Aruba - some of the nicest people in the Caribbean!

In Sept of 2009, my husband and I went to Aruba for our annual Vow Renewal trip.  This is a very different island from others we have been to.  This is a small island, so it's easy to see it all!  There are casinos, beautiful beaches, great snorkeling, and it has some very friendly locals!

This was the 1st trip we have done in the Caribbean where we didn't do an all-inclusive resort.  We stayed at the Bucuti Resort, which is the only adults only resort on the beach.  It was very nice - we stayed in a Tara Suite, which was beachfront.  One great thing about the room was they had dehumidifiers, which kept everything in the room nice and dry - if you've ever been to the Caribbean, you know this is a nice change from the norm!   Breakfast was included, which was great!  We did eat at some local places, which was a bonus of not doing all-inclusive.  There was an Italian place right near the resort, which was very good.

We did some really fun tours.  There was a tour of the island where we went to the  California lighthouse, Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins, the Ostrich farm, the Natural Bridge, and swimming at Baby Beach!  Our tour guide with ABC Aruba was GREAT!  He spoke 7 languages and really knew his stuff!  He told us why everyone in Aruba is so nice - they are raised to be nice!  When the kids are young, they are taken to Baby Beach during school for a fun break in the day.  They are told that all the tourists they see are what keep their Moms and Dads employed and that they need to be nice to them.  I can honestly say that it works - EVERYONE we met here was SO NICE!  It was amazing!

We also did a great snorkeling tour.  We did 2 stops, one of which was at a sunken ship from WW 2.  Very cool - I only wish we had been able to go diving to see more of that!  I can make a recommendation on who to use for the snorkeling, we had a catamaran and there were only 12 people on the boat, unlike some of the others there that had 50-60 people!

The shopping was pretty good here, there are high end shops as well as the normal souvenir type places.  They don't have a lot to export here, but Aloe is one thing they do have a lot of.  You can get some really good lotion made out of it and there is a Aloe factory you can tour.

Our vow renewal was really great, we did it at sunset.  Our photographer did an awesome job!  I would highly recommend him!  He was also the wedding planner did a wonderful job doing what we wanted!

I think Aruba is a great destination for anyone who wants a great beach and nice locals - good for kids and adults alike!