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Tags: Windsurfing / Aruba Travel / Active Travel / Sports / → All Tags

Aruba Welcomes Windsurfers Near And Far For Hi-Winds 2009

If Lewis Black hasn’t convinced you to travel to Aruba yet, then maybe the annual Aruba Hi-Winds windsurfing competition will get you there. We realize this is a pretty active endeavor, but since there's the option to take it all in from the shore, you won't have to sacrifice any precious beach time.

From July 1-6, windsurfers and kiteboarders will try their best to tame the island’s trade winds for their own pleasure and bragging rights, competing in different categories like long distance, course racing, and slalom. Amateurs and professionals alike will then gather at island haunts like Fisherman's Hut and Boca Grandi to strut their stuff.

Our pick for best battle has to be Freestyle Windsurfing, but we aren’t the flip and spin type, so you’ll catch us happily sunning ourselves as we them wrestle the winds for title of “King of the Huts.” Just make sure you don't overdo it at the welcome party at Moomba Beach Bar on the first night—those daiquiris go down easy and you've got days of sitting in the sun to do.

Related Stories:
·Aruba Hiwinds 2009 [Official Site]
·Aruba Travel: The Island's Best Dive Bar [Jaunted]
·Windsurfing [Jaunted]

[Photo: Official Site]

Tags: Tourism Marketing / Tourism Boards / Tourism Board Travel / Comedy / Lewis Black / Recession Travel / → All Tags

Cranky Travel: Can Lewis Black Save Aruba Tourism?

Because of their overwhelming dependence on tourism, the islands of the Caribbean have been hit especially hard by the latest global economic bummer. I read in the Economist this morning that the number of visitors is likely to fall by up to a third, a forecast that has prompted the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island to lay off 800 workers and caused investors to pull out of several planned multi-billion-dollar resort complexes. Usually in a business downturn, companies cut their marketing budgets, but there are always a few radicals that double down instead, gunning for visibility in a diminished field. Aruba is doubling down in this recession with a big advertising push that features the grouchy comedian and satirist Lewis Black, and it just might work.

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Tags: Aruba-Travel-Map / Beaches / Islands / Caribbean Travel / Restaurants / → All Tags

Aruba Travel: The Island's Best Beachside Dining

After spending four days on Aruba combing Palm Beach, getting rubbed down at the Larimar Spa, exploring the Aruban outback, and drinking rum punch at the island's best dive bar, it's high time for a fancy meal on the beach.

If it's fresh fish you're after then head to the Flying Fishbone in the seaside neighborhood of Savaneta--and be sure to make a reservation because clearly the secret's out.

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Tags: Aruba-Travel-Map / Islands / Bars / Dive Bars / Caribbean Travel / → All Tags

Aruba Travel: The Island's Best Dive Bar

Aruba has some of the Caribbean's best windsurfing on Palm Beach, a dynamic northwestern coastline easily viewed while on the island's best drive and a fantastic spa where you can get rubbed down with rum and aloe vera. Seriously folks, this island's where it's at.

If you're still not convinced then it's obviously time for a drink. Head south to San Nicolas where you'll find Charlie's Bar--hands down Aruba's finest dive.

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Tags: Aruba-Travel-Map / Islands / Spas / Caribbean Travel / → All Tags

Aruba Travel: The Island's Best Spa

Who knew a small island like Aruba could keep someone so busy? You've already been windsurfing, butterfly watching and sunset sailing on Palm Beach, plus you've conquered the Aruban outback on the island's best drive.

It's time to slow down and relax--after all, vacations were made for pampering. If it's Zen-like tranquility you're after, head to the Larimar Spa, easily Aruba's best sanctuary for the mind, body and spirit.

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Aruba Travel: The Island's Best Drive

It's day two on Aruba and you've kept yourself busy windsurfing, sailing and butterfly watching on Palm Beach--by far the island's finest stretch of sand. And even though you'd love to spend another day sipping cocktails in the sun, there's much more to be seen.

Consider an off-road adventure to the Aruban outback--part of an arid coastal desert on the island's northwestern tip--and home to the island's best drive.

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Aruba Travel: The Island's Best Beach

Forget Natalee Holloway. Yes, the 2005 disappearance of the Alabama high school student was tragic, but Aruba's endured a bad rap for long enough. It's time to rethink this Dutch island just off the coast of Venezuela and give it the respect it deserves.

Like any good trip to the Caribbean, yours should begin on the beach--more specifically, Palm Beach, part of Aruba's finest stretch of powdery white sand.

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Tags: Caribbean Travel / Restaurants / Table Crashing / → All Tags

Table Crashing: Flying Fishbone in Aruba

A friend of Jaunted just got back from an oh-so-trendy "destination wedding" down in Aruba. While the whole traveling-for-a-wedding thing wasn't his favorite, he did manage to scare up some good eats.

Matt has a full report for us on the Flying Fishbone:

Unfortunately, downtown Oranjestad is littered with Taco Bells, Dunkin Donuts and cafes that don't even take the time to grill their grouper sandwiches. The high rises (like the Westin, Riu and Hyatt) have some decent food, but those restaurants are littered with pesky Boston Red Sox fans and tourists alike.

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Tags: Eat-N-Sleep / Caribbean Travel / → All Tags

Eat 'n Sleep Aruba :: Salt and Pepper and Occidental Grand Aruba

Our Eat 'n Sleep feature profiles a restaurant in a random city and a hotel nearby. It's kinda like that old show "Dinner and a Movie" but you know, with restaurants and hotels. And better jokes.

We thought Salt & Pepper was just our favorite singing duo in the 90s, but it turns out it's the perfect place to celebrate if you're partying it up in Aruba. The spot features live music nightly and fans of island fare can find whatever they fancy, morning, noon or night. The menu is jam packed with tasty tapas and fresh-catch fish like mango shrimp and tilapia with coconut-curry sauce.

After dinner, dancing and some tunes, it'll be easy to find your way to bed. Salt & Pepper is located within walking distance of seven luxury hotels. We like the Occidental Grand Aruba. The luxury waterfront resort is all inclusive (that doesn't mean you shouldn't leave the premises), and boasts snorkeling, beach volleyball and four restaurants. As well as some sweet island-themed rooms where you can finally rest your head.

Related Stories:
· Salt & Pepper [Official Site]
· Occidental Grand Aruba [Official Site]
· Aruba Hotels [HotelChatter]
· Aruba Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Tripadvisor]

Tags: Travel Deals / Aruba Travel / Passports / → All Tags

Aruba Woos Visitors, if They've Got Passports

Revamped passport rules that make it harder to travel aren't usually the kind of thing that excite us. But a group of clever hoteliers in Aruba plans to make the best of an otherwise bad situation. You see, starting on January 8, 2007, all travelers leaving the US will need a passport, even if they're headed to countries like the Bahamas, Panama or--you guessed it--Aruba. Previously, you only needed a photo ID and maybe a birth certificate to get back into the US. What's the big deal? Well, aside from the monumental headache involved in filling out the forms and waiting up to eight weeks, it now costs $97 to apply for a passport. All this for a little book containing an easily hackable microchip!

Now the good news: To combat what they expect will be a drop in tourism from the US, five Aruban hotels are offering up free food and car rental vouchers for guests that get down to Aruba before the end of 2007. The goodies run in the $25-$75 range, so they won't cover the cost of your passport fees, but if you've already got your little blue book, take advantage of the situtation. Details available from the hotels: Westin Aruba Resort, Spa & Casino, Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino, Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort, MVC Eagle Beach and Boardwalk Boutique Hotel Aruba.

[Photo: atomicshark]

Related Stories:
· New Requirements for Travelers [Travel.State.Gov]
· E-Passports: Snazzy, Useless, and Coming Soon [Jaunted]