Just like many cruisers, we were looking for an alternative way to see Aruba.
There are pros and cons to the different ways of purchasing shore excursions. Some of the excursions in our recent cruise were horrible. But our experience in Aruba was very pleasant, affordable, fun, hassle free and insightful. Because cruisers like us are looking for useful information online for shore excursions, I’ve decided to write a full account of our tour in three parts with over 30 photos:
Part I A Quick Tour Of One Happy Island: Aruba (Part One)
Part II Aruba (Part II): Aruba Natural Bridge and California Lighthouse
This is the final part of the series.
Sightseeing Tour in Aruba Part III
Aruba is less than 20 miles away from Venezuela. For years there was an influx of immigrants from Venezuela. Spanish is widely spoken in this tiny island. Strangely but true, most of the grocery stores are owned by Chinese immigrants. They have Chinese names and one or two had Chinese characters on their store signs.
Fresh coconut water and meat
Getting refreshing fresh coconut water is easy. These vendors were so efficient with their knives on the young coconuts. I observed they could get one cut out in less than a minute.
Divi divi tree
Aruba’s natural compass is the divi divi tree. All these trees seen on beaches were bent in one direction due to trade winds. Divi divi, also known as the watapana tree is usually bent at a 90-degree angle at the trunk and point towards the southwestern direction.
Cunucu houses
We passed through a neighborhood with the modern version of Aruba’s traditional houses called cunucu (countryside). 
Aruba’s Tierra del Sol Golf Resort includes houses beyond $5 million. This gated community is located at the only 18-hole golf course in Aruba designed by Robert Trent Jones II. This master planned community look so much like the ones in Florida where we live.
The Palm Beach Hotels
The Westin Resort on Palm Beach is the oldest hotel in Aruba, built in 1975.
Beaches
Most hotels are located in the Palm Beach area. The waters are blue and the sand is white. For us Floridians, that was not the draw to Aruba.
The next beach, Eagle Beach is closer to Oranjestad, where the cruise ship docked. That’s where most of us were dropped off to enjoy the white-powdered beach with divi divi tree. Here you will find time-share resorts of Aruba.
Our trip was short but we had an overview of Aruba and know exactly where to stay for our next trip. Choosing who to go with on a sightseeing tour is important. I believe in going with your instinct when looking for a tour operator. My husband and I were choosing between two operators while in Aruba. The ones with lots of people in the tour bus won.
How do you reserve your shore excursions when you go on a cruise? Let us know by commenting below.
Such gorgeous beaches! I've never done a cruise, but when I do I'll make careful plans when going on excursions. Thanks for the informative (and colorful!) read. 🙂
You're welcome Nikki. I like Norwegian Cruise's itinerary and freestyle concept. Aruba is beautiful.