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Aruba: 4 Day Itinerary
Whether you are looking for a calm and serene time disconnected from the stress and maddening crowd, or a hardcore water-sport enthusiast, your time in the Caribbean can be rewarding if you choose carefully. While you cannot necessarily go wrong in your choice of the island (out of hundred-odd named ones), a bit of high level planning will help you focus on the goals rather than deal with the travel management.
Some travelers tend to combine Aruba and Curacao in a week long vacation, for good reasons. Some even take advantage of a cruise vacation to see (rather just setting foot on) the island(s). But if you really want to immerse a bit on the culture, learn history, and soak in the pristine waters of the Caribbean, we recommend at least 4 days in Aruba. Here is a suggested itinerary (especially if you are traveling with kids or elderly) –
Day 1:
Arrive in Queen Beatrix International Airport which is located in the middle of the island on the western side. Unless you are planning on staying in the resorts in one of the ‘all inclusive’ packages, please consider renting a car as taxi fares are exorbitant and hard to hail at some times during the day.
Head to the hotel/Airbnb or accommodation. If you arrive before sunset, get to a beach close by or check out one of the fabulous beach-side restaurants while sipping on those Aruba Ariba’s. No better way to feel welcome to the little Caribbean getaway. Relax, walk around and get some groceries from one of the local supermarkets.
Day 2:
Start your day early today, get breakfast from one of the dutch pancake houses, and start driving. We are going to skip the beaches for now, rather indulge in some history.
If you are staying in the north (Noord area), head to the Old Dutch Windmill for a quick stop and photo ops. Unlike other tourist attractions, this is a barely maintained artifact, but depicts the history of the island from the 1700’s when it was under Dutch regime. 15-30 minutes later, drive to Casibari Rock Formations on the mid-eastern side. This site is not marked that well, but GPS should take you to the right spot through the unpaved roads. Spend about an hour, hike the stone formations to get a 360 degree panoramic view of the island.
Grab a cola or a beverage of your choice from the shop across the street, and head East towards Bushribana Gold Mill Ruins by the coast. The ruins are in fairly dangerous situation, so climbing not recommended. But a stop here is absolutely necessary due to something more than the ruins themselves. Walk towards the coast and you will start to step on some rocks with sharp edges. Take a deep breath, you will be standing atop a dead coral reef! We talk about climbing a glacier and standing at the top of a mountain, but how many times would you be walking over Coral reef without damaging it further? Walk around closely keeping an eye on where you step; one mis-step could lead to some injuries due to slippery rocks and sharp edges. In this wide expansive reef, you may spot some crabs and shells, but may also spot some solidified fresh salt deposits. Pretty cool, huh?
While you are here, don’t forget to drive up to the “Natural Bridge”. It is recommended to use a 4×4 to get there, but a regular car/SUV can handle the bit of unpaved roadway. But you cannot go farther than the Natural Bridge and the gift shop. If you are carrying your swimsuit and water shoes, take a plunge in the Natural Pools created because of the presence of the limestone. Proceed with care though, as the rocks are slippery, no lifeguard and no structured access points. On your way back to the Western side of the island, stop at the Ostritch Farms and take a few pictures with the huge cacti all around you.
If you have started early enough, grab some packed lunch from a supermarket, and head to the Arikok National Park. Please note, you will need a 4×4 to access the attractions (Natural pool, Fontein Cave, etc.). It is a protected environment so car traffic is controlled. The entrance to the park closes at 3.30pm, so get in as early as possible. You can rent a 4×4 ATV to tour the park. You will need a solid 3 hours to even graze the surface of what the park has to offer.
But after all, you are here to enjoy the beaches too, and we are right about on time to hit the western coast and enjoy a brilliant sunset. Head south to Baby Beach. On your way down there, you can either stop for a drink and snack at Kamini’s Kitchen or stop for a refreshing coconut from a street-side vendor. Beware, they’ll ask for exorbitant prices, so haggle a bit beforehand. While Baby beach is more tourist friendly, and attracts snorkelers, it does not have a good vantage point for sunset. Closer to sunset, head to Rogers beach, literally 2 minutes away. There are no restaurants/establishments here, so not quite the sunset experience you may be looking for, but a quiet experience nevertheless.
Day 3:
More pancakes to start the day, followed by some tanning time on the beach. For snorkeling, we found Mangel Halto beach to be interesting. There is not much of a signage around, so is a quiet beach with not many people around. The expansive beach may not be the most picturesque but the shallow waters surrounded by mangroves makes it a fantastic spot to snorkel or just enjoy the warm waters. Need to get there a bit early to reserve a nice spot under the palapa’s.
For some refreshments and some beachside lunch, head up to Manchebo Beach where Matthew’s beachside restaurant serves nice lunch fare. For the afternoon siesta, head to Eagle Beach which is also a great place to watch the sunset.
Indulge yourselves for some late evening dinner in the classy on-the-beach restaurant Barefoot Cafe.
Day 4:
Grab some coffee, and head north to the California Lighthouse. Have breakfast in the Faro Blanco restaurant while admiring the panoramic vista of the island. Walk up the lighthouse and try to see if you can spot Venezuela coastline.
Depending on whether you are looking for a casual day on the beach, or some water-sport, drive down to Arashi Beach or Palm-Eagle Beach. Rent an umbrella for merely $20-$25 for the day (less than half that of Miami South Beach), and sip on those Ariba Aruba’s or Aruba’s local lager, Balashi. If you are in Eagle beach, snorkel or dive to the ship wreck Antilla. We were traveling with a 4 month old, so had to skip this but heard about the coral formations and the abundance of marine life.
Instead, we headed down south again to the restaurant Flying Fisherman for some dinner while watching sunset, with either dipping our toes in water or sand. Incredible experience albeit at a fairly high cost.
Next day, we pack up and head back to the airport. This itinerary can technically be consolidated into three full but hectic days, or one can head down to Curacao for 3 more days.
Looking back in time: Geological perspectives on Canadian Rockies
If you are in the Canadian Rockies, you must be wondering, why are the colors of these lakes so blue? Why are some of the cliffs so sharp and some are blunted? What is the difference between a Glacier and an Icefield?
Formation of the mountains
- 500 million years ago, this area was by the ocean and by the equator. This is where Pacific oceanic plate and American continental plates met. Heavier oceanic plate colliding with lighter continental plate created something like a ‘big bang’ 500 million years ago, causing sedimentary rock to rise up like a ‘fold’. If you look closely towards the bare cliffs around you, you can see clearly visible layers. The extreme pressure of the tectonic shift caused the whole sea bed, which had layers and layers of sediments over the ages, to rise up. The top most layer is the most recent, albeit millions of years old.
- Since it was the tropics back then, an abundance of sea life and fossils can be found in the layers of sedimentary rock here. Different layers have different colors and texture from different types of rock like brittle shale, softer limestone or sandstone. Some contained hydrocarbons due to vegetation (forming into coal) and animals (forming into petroleum).
- What is currently British Columbia, was formed during this tectonic collision from magma. But the Rockies were created from sedimentary layers pushed up; that is why you will not find any igneous rocks, like granite, here.
- If you look carefully, the sedimentary layers are not parallel which it was when it was formed. The layers also seem to have broken along a vertical line. Due to high pressure from the weight of the rocks above, a fault develops which is essentially a crack. The rocks on either side of the faultline, slide up or down, thereby creating a phase shift. Other types of faults, caused by tectonic movements and glacier forces are also visible throughout the Rockies creating shapes.
- Another factor to consider is the weathering by wind and glacier movement for millions of years, causing some cliffs to be extremely steep and some peaks somewhat blunted.
Color of the Lakes
Heavy and thick glaciers formed most of the lakes in this area. As gravity pulls the glaciers, the incredibly heavy ice grinds the rock into rock flour. It is so fine and light, it takes long time to settle down at the bottom of the lake. Bright sunshine is absorbed by the rock flour and only blue light from the spectrum is reflected. That’s why the color of the lakes are such vibrant blue, especially when the sun shines the brightest.
Glacier vs. Icefield
Best analogy to understand this is to think of the Icefields as a lake and glaciers being the rivers coming out of the lakes. Most glaciers are formed from the icefields, and follows gravity. Movement of glaciers is much slower compared to a river, comparable to growth rate of your fingernails. There are a number of glaciers in the Canadian Rockies, with the Athabasca glacier and Saskatchewan glaciers being the largest and most significant. Most lakes and rivers in this area are fed by one of these glaciers, thereby creating some of the purest form of water. Columbia Icefield is one of the largest ones in the world. It is a staggering 200 square kilometers wide and at areas more than 200 meters deep. You can spot flanks of the icefield on top of peaks and plateaus from the entire stretch of the Icefield Parkway.
Pantheon
Sitting in the central parts of the city, this iconic structure has held its own for more than two millenniums. Built a few years before Christ was born in honor of Augustus, Pantheon is one of the very few structures retaining its antiquity. Historians attribute the preservation to the fact that Pantheon has continually being used for multiple purposes over the years.
Suggested Time Spent: 1 Hour | Admission: Free | Hours: 9AM – 6PM
It went from being a memorabilia to a church to being a political hub after the medieval ages. Structurally, the round plan, a cylindrical wall supporting the dome is common to Roman architecture. But the dome, 43 meters high and same width, was an engineering feat at that time. This vault is bigger than St. Peter’s, and is probably the largest built in that time. The only source of light into the vault, the 9 meters wide hole at the top of the dome, illuminates the facade in dreamy light.
Multi colored marbles in the two stories in the inside walls create an interplay of colors in mysterious light and shadows. Including the aforesaid purposes, Pantheon also holds tombs of famous artists, e.g. Raphael, and members of Savoy family and emperors.
Outside, the wide columns are large enough that it takes four adults to measure the circumference by holding each others’ hands. The 6 meters tall obelisk, Macuteo, and the fountain sits in the square in front of the Pantheon.
Tips
- The shops and restaurants around the Pantheon are infamous tourist traps. Although it may be convenient to pick up souvenirs, it is not advisable to have a full meal in the nearby restaurants; sub-par quality yet pricey.
- Walk to the nearby Church of Maria Sopra Minerva, almost next door to the back of the Pantheon. On your way there, you can spot the back side of Pantheon to appreciate the founding blocks of the structure. Admire one of the best obelisks (out of a total of thirteen in Rome), designed by Bernini, where an elephant is carrying the obelisk.
Essential Virgin Islands Tips
Before you embark on your journey to the Virgin Islands, please make sure to read the following for a survival guide in the islands.
Visa Situation
For US Citizens, you’d not need a visa but carry the passport. For an Indian living/working in the US with a valid US visa, you do not need a visa as it is an US territory. This applies to B1, F1, H1, L1, J1, and other common visa categories.
Language and Currency
English is the primary language and all USD currency bills are accepted.
Local Guides/Driving
Driving in USVI is interesting as you drive on the left (opposite of that in the USA) but the cars mostly are US made and therefore the steering wheel is on the left. Offline apps with travel guides and maps are useful here as data coverage can be tricky. Make sure your GPS has Virgin Islands maps loaded if you plan to drive here. Although navigating the roads is easy as there is only one main road that circles each island.
Getting Around
We always prefer to rent cars because of the flexibility and impulsive journeys we frequently partake. Driving in Virgin Islands though has its drawbacks. Rental companies do not allow their cars to be taken on the barges to hop between islands. If St. Thomas (STT) Airport is the port of entry, you can rent a car there if you intend to stay in STT. Then return the car and go to St. John and rent another. It is best to get the four wheelers as the roads are sometimes steep and not paved in some cases. You will see the Jeep Wranglers everywhere. Always buy the liability insurance unless your credit card covers loss and damage protection.
If you do not intend on driving, there are taxis in all the islands, and there is a ferry between islands (St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix) with convenient timings and affordable fares. There are cab-pool rides as well if you can get one from the hotel, but due to lack of cellular reception in parts of the island, it is way more convenient to rent a car.
Food and Nightlife
We love trying out local restaurants and bars everywhere we go, and have had a ton of fun finding local joints, street food, even food from roadside huts in the trip. Since it being a touristy area, the food prices can get expensive unless you find good local places. Yelp and Tripadvisor works pretty well in the islands.We tried out a few caribbean joints for late night drinks and food and were not disappointed in most cases. We will talk about the restaurants in related posts/pages.
Safety wise, we found St. John to be much safer than St. Thomas, since STT is a major commercial port and tourists are susceptible to crimes. Like other locals, dress appropriately while walking around. A swimsuit is not appropriate outside the beaches even if it may be convenient sometimes.
Shopping
Last but not the least, shopping for gifts and memorabilia is an inseparable part of the adventures. Although the Virgin Islands is a US territory, the memorabilia from here might resemble what you find in mainland. Plus lack of rich artsy culture means you wont find decorative items related to art or history. Coffee and rum are probably the most popular items to buy for home. Some woodwork, masks, flavorful spices are the stuff you can bring as gifts.
The port area near St. Thomas has several duty free shops along the water. Be sure to take a stroll in Charlotte Amalie along Veterans drive to check out the shops and bars/restaurants. But these are not quite your local shops and instead are really touristy because of the cruise ships that dock here.
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