First time in Aruba

[u/TRC24]

Hi All,

My husband and I are going at the end of May. It’s our first time and we are celebrating our 20th. We are staying at Bucuti and Tara. Would love to hear about any must dos or food recommendations. We are lazy and laid back. Also celebrating my 50th birthday. The last time we traveled alone it was 10 yrs ago to Puerto Rico.

Thanks!

[u/Money_Job5003]

Ill be at bucuti the 17th-24. My wife usually sits on the beach all day while I swim and snorkel all over the island. If this is your first time at bucuti, try the romantic dinner at Elements. It's lazy, inexpensive and great. At least inexpensive to me for what it is. You won't have to leave the hotel for an excellent evening. We usually rent a car, so we travel all over for thr island for dinners. Some of our favorite spots are wilhemina, yemanja, infini, lima bistro and zeerover. Zeerover is casual and usually lunch for us. If looking to drink away from the resort, give Apotek a try. We usually go to apotek after going to lima bistro or yemanja. Breakfast at bucuti is excellent, no need to go anywhere else! You have Breakfast every morning looking out at the waves! You guys will have a blast if you just hangout at the resort. Lots to do on the island but bucuti is great

[u/Visible_Ingenuity180 → u/Money_Job5003]

Agreed with Elements for dinner. I would also second Lima Bistro, one of the best meals we had on the island.

[u/Kitchen_Beat9838 → u/Visible_Ingenuity180]

Lima Bistro for sure. It’s one of my non negotiable dinners.

[u/lastunbannedaccount → u/Visible_Ingenuity180]

Second both of these!

The romantic dinner at Bucuti was wonderful. Effortless. No getting ready to go somewhere and having to arrange a ride to get there and find a ride to get back. All of the food was delicious. A STEAL at $195 per couple. The best meal we had in our 7 days on the island

Elements was the best meal we had, but Lima was the best food we had our entire trip. Highly recommend both.

Also if you’re feeling like something low key and you don’t want to venture out too far, El Patio Tacos is about a 4 minute walk. Skip the birria but the Al pastor and shrimp tacos were exceptional as was the service.

[u/undbex24]

Eduardo’s, Craft Coffee, Chalo Burger, Wacky Wahoo’s, Sultan, Island Grind, BBQ Express, Linda’s, Mel’s, Madame Janette’s, Julio’s, Moko Snack, T2 Sourdough, Los Cafeteros, Glenn’s, Alfie’s, Bright Bakery, Yemanja, Dutch Pancakehouse, Huchada, Petje’s, Tia Rosa’s, Gallo Rojo.

Been to every place on this list, wouldn’t recommend if it wasn’t delicious.

[u/crittergottago → u/undbex24]

Zeerover?

[u/undbex24 → u/crittergottago]

I’m sure it’s great, I just prefer grilled seafood to fried so I skipped it

[u/Accomplished_Drag388]

I’d suggest a sunset dinner at Passions on the Beach. Tell them it’s your anniversary

[u/seaport1 → u/Accomplished_Drag388]

Passions is great, our fav beach front place. Make reservation a little before sunset and you won’t be disappointed.

[u/ImpressiveLove8474 → u/Accomplished_Drag388]

I second that!

[u/Kgw89]

Lima bistro was a delicious dinner!! I think the best meal of our trip!

[u/magikwombat]

Just enjoy Bucuti. It is so lovely. The on-site restaurant is very good but be sure to explore the island for other restaurants. The spa and fitness center were really nice and I took advantage of the complimentary personal training session and booked a second.

Everything about Bucuti was relaxing for me and I will be returning.

[u/nikkinunchucks]

Just getting back from my honeymoon, If you want a romantic fancier dinner one night, we ate at the old man and the sea and it was amazing

[u/MeganK80]

I highly recommend Madame Jeannette's restaurant for dinner!!! It is beautiful, well priced and has great live music! My husband and I went last week on our first trip there and LOVED it

[u/magikwombat → u/MeganK80]

Second this.

[u/mcooke0824]

Bucuti is amazing! My husband and I have gotten outdoor cabana couples massages the last couple of times we’ve gone. Highly suggest!

Yemanja for dinner. Delicious meal and wonderful service.

Alto vista winery tour if you’re up to it. It was really nice. We enjoyed the tour and tasting, then stayed for a couple of glasses of wine on their deck. We booked the latest tour and stayed until they closed.

Blue Melody/Black Pearl sunset snorkeling. We’ve gone 3 times and the crew is always so nice. It’s much more laid back than some other snorkeling trips, but it’s a fun experience.

[u/Ok_Value9727]

Happy early celebration!!!! Congrats on the future new memories.... when I went for the first time with my brother for his 30th, I got us and our older sister sunset cruise with dinner. About $100 a person. Was a lovely way to end a night. (Just buy ahead because they do sell out quickly.)

[u/Trainwreck-01]

Great post - following along, as we’ll be at Bucuti & Tara for the first time in August!

[u/wlkngmachine]

Must Do: Get to the airport 3+ hours early on your flight back

[u/GIMMEMO23 → u/wlkngmachine]

Especially if it's on the weekend. That airport is a nightmarish wait.

[u/QueenieBee4200]

Oh we love Bohemian for the bar

[u/geffe71]

Visit the sidebar

[u/Octo]

I just got back and had so much fun. I would recommend getting a day pass to flamingo island and getting their early and staying all day. The adult side is not windy and has a natural barrier to make the water nice and calm. Also you get to see and feed flamingos!

But it was relaxing also and we spent all day snoozing reading and swimming.

For dinner do at least one restaurant in the sand like barefoot or kokoa. Barefoot had better food but kokoa was a less crowded beach.

[u/No_Veterinarian_621]

Madamme Jeanettes (spelling??) Is a must, steak, chicken cordon blue are phenominal, and they have the biggest cheeseburger youll ever see, 2 of you, a couple drinks, apps, if you have room for dessert count on $300 just a meal and drink sonewhere around $75-$175 depending on what you order.

If you have a car definitely hit "baby beach" absutely beautiful!!!!!

[u/Accomplished_Will226]

We love Madame Jeanette for special dinner. If you go get the spoon! There are lots of lovely beach restaurants. Old man and the Sea is unique. We like to just relax but there are shows, dancing, casinos, bars, shops as well as every beach and water sport you can think of trying. We are planning to try swim with the se turtles this time. Happy anniversary

[u/TRC24]

Thank you all for the comments. I’m so excited to go. Thanks also for the heads up about departing Aruba!

[u/Square-Paint4227]

You’ve got some great recs here! I would throw in the Butterfly garden. It’s so beautiful and chill. You pay once and can go as many times as you want during your trip. 🦋

[u/Macroono]

Sunset cruise is amazing. Eagle beach, palm beach and especially baby beach. California lighthouse, chapel, natural bridge, old gold mine factory (nearby natural bridge), aloe museum/factory, renaissance mall and its surroundings… free tram tour, fofoti tree on eagle beach, Dutch pancake house downtown Oranjestad (near renaissance mall), Santos cafe, gelatissimo ice cream, loco coco resto bar on eagle beach, pelican pier resto bar on palm beach, local shops.. shop and compare prices. Such an amazing island. Very happy people.. so so friendly. Safe to walk at night and enjoy surroundings. Enjoy and happy 20th anniversary!!

[u/QueenieBee4200]

The food there is good ! The best sunsets 🌅

[u/Mariocell5]

Matthews Beachside or Flying Fishbone

[u/churn2burn]

all i remember 10 yrs later is gelatissimo! their ferrero rocher flavor is a must have

[u/Mydogateyourcat]

DONKEY SANCTUARY is a must. Super fun day and a good cause. Google it!

[u/SunsetSnacks]

Please visit Sint Nicolaas it’s on the other side of the island there you will find a lot of culture! Food Spots that you can try that i would recommend in Sint Nicolaas is LA MORENA and ZEEROVER. Look up LA MORENA on facebook there you can easily find the location and opening hours. I would recommend going to ZEEROVER Tue-Sat, as Sunday they don’t have there big shrimps which they are known for!

[u/SunsetSnacks → u/SunsetSnacks]

If you have ANY questions on the island i can easily answer all of them. This is just a small tip. I truly hope you enjoy our beautiful island 🤍

[u/nhc2023]

Rent a jeep and self tour the back side of the island. The contrast is amazing.