5 things to do in Aruba other than working on your tan

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Aruba’s white sand beaches and acquamarine waters are well-known throughout the world and for good reason. But there’s more to do on this small Dutch Caribbean island than working on your tan. From an elegant restaurant set up on the beach to a very quirky dive bar to a gorgeous national park filled with desert landscapes, Aruba has much more to offer than first meets the eye.

Here are five of the most worthwhile things to do:

5. Dine on the beach at Simply Fish. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more gorgeous setting for a dinner than at Simply Fish. Located directly on Palm Beach– you’ll feel the sand between your toes while biting into your heavenly seafood risotto– this restaurant offers a meal you’ll always remember.

Yes, the food is a little pricey (entrees are in the $30-$40 range), but you’re paying primarily for the excellent location, one that has inspired more marriage proposals than unexpected pregnancies probably have.

4. Windsurfing on Palm Beach

Hailed as one of the world’s top 12 beaches by Conde Nast, Palm Beach is a great place to practice your sit, stare, and swim routine for days on end. But for the more active among us, Palm Beach’s constant breezes and shallow water also make it the perfect place to take your first windsurfing lesson. The folks at Vela Windsurf provide excellent, affordable instruction and they allow you as much time as your body can handle to practice what you’ve learned.

3. Stellaris Casino Aruba is an idyllic Caribbean paradise, but paradise, alas, does not come cheap. Why not try to make some of that money back (or lose even more!) by visiting the Stellaris Casino, located inside the Aruba Marriott Resort.

With all the table games you’re accustomed to, like craps, roulette, and blackjack, as well as a sportsbook and hundreds of slot machines, Stellaris has enough to keep even the most compulsive gambling addict entertained. Be sure to pick up your VIP card if you’re interested in earning comps and cash back.

2. Charlie’s Bar Started in the 1940s by a Dutch immigrant named Charlie Brouns and now operated by the founder’s grandson, Charlie’s Bar is an absolute institution in San Nicolas, Aruba’s second city.

The decor is eccentric to put it mildly: the bar is chock-full of thousands of vintage signs, photographs, and bizarre garage sale finds. The seafood is excellent and reasonably priced (well, for Aruba). Bring a camera and have your picture taken behind the bar.

1. Stack rocks at Arikok National Park. How did a vast arid desert come to occupy one-fifth of the tropical island of Aruba? We don’t know either, but we’re glad it does. Arikok National Park is rocky, filled with cacti, and the last thing you’d expect when visiting a Caribbean island. But its dramatic location on Aruba’s northeastern coast makes it stunningly beautiful.

The bumpy roads through most of Arikok mean it’s best explored by Jeep, and DePalm Tours offers excellent guided Jeep tours where you (yes, you!) are behind the wheel. A standard compact car will allow you to see much of the park as well. Don’t miss walking on top of one of the natural bridges, exploring the ruins of a gold mine called Miralamar, and locking lips with your significant other in the heart-shaped Tunnel of Love.

You’ll also find thousands of rock stacks (like the ones above) throughout the park. Go ahead and build a little tower yourself– it’s supposed to bring good luck.

For more about Aruba, check out my quick ‘n dirty guide to the island from earlier today.

This trip was sponsored by Marriott Hotels. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Research your excursions – Cruise trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

Every port of call has local individuals and companies that offer excursions, and they’re often much cheaper than those offered by the cruise line.

There’s a reason your cruise director is constantly urging you to purchase your excursions early — the cruise line wants to make money! Instead of using the cruise ship’s excursion options, consider making your excursion plans before you leave home — or you can even decide when you get off the ship. Just use your best judgment in choosing with whom you go.

Have a good time, be sure to get back to the ship safely and on time, and always travel off the ship with at least one companion.

[Image credit: Luke Robinson]

Bowermaster’s Adventures — Live from Antarctica: part 8

by Jon Bowermaster on

Dallum Bay, New Year’s Day – Stopped off in this beautiful, ice-choked bay to say goodbye to Antarctica for this season. From here the route runs due north, across the Drake Passage, towards Cape Horn and the tip of Argentina. One of the beauties of traveling down south this time of year is that the sun barely sets. At midnight, like now, it is dusky … the official time of the sun’s rising is 2:20 a.m. This time of year it never truly gets dark.

Tonight could be the most beautiful I’ve ever seen the nearby Melchior Islands, bathed in the pink light of an Antarctic sunset. The blue-black sea is coated with grease ice, sea on the verge of freezing, giving it a coating like cellophane paper which undulates with the currents, and laden with small icebergs. The narrow, u-shaped bay off the Palmer Archipelago is lined with glaciers; the glaciers are thousands of years old and hundreds of feet tall. There’s no possible way any man has ever walked along this shoreline, which is what I love most about Antarctica. Still today, with 14 billion feet trodding the planet on a daily basis – headed fast towards 18 billion – much of this continent remains untrammeled, untouched.

The air is cold and clear; sucking it in burns my lungs but it feels good. There isn’t a place on the planet I’d rather be and I feel fortunate to be able to return, year after year. When we sail away from Dallman, I will be filled with both joy and regret. The former, because I know how lucky I am to keep coming back to this remote corner of the planet; the latter because I would prefer to stay longer, until the days here grow short, and dark.

Due to the sour global economy, tourism to Antarctica this season and last has dropped off. A couple years back it topped an all-time high of 45,000 arriving by cruise boat. This year I don’t think it will get much above 35,000. Maybe too, those with the economic wherewithal to come to Antarctica have already been. Until it becomes cheap to visit the seventh continent, maybe tourism numbers will continue to decline. We shall see. This season there are thirty ships bringing tourists to the Peninsula and I know that right now on the streets of Ushuaia, the Argentine port town where the big boats come and go from, there are “sales” in tourist agency windows advertising “last minute, cut rate” prices in order to fill empty cabins and beds on Antarctic-bound ships. What’s cut-rate? $3500, $4000. Which may seem like a lot for a ten-day to two-week trip … but then again … it’s Antarctica, the most remote place on earth.

It’s been thirty-three years since a New Zealand tourist plane crashed in Antarctica during a flyover, killing all 257 aboard. Today I read that a Qantas Airbus A380 – a “super jumbo” will make a twelve hour roundtrip flight from Melbourne, carrying 450 New Year’s eve revelers, for a glimpse of the ice. Birthday parties, anniversaries and wedding engagements will be celebrated in the air over the edge of the continent. Many bottles of champagne are part of the deal, for prices ranging from $999 to $6000 per person. “It’s a party flight and also an expedition,” the organizers boast. “Passengers are welcome to dance to the jazz band if that is what they want!”

What a long way we’ve come in the past fifty years, since the treaty that governs Antarctica was signed. Then, no one could have imagined tourism coming to Antarctica. Today, somehow the place seems to be on everyone’s “list.”

I pause and look around, turning 360 degrees in the cold dusk air. I see no one. A trio of humpbacks break the surface, their breathing sending spumes of vapor into the pink sky, heading towards the open ocean. I am privileged to be here, and I know it.

Classic Treks: Tiger Leaping Gorge, China

by Kraig Becker on

China isn’t usually the first place that comes to mind when adventure travelers are considering their next challenging, trek. But the country has plenty of remote, wild places that can offer backpackers an amazing hiking experience. Perhaps the best of those is a trek through Tiger Leaping Gorge, a deep canyon located along the Yangtze River in the southwest portion of the country.

Tiger Leaping Gorge is an excellent hike for independent trekkers looking to escape the hustle and bustle, not to mention the pollution, of China’s busy cities. Located about 40 miles north of Lijiang City in Yunnan Province, the trail first rose to prominence in the 1980’s, when western backpackers began to explore the area. At that time, there were actually two distinct routes, consisting of the easier and flatter “Low Trail” and the much more challenging and dangerous “High Road”. The Low Trail has recently been paved over and made into a highway and while it is still an option, the High Road is a far superior option.

That trail is a mere 15 miles in length and requires just two days to hike end to end, but it is a long and difficult trek thanks to the steep trails and dramatic changes in altitude. The mountains that flank the trail are both well over 16,000 feet in height, and the sheer cliff faces fall away sharply. More than 6500 feet below, the Yangtze River can be seen rushing by, making a thunderous noise as it passes. Scenic vistas dominate the region, giving you plenty to gawk at throughout the journey.
The first day of the trek generally takes hikers up more than 3000 feet, but rewards their efforts with a stay in a local tea house, which are found frequently along the route. The tea houses are great places to get food and drinks, while taking a break from the trail, and they offer cramped, but comfortable accommodations for the night when you’ve decided to put up your feet by the fire.

The second day of the trek is not any easier than the first, although the trail does turn down out of the mountains, eventually depositing hikers on the banks of the Yangtze, the very river they’ve been watching from above for the past two days. The narrow trail can be difficult to navigate at times, but the views are worth the effort, as you’ll find that the altitude isn’t the only thing that takes your breath away.

There are few reliable maps for the region, but fortunately the trail is well marked and easy to follow. You can choose to hike it with a guide, but it is also very easy to do independently as well. Simply hop a bus from Lijiang for about $4 and then pay the entrance fee to the Gorgel, which is about another $8. From there, you simply follow the designated route, going at your own pace, and choosing to stop at a tea house when ever you desire.

While not as long as some of the other major trekking trails in the world, Tiger Leaping Gorge still has plenty to offer, and is an excellent escape from modern, metropolitan China, which can provide sensory overload at times. For a little peace and quite, and fresh air, add this trek to your itinerary, and you’ll get to experience a piece of rural China that few outsiders experience.

Winter fun in the Black Hills of South Dakota

by Kraig Becker on

The blizzard that blew through the Midwest last week may have disrupted travel for the holidays, but it was just what outdoor enthusiasts were looking for in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Snow had been quite sparse up until the blizzard hit, but some areas received as much as four feet of the white stuff, making the area the perfect winter playground for skiers and snowmobilers.

Awhile back we mentioned all of the great outdoor adventure activities that South Dakota has to offer in the summer months, with plenty of great hiking, mountain biking, paddling, and climbing throughout the Badlands and Black Hills. During the winter, those activities switch to skiing, both down hill and cross country, snowboarding, dog sledding, snow shoeing, and snowmobiling.

Travelers looking to make a winter escape will want to head to the Rapid City area, which serves as a gateway to this outdoor wonderland. Nearby Mystic Miner and Terry Peak ski resorts both received over 45 inches of fresh snow in last week’s blizzard, and are an easy drive from the city. These resorts offer excellent skiing opportunities without the crowds found in some of the larger resorts in nearby Colorado.

Likewise, historic Deadwood is a popular destination that offers access to groomed trails that are perfect to explore on foot or by snow mobile. And when travelers are done playing outside, they can head back to town to enjoy wild west fun and themed casinos.

From Mt. Rushmore to the Crazy Horse Monument, you’ll find plenty of outdoor adventure throughout the Badlands and Black Hills no matter what time of year you visit, but those who enjoy winter activities, will find plenty to enjoy eary in the new year.