Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

It seems like there are a lot of things to do and restaurants to go to. So would you suggest staying at a hotel rather than an all-inclusive?

Also, do you think that the price would be the same as an all-inclusive, or more expensive since you are eating at a restaurant every night and booking tours separately?

Any recommendations?

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

We went to Aruba in 2006 and stayed at the Renaissance in downtown. At the time I booked through Liberty Travel online and a friend of mine wound up staying the same week (we had the same returning flight home and came the same day on different flights) she did the AI.

I figured it out when we got home (tours and such not included) we paid nearly the same for air, hotel and food. Yet I we got more variety, El Gauchos was fabulous, Flying Fishbone, etc. They did not go to these places.

Most places the tours are booked separately anyway so that doesnt really matter AI vs non AI. But Aruba has great food and lots of cool places to go. My brother is there now and I told him dont do AI!

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

we went to aruba for a long weekend and stayed at Bucuti Resort (amazing btw) which is not an all inclusive... we dont drink (occasional wine here and there) so for us it was worth to pay a little less for a non-all inclusive... i think it all depends on you and your preferences... if you plan on drinking, then all inclusives may be better...

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

i think it depends on how much you drink..

we stayed at the Divi all inclusive and it was so worth it to us.. we drank alot had a great time.. ate alot too.. whenever we wanted.. not worrying about money.
we also went to flying fishbone though to experience that.
but i thought the food was awesome at the Divi..

however when we go back.. we will stay at one of the 2 marriott's because we have a timeshare there so it would be worth using that now.

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

We have a time share at the Marriot. It's a great location. Walking distance to a lot of hotels, tons of beach space, close to all the most popular restaurants (walk to or a cheap taxi ride) and close to shopping.

There's so much more to see so I wouldn't recommend an all inclusive. DH and I like to drink, but a cocktail here and there on the beach and wine with dinner. Wasn't crazy every night. Pick more expensive nights and other nights there's some really good less expensive places.
You can't go wrong

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

Forgot to reply! Thanks everyone for the input! I think that doing it on our own might be fun since there are a ton of places that people have recommended.

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

Aruba is wonderful! Our last trip there was honestly one of the most relaxing vacations I've ever had. I'm not one for water sports, excursions, etc when going to the Caribbean, though. The beach and water is just wonderful there, and that's all I need!

My DH has been to Aruba many times. We kind of came to the conclusion this time that, although the food is delish on the island, we may look into an all-inclusive the next time we go.

I don't know how much more an AI is, though. A lot of the restaurants there are a bit pricey (typical resort area prices). And many of the restaurants are also on the other side of the hotel/beach strip. That area has become very crowded and commercial, IMO.

For this reason, I would look into an AI. If the prices were comparable, I would love to just chill on the hotel grounds, eat, drink, and hang by the beautiful water!

Regardless, you cannot go wrong with Aruba! Good Luck!

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

An AI is not necessary in Aruba too many nice restuants then they have many chain resturants like McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts that you can get a cheap breakfast and many chains like TGIF and Benihanas Subway that lunh doe snot have to be that expensive either its just dinner and what I don't like about the AI is that the liquor is all bottom shelf doe snot really make for great drinks

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

Leaving next week for what will be my 19th trip to Aruba. NEVER would I do an all-inclusive. Thats reserved for places that aren't safe,have armed guards & they "suggest" you don't leave the hotel grounds.
There are restaurants for every budget,being from NY, we are used to high prices so you won't really have sticker shock.
Be savy & New Yorker slick:

*drink during happy hour (happy 3 hours in most places)

*go through those little coupon books in your hotel lobby,many,many coupons inside for great restaurants

*use your CC rewards points. I cashed in Amex points for dinners at Ruth Chris Steakhouse at the Marriot & Chase points for a romantic dinner at Ruines Del Mar outside in the lagoon at the Hyatt.

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

It really depends what you are going on vacation for. When DH and I went, we wanted to relax - just sit by the beach and have some drinks. We didn't want to have to worry about where we were going to eat each day. We didn't want to spend any time going to and from restaurants - that would take away from our beach time. We wanted everything right there so for us, an AI was perfect. We did go out to eat one night and that was enough for us. In our opinion, we live in NY and have some of the best restaurants at our doorstep. We weren't going away to eat. We too stayed at the Divi/Tam and it was perfect for us. Plenty for DH to do as far as snorkeling and water sports and the restaurants were fine.

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

I wouldn't do an AI - there are so many good restaurants!!!

We usually lose overall on AI's - we are mainly beer/wine drinkers and a lot of times we don't like the beer that's offered and end up spending money outside of the resort on it.

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

We did the Divi AI and I think went out to dinner 5 out of 7 nights....totally worth it for us.

Our room was RIGHT on the beach, we ate breakfast, lunch, and a few dinners there, and drank like fish. That was all worth the money for me. We did Flying Fishbone, Bella Luna, The Lighthouse restaurant, and one fun meal at Carlos and Charlies....

AGain, totally worth it to us I loved it.

Re: Aruba spinoff--for those of you who have been

I too, think it depends on what you are looking for and how much you drink.

We went for our honeymoon and stayed at the Bucuti in the Tara Suites. It was amazing and the perfect place for the honeymoon. The beach at the Bucuti was the nicest of all the beaches I saw down there. We spent a lot on restaurant meals, though, and taxis getting back and forth to dinner.

For our second trip, we stayed at the Tamarijn. I liked the convenience of the AI and it seemed more relaxing, because everything you need is right there.

We are not big drinkers, so we didn't rack up a big bar bill at the non-AI and didn't care too much about top shelf liquor at the AI.

I also thought there were a lot of good restaurants, but for me, going to a place like Aruba is all about the beach and relaxation, I don't need to eat at 5 star restaurants, I can do that here if I want to.

I think both options have their pros and cons. I personally think that the beaches in the low rise area are larger and therefore a lot less crowded than in the high rise section. My friend has a time share at the Marriott and they talk about having to get up at like 5-6 am to get down to the beach if they want a shade palapa. That is not for me.