse was awesome, though; a la Koestler, it was literally "Darkness at Noon". Last night's lunar eclipse was great, but a total solar eclipse is a whole 'nother thing. Oh, and should you be there in February, their Carnival is incredible; on the eve of Ash Wednesday, I danced behind insanely loud sound and strobe trucks for miles to the midnight burning of King Momo, after which everything suddenly fell quiet, and the huge crowds filed silently back to town.

All the best,

Kevin

[PA Girl]

adlnp, I am in the same position as you right now. The majority of our group wants to see another island outside of the Virgin Islands. My thought is why mess with a good thing but I am being out voted. So if anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them.

My parents travelled with us to STJ a couple of times. They are avid snorkelers who like a quiet vacation.

They visited Aruba once and had the same thoughts expressed by Coconuts. They did go out on dive boat excursions to snorkel. My mom liked being able to walk for miles along the beach at their hotel but did think the area was too built up for their tastes.

[bdkane]

Aruba is no St John as far as beaches and views, while some beaches are nice, the water clear, the beaches nice white sand, you will not really find any decent snorkeling or those STJ views, In some places (By the Marriott) i find the water actually tends to have a little odor to it (really)

That being said Aruba is a lot of fun, there are a ton of great restaurants and bars, a couple a nice casinos, and the people are great, Ive always felt safe, if you want to splurge a little I would recommend the Hyatt, it is beautiful.
Aruba definitely different from STJ but it is also a great vacation place as well.

[Rebubula]

Agree with prior comments. We first went to STJ in 2003 and we have not strayed since, until this year!!
My inlaws have a timeshare in Aruba and we finally accepted their invite this past Feb. There is no comparison at all to STJ. It is flat, dry, expensive, casinos/nightlife. Even dress code, Aruba was very flashy.
I did enjoy staying on the beach, however we were on a beach with everyone else. It is super windy and the beach we were on (while beautiful!) was rough for swimming and there was no snorkeling off it.
With that said, we are debating going back next year, in addition to going to STJ. Mainly because we only have to pay for flights, it's good family time, and my hubby likes the cigars/casinos.
I would not choose to go otherwise.

[DonnaM]

You may want to check out Anguilla. Beautiful beaches with calm, crystal clear water. Some beaches have snorkeling from shore. Not as good as STJ but enough to keep you entertained for a while. Great food with lots of restaurants and bars right on the beach. It's our second favorite island after STJ.

[adlnp]

Oh boy. Well thanks for all the honest responses. I figured as much. I am sure we will have a good time and I have family that has a time share there as well. They will be on island at the same time so at least there will be someone that knows the where to and where not to. I will think of it as a return to St John. After Aruba maybe we will never have to go anywhere else again? At least I have one more trip down (with family) before we go.

[adlnp]

Donna m where did you stay?

[18N 64W]

You already got some great advice here but I was in your shoes last May. My husband and I vacation on STJ twice a year because it is our favorite place in the world! However, in May we were traveling with a group of friends who all voted for Aruba. Don't get me wrong, we had fun and we saw some beautiful things but we did leave feeling disappointed. Am I glad I went, sure. Will I ever go again, probably not. My advice to you is to listen to your gut. Like you said, when you find perfection why change??

[DonnaM]

We rented villas for several trips: Villa Zebra, Three Dolphins, Kamique, Zenaida. We have also stayed at Cuisinart and Shoal Bay Resort ( that doesn't sound right, I have to look that up ).

[sunrum]

My husband and I just returned from a week in Aruba and we had a wonderful time. We have been to St. John 13 times and Aruba 3 times. This was the first time that I thought I actually enjoyed Aruba more. The last two visits to St. John were a little sad because of how crowded the beaches had become. The first 2 Aruba trips were on Palm beach. We stayed on Eagle beach this time which was very laid back and relaxing. Nice to walk out your door and your at the beach.