Aruba Alegria

The time has come. Our oldest daughter is now in public school which means we are now, officially, locked into the district school schedule. No more “cheap”-er, less touristy, offseason vacations in the foreseeable future. Cue tears.

All jokes aside, being forced into taking holidays when everyone else does also led us to spending New Years in Aruba. After talking with several people about the best places to spend the holiday, we decided Aruba was the clear winner and it did not disappoint.

Since we wanted to get the most out of the winter holiday, we made the decision to travel from December 26 to January 5. After researching Aruba, we felt we could see most of the island in 5 days, so we started scoping out neighboring islands to fill up the rest of the time. Curaçao was a short, 30-minute plane from Aruba, so we decided to head there first since we wanted to spend New Years in Aruba. Little did we know, Curaçao would become one of our favorite islands in the Caribbean. To read more about our trip to Curaçao, check out Way Down in Kokomo (Beach, Curaçao).

Day 1

After 5 epic days in Curaçao, we flew on the tiny 20-seater prop plane the 30-minutes back to Aruba. We picked up our vehicle from Hertz at the Queen Beatrix International Airport and then drove towards Noord where our airbnb was located. Since we couldn’t get into the home until mid-afternoon, we stopped by Bean Corner Cafe, which was a quick, 2-minute drive to the home we were staying in. Although the food was good, the service was a little slow. However, we’ll chalk it up to it being New Years’ Eve and nearing the time of early closure the day we went.

After our meal, we stopped by the neighboring grocery store, Ting Wei Supermarket, stocked up on food for the week, and then drove over to our airbnb. After we got settled in, we hopped in the pool for about an hour while we waited on Austen’s sister and her boyfriend to arrive.

After they arrived, Austen cooked burgers, hot dogs, and pineapple on the grill. We all ate dinner outside on the back patio while we watched the sunset. It was the perfect way to wrap up the evening before we headed out to ring in the New Year.

Our airbnb was situated in the perfect location on the island; a 20-minute walk to Palm Beach, or a 5-minute drive. Our host left a wide array of snacks for us, as well as an Aruban liquor. The home also had a pool and a wide array for beach toys and pool floats for us to use. Highly recommend this place if you’re visiting!

Around 8PM after the sun had set, we decided to walk over to Palm Beach instead of driving our vehicle. During our entire walk over, there were fireworks going off all around us. Although the walk did seem to take longer than we anticipated (likely due to it being pitch black outside and we had two kids, ages 5 and 7 with us), it ended up being the right call. As the night wrapped up and the fireworks concluded, the traffic to get out of the area was in a complete gridlock; people were parked in the middle of the road and blocking people in in the parking lots.

We walked the beach a little bit, walked inside the Marriott, and then sat by the pool and played LCR while we waited for midnight. Around 10:30PM, we walked back to the beach right outside the Marriott. Although some of us didn’t stay awake all the way until midnight, *cough* Austen and B *cough*, everyone was awake/woken up for the big show. It was incredible seeing the fireworks up and down the beach and right over the ocean.

And with that, Happy New Year from our family to yours! We hope you have a blessed and fruitful 2026!

Day 2

The following morning, we slept in as much as we could, ate breakfast at the airbnb, and then headed over to Tres Trapi Beach in hopes of seeing sea turtles. Unfortunately, we didn’t escape the crowds because we arrived pretty late in the morning and by the time we got to the beach, most of the sea turtles we had heard about were no longer there. It was also a really windy day, so it wasn’t the best day to snorkel due to the choppy water.

It ended up working out for the best though. A fellow beachgoer brought some crackers and started feeding the lizards and iguanas. This immediately got the attention of our girls, and they had the time of their lives trying to get the lizards to climb on their legs and get the iguanas to eat out of their hands. There was also a really beautiful Venezuelan troupial bird hanging out in the tree beside us, hoping to snag a crumb or two from the lizards.

After Tres Trapi, we decided to drive 2 minutes down the road to Arashi Beach where we were able to stop at Arashi Beach Shack for lunch. This is a great stop if you’re in the area! Although it was busy, we found an empty table and ordered tropical drinks and lunch (highly recommend the Under the Sea Burger). It also allowed our youngest to lie down on the bench seat for a little cat nap out of the sun.

After lunch, we hung out at Arashi Beach for a few hours before heading back to the airbnb. Austen’s sister made us a delicious pasta dinner, we set out lawn chairs in the front yard, and watched the neighbor shoot off fireworks for about an hour. The neighbors were also extremely sweet and brought us over several boxes of poppers for the girls to throw.

This night encompassed the exact reason why we were happy to have chosen Aruba for New Years. Although it wasn’t New Years’ Eve anymore, the celebration continued on and was enjoyed by everyone on the island, all times of the day, for as long as they could possibly manage.

Day 3

The next day, we woke up just before 7AM and ate breakfast again at the airbnb. This was the morning we decided to cut into the massive avocado Austen’s sister bought from the grocery store, and it had to be one of the best avocados any of us had ever eaten. Because of how good it was, it’s deserving of its own gallery below.

After breakfast, we drove over to Palm Beach for the excursion, Arusun Catamaran Sail with Snorkeling in Aruba we booked through Viator. This excursion was the perfect start to the day. After a short sail and a few drinks from the open bar, the boat dropped anchor right beside the Antilla Shipwreck, which was a cargo ship intentionally sunk in 1940s by the Germans to prevent the ship’s capture during World War II.

After snorkeling at the shipwreck, we set sail again for another short trip over to Catalina Bay. Although this area was not the best for snorkeling, especially after visiting the shipwreck, it was a great place to anchor, jump off the catamaran, and chill out in the water. Our youngest, which by now you should know can sleep anywhere and everywhere, fell asleep between the two anchor points which were less than 10 minutes away from each other. While the rest of the crew took turns jumping off the catamaran and hanging out in the water, I (Kristen) hung out on the catamaran while our youngest slept on the trampoline.

Fair warning if you do this excursion, which we recommend you do: get to Palm Beach early. Parking near the meeting point is for hotel guests only so you have to find street parking. The street parking was very limited. We ended up parking about a 10–15-minute walk away and barely made it in time.

After we returned to shore, we walked straight to Señor Frog’s. Although you don’t really go to Señor Frog’s for the food, you go for the fun atmosphere, the food was pretty good and much needed after the morning we spent on the water.

Although we knew we were really pushing it with the girls and their exhaustion level, we decided to walk another 15 minutes to the Butterfly Farm…which may or may not have resulted in a minor (major) meltdown by one of our girls just before we got there. We all eventually went inside and got to enjoy all the butterflies on site. We loved seeing the different types of cocoons that went with the different types of butterflies, and the girls tried to stay as still as possible so they could get the butterflies to land on them. When it was all said and done, the girls loved the visit, and it ended up being one of the highlights of their trip.

After the butterfly farm, we headed back to our car parked near Palm Beach and went back to the airbnb to shower off and chill out before we went out for dinner. We drove into Noord and stopped at Fireson Brewing Company for dinner. The overall consensus from all parties was that the food was really good.

Day 4

The following day, we ate breakfast at the airbnb again before heading to the Aruba Donkey Sanctuary. The sanctuary is definitely something we recommend visiting while you’re on the island. It’s a nice change of pace, and you get to interact with donkeys up close and personal. We enjoyed feeding and petting them, while also hanging out with the peacocks and roosters.

After visiting with the donkeys, we drove to Arikok National Park. When you arrive, make sure you stop at visitor’s center to pay the park’s entrance fee. At the time of this post, it cost $22 USD per adult to enter. We also highly recommend getting a 4×4 vehicle if you plan on entering the park during your stay. Not only do you need a 4×4 or to join a tour group to see the Conchi Natural Pool (we did not, but heard it was awesome) but you do encounter some pretty rough terrain that act as speed bumps…or rather speed “dips” while driving throughout the park.

Our first stop in the park was Boca Prins Dunes. Although these were sand dunes, they were pretty far from the beach. Scattered within the dunes were big rock formations. Additionally, there were so many large seashells, marine fossils, and empty crab shells throughout the dunes and our walk down to Boca Prins Beach.

After hiking for about 2 hours, we found our way back to the car and drove on to both the Fontein and Quadirikiri caves. While the Fontein Cave had drawings from the Arawak Indians on the ceilings, both caves had amazing stalactites and stalagmites throughout. Although we didn’t have a formal tour of the caves while in Aruba, we had just come off a cave tour in Curaçao so the girls still had plenty of questions about how stalactites and stalagmites are formed.

After the caves, we drove another 15-20 minutes to Baby Beach. During the drive, our youngest fell asleep in the car so Austen and our oldest went into Rum Reef Cocktail Bar and Grill for some food and drinks while I (Kristen) let our youngest nap a little longer in the car. The food and drinks were pricey, likely being due to the location right next to one of the most popular beaches on the island, the food and drinks were delicious. Even given the price, we recommend stopping here. If you’re visiting without kids, you also have the opportunity to go in the restaurant pool which overlooks the beach.

After our late lunch at Rum Reef, we ventured out to Baby Beach and parked ourselves right under the trees outside the restaurant. This area of the beach did not have the “calm” waters that Baby Beach is known for, but that also meant there were less people in the area and ended up being the perfect spot for us to swim in the water, build sandcastles, read books, watch the pelicans dive into the water to get fish, and just relax. As the sun started to set, we moved over to the more popular area of Baby Beach and watched the sunset over the still waters.

Days 5 and 6

On our last full day in Aruba, we took it easy. We had breakfast at the airbnb again before heading over to the capital city, Oranjestad. What we had not thought through before we ventured out was that it was Sunday…and just about everything was closed. We’re not big shoppers so it wasn’t a huge deal for us. However, if you’re planning to visit all the high-end shops in the area, make sure you’re not going on a Sunday.

When we first arrived in Oranjestad, we stopped at Santos – Coffee with Soul. While there, we got coffee, smoothies, banana bread, and some cookies before our youngest ended up falling asleep at the table…

After she woke up, we wandered around the city, stopping at souvenir shops and looking at the beautiful buildings right off the water.

In the early afternoon, we drove back to the airbnb to watch the Texans game and eat the remaining leftovers. After a Texans win, we went back to Palm Beach to watch our last Aruban sunset.

The next day, we said goodbye to our wonderful airbnb, had lunch at Nusa Harbour Indonesian Restaurant in Oranjasted (highly recommend!), and then headed home after an epic 10-day Caribbean vacation.

Overall opinion of Aruba

We loved Aruba and can definitely see ourselves visiting again in the future. Although we did have a blast on New Years’ Eve watching the fireworks on the beach, we likely would have gotten the true Aruban New Years’ vibe if we had made it an parents’ only trip and could have attended one of the rooftop parties. From the way it was described to us, when you’re on one of those rooftops, there are fireworks as far as the eye can see. Although we didn’t get to experience New Years to that level, we did love how much the holiday was celebrated and for how long. It was awesome seeing neighbors coming out of their homes at all times of the day, shooting off fireworks when they felt like it.

Outside of the holiday festivities, we loved the island, especially the national park and Baby Beach. The beaches were all beautiful, snorkeling at every beach was a lot of fun, and the water was crystal clear. If we had to do it all over again, we probably would have moved our day in Oranjasted since most of the stores were closed due to it being Sunday, but overall, everything else we did was exactly what we wanted to see and gave us the opportunity to relax a little before diving back into work and school.

Until next time, Aruba!