Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama.
Key Largo, Montego....
STOP!! You had me at ARUBA!
My sister Jennie and I decided a few months ago to book a trip to Aruba for October. It's a place I've been thinking of visiting the past couple of years. We chose the Riu Palace Antillas an adults-only, all-inclusive resort. After booking, we sat back and watched as hurricane season started to tear through many Caribbean islands. Fortunately, Aruba wasn't harmed and we were all set to go.
We flew out of Toronto early Thanksgiving Monday (in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October). This required us to leave home at 2a.m. and drive in the rain along the treacherous 401 highway to reach the airport. Neither of us had slept prior so this photo is what being awake for over 24 hours looks like.
We chose Sunwing Airlines and although not the greatest, the flight was seamless and we arrived in Aruba around 2:30p.m. Our hotel was only a 10 minute drive from the airport so we were checked in and changed into our bathingsuits by 4p.m.
Before hitting the pool and the swim up bar, we grabbed a couple of Balashi beer from the fridge. This would be our drink of choice for the week. Heading out to the pool, we couldn't believe the weather. It was absolutely stunning! It stayed that way all week. We didn't have a drop of rain and the temperature hovered around 32-35°C everyday. It was humid but there was a constant breeze to keep you feeling cool.
The island of Aruba is quite small, measuring only 32 km (20 miles) long and about 10 km (6 miles) wide. It's a Dutch island so you could hear that alongside English, Spanish and Papiamento, their local language. Jennie and I visited St. Maarten a couple of years ago and it was comparable. Even though our hotel was all-inclusive, we ventured off the resort a few times.We visited the Bugaloe Pier (down the beach from our hotel) where they had happy hour daily from 5-7p.m. This was a great spot to catch the sunset and listen to live music.
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| Lobster tail |
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| Mushroom risotto |
The food was fantastic in Aruba. You could have anything your heart desired. I had lobster every chance I got while my sister opted for steak. We went to an amazing Italian restaurant, Gianni's, and both the service and food was incredible. There's a huge lobster tank in the restaurant and you can dine either inside or alfresco. Next door was a steakhouse called Daniel's and it was just as busy.
We couldn't have asked for a more relaxing vacation. We walked the beach each morning, spent the day reading, drinking and playing cards by the pool, enjoyed the entertainment and casino at night.*These 2 photos were taken from the balcony of our room. We had a great view and it was amazing to wake up to this view each morning.
We decided to treat ourselves on the Saturday night and booked a Sunset Sail trip. It was just two hours and we got to sail along the gorgeous coastline with an open bar, delicious snacks and great music. Again, the weather was perfect and the trip was entertaining.
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| Jennie and I had to get our picture with this sign! |
I highly recommend a trip to Aruba. The weather, people, food, drink and shopping can't be beat. I've been to a number of islands and this was definitely my favourite. After a week there, both my sister and I said we could have stayed longer. I'm not sure my liver could have handled it though!
So if you're looking for an island adventure, check out Aruba. You'll love it!
~MT