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Aruba – Lesser Antilles Exploration
The start of the Lesser Antilles
January went by too quick as I was anticipating my Aruba trip at the tail end of the month. The first trip of 2023 was of the solo weekend warrior variety, and it was a great start to traveling through the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. For some odd reason, it rained way more than anyone was expecting, but four days was more than enough to make my way around the entire island and do everything but the resorts, in my typical fashion. I really liked the way this edit turned out – sticking true to my words for my 2023 outlook!
I’ll be burning through my flight credits and points this year. Here was the breakdown:
- Aruba ED card (no, not that ED) for “Embarkation/Disembarkation” was free? I can’t find a charge for it.
- Direct RT Southwest flights for 25K points (transfer from UR) plus $89 in fees.
- Airbnb $422 for 3 nights (pretty sure this was the best Airbnb on the island in that $ range)
- Gmax rental for three days: $180 and worth every penny. Nice staff, too.
Total: $700 to get there, have a roof over my head and drive wherever I want.
Super Food Plaza
This place was my friend and provided me a Ruffino box to load my groceries. That box proved more useful than I was expecting on this trip.
Getting Situated
Once at the Airbnb, I had some time to develop a game plan for driving the island. The roads (or dirt paths) were in decent enough shape and covered most of an island to allow a non 4WD, little sedan to chug along. I split the driving mostly between two days for the NW and SE regions, respectively.
On the NE end, the Ostrich Farm and the Aloe Farm were worth a pitstop IMO. The fact you can not only feed the ostriches and emus, but get fed ostrich and emu eggs is next level. Fluffy and delicious omelets.
The Arikok National Park was OK. It’s one main road right through. There are some trail heads, a few caves, natural pools and beaches. I went there for the top viewpoint, alone. The other points-of-interest were passable.
The SE end of the island has definitely been the more roughed up side. It tries, but when you have a beach with a beautiful lagoon and an oil refinery backdrop, it’s a tough selling point. This is in addition to the correction facility, abandoned airport and rundown beach shacks that line the coast. Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoyed driving and walking around this area. They just really decided to put all the crap on one corner.
After the SE saga, I did end up walking the entire tourist zone and all the nice beaches which was a few miles in total. And the reports are in – it’s no surprise Eagle Beach is definitely the best beach! Reminds me of the beaches I grew up on in St. Pete, FL.
Closing thoughts
My goal going into Aruba was to do everything but the resort areas, and it felt as though I was decently successful. The way I see it, if I were at a resort, it would be a very similar experience on each of the next islands in the Lesser Antilles. This gives me a chance to appreciate some unique things about Aruba. For example, walking around the interior of the island’s semi-arid climate is different than most other Antilles, and allows for the cacti, ostriches and emus to thrive. There is obviously a lot a Dutch influence, especially in the cuisine. And of course, avatar lizards!
-ML
Recap of Places
Check out the MAP for links!
- Aloe Farm
- Arikok National Park
- Aruba Ostrich Farm
- California Lighthouse
- Arashi Beach
- Eagle Beach
Michael Lakus
IT professional, athlete, musician, ponderer of many things... Born and raised in Florida, I began traveling internationally after college. I created this site primarily to remind myself of where I've been and to share my experiences on traveling with a quirky, stress-free, travel attitude.
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