5 Must See Places in Aruba

Aruba is A-Mazing and there are plenty of places to discover if you just let go and explore. Here are my picks for 5 places that you must visit in Aruba.

1. Screaming Eagle

Have you ever dreamed about having breakfast in bed? The most your significant other will make you is dry toast and coffee? Well in Aruba at Screaming Eagle, you most certainly will get the royal treatment. The Screaming Eagle is an Aruban restaurant that is half restaurant tables and half beds! If you want to set up a romantic evening, this is the spot. Or you can be like me, and go treat your damn self solo! Just a note, when you make reservations you have to specify that you want a bed, and not a table.

Once you get there, they walk you to the back where there are two rows of beds separated by a curtain. For those of you whose minds are consistently in the gutter, I do not think you can getaway with any hanky panky while behind your curtains. Firstly, the curtains are thin, so the people next to you can probably hear you. And your waiter is constantly opening the curtains to check on you, sooooo you’ll get caught! Ha!

You pretty much order your food, and then it’s served to you on a bed tray. It is such a cute experience.

2. Flamingo/Iguana Beach (Renaissance Private Island)

I think this could have possibly been my favourite part of Aruba. And for those of you who search the world to find some of the most amazing instagrammable spots, I think this one could be one of the most popular. Renaissance Private Island is a little hidden gem. If you are staying at Renaissance Hotel Aruba, you have access to this private island included in your stay. If you are not staying at Renaissance, you will need to pay $100 to gain access. You take a private shuttle boat from Renaissance to the private island. Once you arrive, you have two options. Iguana or Flamingo Beach. I couldn’t wait to see the flamingos, so that’s where I headed first.

I mean, you actually get to swim, take pics and feed the pink flamingos!!!! Generally, wildlife hates me. I don’t know why since I’m so kind, caring and nurturing (snickers) But these flamingos actually didn’t run at the sight of me. One little bugger thought my foot was food and pecked me! You see what I’m saying; these flamingos don’t peck anyone but me!! Wildlife hates me I tell ya!

Pictured Above: Me thinking I'm cute with the flamingo. Then it started to look at me funny, so I was slowly getting ready to get the hell outta there!!!!!

Over at the Iguana Beach, I really didn’t see any iguanas. Apparently, they only come out at certain times for feeding (they’re over there living their best life!) However, on the flamingo side, I saw a lot of commotion, and when I looked, it was a huge iguana! So I am sure sometime over your vacay, you’ll catch a glimpse (I stayed clear of the iguana. I wasn’t gonna give it a chance to hate me!!!)

3. The Dutch Pancake House

Aruba is considered a Dutch and Spanish Caribbean island. You’ll actually find a lot of Dutch influence in Aruba. While I was on my quest to find out where I should eat in Aruba, I was told that I must try a Dutch pancake. How different can pancakes be? Well, a Dutch pancake is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It actually reminds me of a crepe, with toppings on it. I am almost positive anyone Dutch would be pissed that I just compared it to a crepe.

I checked out the Dutch Pancake House, since supposedly, they have Aruba’s best Dutch pancake. I had choices like cheese, bacon, strawberries, and Nutella to put on top of my pancake. Nutella on top of a pancake??? Yuck!

I kept it simple, and it was simply delicious. It was a large round pancake, but it was so thin that you could possibly eat a few of them. You also had your choice of Dutch syrup, or good ole American syrup to go along with it. If you want to get an authentic taste of a Dutch breakfast, I would certainly try the Dutch Pancake House.

4. ZeeRovers

I think this was the best meal that I had in Aruba. Before I travel anywhere, I always do some research in my travel groups to see places that I must visit. This place was at the top of most peoples list. If you want to visit here, I think you’re going to need a car. It’s a bit out of the way of everything (but we are in Aruba, so out of the way really means like a 20 minute drive!)

Zee Rovers is right by the sea. Actually, the eating area is built over the sea. Can’t get any closer to water than that.

Their menu is simple. It’s the catch of the day. Whatever they catch is what you eat. As soon as you walk in, there is a kiosk with coolers, and your fresh fish inside. The day I went, they happened to catch two different kinds of snapper. You decide how much you get, because you pay based on the weight. It comes with fries, cornbread, and plantain.

After you’ve placed your order and paid, you take a seat overlooking the sea. Once your meal is ready, they’ll bring it right to you. It was delicious! Hands down the best meal I had in Aruba. There is nothing fancy or pretentious about this place. You can just dig in with your hands if you want.

5. The Beach!

What's the best thing about Aruba? The beaches! You could do a different beach everyday if you wanted to. I did!

Baby Beach was stunning. Clear blue calm water. You definitely need a car to get there, but it is worth the ride.

Arashi Beach was also a stunning one. Great for the kids. A lot of families were there and it also had calm water so children were safe to swim in.

Eagle Beach was the busiest of all the beaches that I went to. This is where you’ll find all the water sports. It is off a main strip, so it’s just livelier than the other beaches.

Boca Catalina is great for snorkelling. I didn’t see anywhere for you to rent equipment, so you might have to bring your own.

Things You Should Know:

They have a really fun looking party bus that I purchased a ticket to go on. It would have made this list for sure since it looked lit. However, they left me waiting at the bus stop for over an hour. When I asked the security guard if they've seen a huge party bus pass by, he mentioned that they came and left a long time ago. When I called the company the next day, they mentioned that they changed the time of pick up to one hour before, and forgot to mention it to me!!!!!!!! Really???? They're lucky my refund was processed immediately and I didn't have to ask twice for it!!!!