How to get the most out of your visit

There are many places to visit on the island and you will not miss out on them if you rent a car during your stay. Public transportation is scarce and do not go everywhere; on the other hand, taxis will cost you a small fortune. my place is centrally located but there is no public transportation close by so PLEASE rent a car. there are many car rental companies you can choose from on the internet.

Danki is "thank you" in our native language: Papiamento. Arubians are very friendly and we love to help our visitors so if you say "Danki" (Dan-kee) after we do something for you, you are not only showing courtesy but interest in our culture. I assure you will get a big smile in return!!!

You might explore beaches, rock formations, hotel strips, etc. therefore is not a good idea to do that with high heels or flip flops because you will get tired very fast. Bring comfortable shoes. Also, put on sun block many times a day. If you are planning to wear big pamelas, they look awesome for your Insta pics but be careful with the wind, it is strong, and they can fly away!!

Then, do not miss out these awesome places: PHILLIP'S ANIMAL GARDEN: It is a non profit animal sanctuary which houses animals that were forfeited by zoos that closed or people who tried to make exotic animals pets and failed. THE BUTTERFLY FARM: Go in the morning when they are more active. THE DONKEY SANCTUARY: My daughter and I loved to go there once a month to pet them. you can feed them and even adopt one of those intelligent animals! THE OSTRICH FARM: I love to feed them. Excellent opportunity for a very funny picture..

This is my MUST DO LIST ISLAND TOUR: You must visit the whole island. It is small so in 4 or 6 hours you will be done and you will get amazed. CATAMARAN OR SUNSET CRUISE: You are in the Caribbean, pristine water, great weather. Enjoy life sipping a glass of wine sailing the coast watching a beautiful sunset. BEACH DAY: Eagle beach is one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world as per Trip Advisor but there are many others. Enjoy a different beach each day! EAT LOCAL: Part of your experience is doing what locals do so try some local food. Do not miss the PASTECHI.

In Aruba we use WhatsApp more than SMS to send texts, pics, locations, etc. I will suggest you to download it in your phone

Downtown stores: 9 to 6 from Monday to Saturday. High rise hotel area stores: Some of them open in the morning but to be in the safe side, I would say from 3 pm to 10 pm, Monday to Sunday. Big supermarkets (Ling &sons, superfood) 8 to 8 Monday to Saturday. Sunday 9 to 6. Minimarkets in my neighborhood: 7:30 until 9 or 10 pm, 7 days a week Restaurants: usually the last order is taken at 10 pm

Pastechi is the name of one of the most popular snacks on the island. They are fried empanadas filled either with ham, cheese, chicken, meat or chop suey. Close to home is the best place on the island to enjoy them (and they are cheap too). Ask me for directions

My good friend Elsa gives the best massages on the island: deeptissue, relax, hot stones, you name it. She is a professional with more than 20 years of experience and she will give you a very good price for being my guest. Be sure to book yours. She can pick you up from the apartment. You will enjoy it!! She provides also very good facials for a very affordable price.

Or as we say in Papiamento: Ban trip!! Most of the nightlife is centered in the high rise hotel area. The clubs close at one o'clock in the morning from Sunday to Thursday but on Fridays and Saturdays they are open until 3 am. The trendy places now are: Gusto's, Fat Tuesday, Chupitos, The office, South Beach. In downtown you can go to Patio 15, they have live bands on the weekends and another fun place is Bochincha, the container yard.

If you plan to stay a month or more, it is a good idea to buy a local phone number to make it easier for you to communicate in places where there is no wifi and local people or companies can call you. SETAR, our telephone company sells you a number and internet for a month for 27 dollars give and take

In Aruba we like to eat, so we never skip breakfast, lunch or dinner. When we cannot prepare meals at home, we have several alternatives to eat without spending much. In my following notes I will give you my recommendations to have a full and happy belly for few dollars.

Breakfast if you want to grab and go, "Moko Snack" for pastechis, sandwiches and a soda. Another option is "La Gran Parada" in Tanki flip. They have delicious empanadas, sandwiches and natural fruit juices ("batidos" in papiamento) I love their batidos, BTW. If you want to sit, have a coffee and sandwiches then try "Willy Pan" close to home, next to the roundabout. My favorite is "Huchada" in Santa Cruz, 10 minutes from here. They are a bakery, so their sandwiches are made with freshly baked bread. Their store is in an old arubian house so you will enjoy the simple but cozy architecture.

Lunch Chinese food is a very good option for us because the portions are big and unexpensive. A dish enough for 2 persons (even though they are called "small") will cost you around 10 dollars. I will suggest you pick up and eat at home. Close by home there are "Shiribana" (closed on Sunday) and "Anytime" (closed on Mondays). If you prefer to eat at the restaurant, "Wai Tai" in Noord (more $) Another very popular option nowadays is the lunch by weight at "Ling and sons" supermarket or the lunch menus at "Super Food" or "Cmart" supermarkets. You will spend around 12 dollars per person.

Dinner Let's face it. Aruba is not cheap to dine out, but its restaurants are great. Our cultural variety is noticeable in the diversity of restaurants you will find. There are Italian, international food, steakhouse, sushi, fusion food, Chinese, Arabic, Peruvian, Colombian, even franchises like P.F. Chang, Patrizia's of New York, Olive Garden, etc. Many of the expensive restaurants offer you early bird specials so I advise you to take advantage of these offers if you want to give yourself the pleasure of trying them even if you are traveling on a budget.

Carnival is the best time to visit Aruba. The whole island celebrates it. The parades, the colorful costumes, the atmosphere, the music contests, the queen contests, the parties. Everything comes together to make that experience unforgettable. It is a movable date, so every year is celebrated on different days (between January and April), so I suggest you stay tuned and come visit us at least once at that time. You won't regret it! Do you want to have a glimpse? do not miss the Bon Bini Festival every Tuesday at Fort Zoutman at 7 pm.

You do not need to exchange dollars to our local currency because dollars and major credit cards are accepted everywhere, but the supermarkets and local restaurants have their prices in florins. How do you convert florins to dollars? The easiest way is as follows: to the price in florins you take half and add 10%. That is, if the price is 100 florins, half is 50, you add 10% and that would be like 55 dollars more or less.