In today’s post, Lasia writes about her recent FAM trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba. As a diligent Cyber Maid of Honour, she inspected 8 properties as possible destination wedding spots. Lasia reviews 3 of them below as well as 3 fun excursions!
HOTELS
Occidental Grand Aruba
The Occidental Grand Aruba is a fabulous property! It manages to be sophisticated, laid back and energetic all at once.
This property has a great free-form pool with a very tropical feel. Located on Palm Beach, they have plenty of palapas (thatch roof) umbrellas and chairs.
The buffet lunch has a wide selection and the food was very tasty. The a la carte dinner was lovely as well.
Divi Aruba Beach Resort & Tamarijn Aruba Beach Resort
This is where I want to get married!
The Divi Aruba Beach Resort is located on the most beautiful beach I have ever seen! The wide beach has sand is as soft as powdered sugar and the water is so clear and blue! I had a great time floating in the water on the gentle waves.
All rooms are steps from the beach!
I had the opportunity to meet with the wedding coordinators while I was there. They offer a variety of different wedding packages that can be customized to create your dream wedding.
One benefit of getting married at the Divi Aruba is that they have 4 properties in their brand (Divi Aruba Beach, Divi Aruba Golf, Tamarijn Aruba & Divi Aruba Phoenix Beach). Although the wedding ceremony must be held at the hotel where you are staying, you’re free to have your reception at any of their properties!
Another great point about the Divi properties is the exchange privileges – you have access to all of the restaurants at the Divi Beach and the Tamarijn Beach. That’s 9 restaurants! And the food is soooo good!
If you are a golfer this is the resort for you – the golf course is right across the street at the Divi Aruba Golf Resort.
Holiday Inn Aruba
This is a clean, comfortable, basic hotel. Nothing too fancy but it has everything you need. The beach is fantastic and if you love water sports you are in the right place! Take a short walk down the beach in either direction and you will find plenty of vendors offering catamaran trips, deep sea fishing, jet skiing and more!
The Holiday Inn Aruba was the busiest and liveliest hotel on Palm Beach. Guests from other hotels come over in the late afternoon & evening for drinks.
This hotel is EP (no meals) with an optional All-Inclusive plan. I really recommend taking the all-inclusive plan as the cost of food and drink can really add up. Lunch for 2 (with 1 drink each) at the Sea Breeze beach front al la carte restaurant came to $50 USD.
EXCURSIONS
Island Tour
This tour really puts into perspective just how small Aruba is! You can tour around the island in under 2 hours.
Aruba is made up of 3 main areas: Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba and downtown Oranjestad, where you can find great bargains on souvenirs, nightlife and restaurants; Palm Beach, where all of the high-rise hotels are located along with tourist class shops, bars and restaurants; and St Nicholas, which is an industrial town, not a tourist centre.
Other sites to see in Aruba include a quaint church, a lighthouse and the cactuses.
Catamaran & Snorkelling Tour
This is my most favourite snorkelling trip I’ve even been on!
Aruba has the largest and most accessible shipwreck in the Caribbean just off the coast and I was lucky enough to see this shipwreck not once but twice! This snorkelling tour made 2 stops – the first to fairly shallow area with lots of tropical fish and the second to the shipwreck (sunk during WWII). It was amazing getting so close to a wreck like that and seeing the life that has developed around it!
The food and drink on the catamaran were great great! The Pina Coladas were to die for (made with real pineapple and coconut milk – not the bottled mix). The staff made sure to explain key points of the island’s history without interrupting the party atmosphere.
I even got to drive the boat for a minute!
Seaworld Explorer Semi-Submarine
We boarded the transfer boat at Pelican Pier just outside of the Holiday Inn which took us to the Seaworld Explorer. The Seaworld Explorer is part boat/part submarine (the top part is out of the water, the bottom part under water).
This is a great tour for those who want to see the shipwreck and underwater life but who are uncomfortable being in the water.
I got some great photos!
Have you had a destination wedding in Aruba at one of these hotels? Tell us about it! And if you liked the sound of any one of these Caribbean properties for your destination wedding, contact us for a quote.
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Just browsing around and found your site. Very good post. Will be adding you to my RSS reader.
Thanks, Darryl! Happy you enjoyed the post.