What You Need to Know Before Traveling To Aruba During Global Pandemic
I traveled to Aruba in October 2020 with a group of six females and honestly had an amazing time. We went for my friend, Kerrisha, birthday. I’ve heard amazing things about visiting Aruba & thought that my experience would fall short of these praises due to the global pandemic but it was honestly soooo good. The people of the country are so happy & full of joy which made the experience good despite everything that is going on.
What I Had to Do Before Traveling to Aruba
Due to the global pandemic, there are very strict guidelines to follow to enter the country of Aruba as well as while you’re on the island. The requirements to travel to Aruba vary depending on your origin country and state. You can enter tour origin destination on this site and it will list the exact requirements you need to travel to Aruba. Since I am from New York and was traveling out of JFK, I had to get a PCR Covid Test done 72 hours before my time of flight departure. I went to one of the locations that the Aruba website recommended to get my COVID test done. To me, the test did not hurt at all and it was super quick and easy. I documented my full experience preparing for my trip within this vlog. I was nervous because my results literally came in the night before my flight while I was doing last minute packing.
Aruba does offer an option to get tested upon arrival. However, with this option, you will have to quarantine on the island until your results are produced. To be safe and to get the most time out of your trip, I would recommend to get tested ahead of time.
I did not need a visa in order to visit Aruba because of the length of my stay and my origin (New York, USA). To see more information about VISA requirements for Aruba, you can check out this site.
Where We Stayed?
Since it was a large group of us, we stayed in an Airbnb. The Airbnb had seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms, so everyone had their own bedroom and bathroom - which I loved! We had booked the Airbnb ahead of time, expecting a larger group of attendees. The house had a kitchen, pool, living room area, balcony area with an outdoor bar and a massage chair (which was my favorite amenity lol). The furnishing of the Airbnb was kind of outdated but it for the job done for hosting the size of our group. We used the kitchen to cook a couple times during our stay, which helped us save money since Aruba is not the cheapest country compared to other countries that I have visited.
What We Did?
We were in Aruba for a total of five days and four nights. We arrived on Thursday, October 29th and departed on Monday, November 2nd. While we were there, here is what we did and details behind each event:
The day of our arrival, we settled into the house and went grocery shopping at nearby grocery store. We wanted to stock up on groceries that we can use to make quick meals, snacks and breakfast foods. We then got ready to head to Flying Fishbone for dinner. We called in advance to make reservations to ensure we were able to be seated at the time we arrived to the restaurant. Due to COVID restrictions, they were only seating four people at a table. Therefore, we had to split our party into two tables (one table fo four people and another table of three people). The drive from our Airbnb to Flying Fishbone was about twenty minutes. Upon arrival, we were seated right away since we had made reservations. At this restaurant, the tables are in the water upon a beautiful view. The restaurant has an area to store your shoes so that you don’t have to hold them with you at your table. When we went, the restaurant was not packed at all so we we didn’t feel uncomfortable leaving our shoes “unattended”. The seating area isn’t too big either so you’re able to keep an eye on your shoes.
The menu at this restaurant is 95% seafood (as expected), but I no longer eat seafood. I had a pasta with marinara sauce, a side of french fries and two frozen strawberry margaritas. My meal was delicious and the drinks were bussssinnnn!!! If you try this restaurant, you haveeeee to try their frozen strawberry margarita.
After we were done with dinner, the restaurant has an area to rinse off your feet before departing. We also took some photos in the entry/exit way of the restaurant before leaving.
I would recommend this restaurant when visiting Aruba. I think that it would be beautiful during sunset, whether you’re with your friends or bae, I think that it will be a wonderful experience.
The following day, we checked into Renaissance hotel so that we could have access to their flamingo beach. The Renaissance is a flamingo beach in which only their visitors and people who buy day passes can access. When we did the math, it was cheaper to book rooms at the Renaissance hotel in pairs (2 people per room) vs. booking individual day passes to visit the Flamingo Beach. We were able to check into the hotel around 1:30pm & then headed to the Flamingo Beach. You catch the boat from the hotel to the Flamingo Beach behind Lucys (across the street from Renaissance Hotel). You have to show your hotel key card or day pass in order to board the boat.
The boat ride from the dock to Flamingo Beach was less than 5 minutes. When you arrive to the destination, there are two beaches/two sides to the beach - Flamingo Beach & Iguana Beach. We spent majority of our time on Flamingo Beach.
The objective of the beach is to be a relaxing get away. Therefore, they do not play any music. There is a snack bar & restaurant on the Flamingo Beach. I had a frozen strawberry margarita (this was my drink of the trip lol) & french fries from the snack bar. I also paid for some food to feed the flamingoes (I believe this was $1USD).
There are also cabanas available on Flamingo beach. However, they were all booked for the day we planned to visit. If you would like to reserve a cabana, I would recommend to do it as early as possible. I’m not sure if they allow you to reserve them days in advance, so I would inquire to verify.
If you don’t reserve a cabana, you will have to scout beach chairs, seating areas on the beach. A party left as soon as we arrived so we were able to get a few beach chairs. For the most part, it was pretty packed by the time we arrived. Therefore, I would also recommend to head to the beach as early as possible.
There are so many places to take photos on the beaches, so I would recommend packing multiple outfits to get your experience worth if you are a content creator or someone who enjoys taking photos.
The perk of us booking the hotel rooms vs. paying for the day pass is that we also had the option of visiting the beach the following day too since checkout is at noon. With the day pass, you can only visit the beach the day you buy your pass for.
The next day, October 31st (the day of Kerrisha birthday), we did a boat tour excursion. The boat excursion is hosted by Pelican Adventures. We booked this about a month in advance of our trip via their site. The tour included unlimited drinks, a calm lunch meal (burrito & chips), two areas to snorkel, music. The excursion does not include hotel pick up, therefore you will be responsible to get to and from the dock of the boat. The boat tour is also kid friendly, so if you are traveling with children, they are able to go on this excursion. There is also a restroom on the boat. The tour operates for 2.5 hours and there is a day time and sunset option. We did the day time option because we wanted the rest of the day to do something else. I thought that the length of this time was appropriate for what it included.
At the dock of the boat excursion, there are restaurants as well as other excursions on the beach (parasailing, jet skis, etc.) The excursions on the beach are available until 5:00pm.
After we finished our boat tour, we ate at the Pelican Nest Seafood Grill. We did not do a reservation ahead of time, we just walked in and were able to be seated upon arrival. The food was okayyyy - it’s nothing that I would go for again. The drinks were also subpar. It was good because we were hungry after being on the water but definitely wouldn’t be my first choice.
Southbeach Aruba
After the boat tour excursion, we went home and freshened up and then went to Southbeach Aruba. Southbeach Aruba gives night time lounge vibes. They have tables set up (once again, it was four people allowed at each table), hookah, drinks and a live DJ. We ordered drinks and hookah & the music was actually really really good. However, we had to remain seated the whole time, and couldn’t get up to dance or move around too much.
The manager of the spot was also walking around the spot greeting guests & making sure everyone’s service was going well.
However, at 11:00pm, the police pulled up to shut the place down because of restrictions in the country at the time. All spots were supposed to be closed at 11:00pm, so we had to hurry and pay our bill and exit the premises.
Therefore, if you’re planning to enjoy nightlife in Aruba, I would recommend understanding what the rules, guidelines and restrictions are on the island at the time because they are changing from month to month.
Brunch at the Crib
During our last full day in Aruba, we did a birthday brunch for Kerrisha birthday. We cooked the food that we had brought from the grocery store and set up the balcony with all of the food and decorations. With Kerrisha being as extra as she is, she brought her own decorations to fit her inspired theme. We had a great time eating, drinking and vibing. We spent the rest of the day chilling by the pool. That night, we went to a bar (I was too lit to remember the name lol) - but it was directly across the street from Southbeach Aruba and has a live band playing.
Watch This to See BTS of Everything We Did on The Trip!
How Did We Get Around?
Our Airbnb had a housekeeper who called us a cab driver the first night when we went to Flying Fishbone. His service was amazing so we asked for his phone number for him to transport us around for the remainder of our trip. We ended up using him whenever we wanted to go out. We told him the pick up time in advance so that he would be at the house for us on time. If you are interested in our drivers contact information, please send me an email or a direct message on Instagram and I would have no problem sharing. (I don’t feel comfortable putting anyone’s contact information online.) He had great service, recommendations and helped with us feeling safe while in Aruba.
Overall, I think that Aruba is a great, safe destination during this time. With all of the guidelines that the country has, I honestly felt more comfortable being there vs. being at home. If you are looking for somewhere to travel to during this time, I would definitely recommend Aruba. For more information and details about my trip to Aruba, please check out my three Youtube videos that were included and referenced throughout this blog post. Also, if you have any additional questions, please leave them in the comments for this blog post & I will be sure to respond!