OT from Disney: Can Aruba be budget friendly?

[cheapone]

"DH hasn't traveled much in his life (3 trips in his entire 40 yrs, 2 with me!) " quoting aclov
Divi has resorts on Barbados, St. Maarten, St Croix, and Bonaire. That being said, you can often rent from an owner wherever and whenever you want to go, and have complete flexibility and no maintainence fees. I was a teacher and teachers have NO flexibility about when they take a vaca during the school year, so we bought the weeks we needed so we could be sure to get them, and be able to book airfare 330 days out before the prices jumped up. (The airlines know when school vacations are and adjust their fares accordingly.) Divi contracts are "right to use" for 40 years, not ownership forever. I suggest that before buying any timeshare, you stay at the resort to see if you like it, and read all the info on the tug2 dot net board. It is much cheaper to buy from an owner than from the corporation, be it Marriott, Divi or whomever.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

1) Unless going for windsurfing, Aruba isn't a good place.
. . . one of the best windsurfing destinations
. . . great wind, nice waves
. . . semi-annual formal competitions
2) The place is
. . . small
. . . overcrowded
. . . overpriced

NOTE: For Aruba, think of any Florida beach. You could have
a better time at Cocoa Beach and maybe talk with Anthony
and Jeannie. Just our opinion after three visits. (Once was just
enough for us, but there were two destination weddings we
attended afterward.)

To each their own but I couldn't disagree more.
My mom has a timeshare at the Occidental. We love Aruba.
Yes the airfare is expensive . I think we paid a little under $500 pp with AirTran.

My kids loved Aruba and ask every year to go back. It's not a big island with a ton to do but there is way more to do than windsurfing .

 

[aclov]

Thank you for your comments Cheapone! I did see Divi had other resorts elsewhere and like that plus access to their other resorts. We stayed at Aruba Beach Club as an exchange and found the people there were owners and repeat visitors. It was a small community! I will definately look at the resale market first!

 

[canadianjovigirl]

I don't think Aruba is nearly as costly as Grand Cayman. We love Grand Cayman even thou Aruba has way more night life. We managed to find ways to cut the cost for our Grand Cayman Christmas/New Years trip which is the most expensive time to travel. We found Cayman to be a bit more expensive then Hawaii. We exchanged our money to Cayman dollars and didn't think of the money lost on the exchange and being from Canada the prices for alcohol and groceries were not such a shock as they were comparable to what we were used to.

Enjoy Aruba, but i'm thinking Grand Cayman will still be a favorite. Have you tried Roatan for diving and snorkeling?

 

[mickeyluvr004]

My mom goes to Aruba has been for over 30 years every year she has 4 weeks one of them at Divi also, but hasn't stayed there since my dad passed, too big for her alone. When she lived in CT she usually looked to book her ticket in around December that is when she seemed to get the best prices. She always goes in June first 3 weeks. Also if you are coffee drinkers bring your own she just got back last week and said she bought a 1 pound bag there and it was like 12 dollars.. she kept saying ooh I will just buy it when I get down there haha and now she is like next year I will be bringing my own down. Also with kids peanut butter very expensive just a thought get some of the jif to go cups she is also bringing them too. I have been there 3 times but its been a while but I do remember there was a pizza hut with the best sangria haha.. My girls want to go someday we will get enough money up but for now we are content with Disney. I love aruba and if you do decide to eat in occasionally get some of their hamburgers YUMMM!!

 

[rdevine10]

We love Aruba too, but have not taken our kids there yet. Aruba does not have a ton of activity choices, and we have found other places to offer more of what kids my kids interested (for a more palatable cost).

That being said, Aruba is a wonderful island and I look forward to going back again someday (been multiple times).

FWIW I think your budget is doable, especially with already having the time share! Enjoy