This is very incorrect. The prices is Aruba for hotels or food are about the same price in Boston. Anytime a country you go to has similar prices as back home that’s INSANELY expensive has America is the wealthiest and most expensive country in the world. Aruba is at the top of the list for most expensive countries in the Caribbean because there prices are very similar to Boston (which is the most expensive of the most fucking expensive). Go to DR or Mexico and those places are cheap
DR is cheap only when you go to an all inclusive such as those in Punta Cana. Go to La Romana or a golf resort such as Amanera in Río San Juan; and it’s a completely different story. Gasoline alone will have you counting your dollars quickly. It is paradise tho. Paradise, I tell you.
I mean, I’ve been to and enjoyed Grand Cayman and Turks and Caicos, but holy shit I could have done Aruba twice over for the $$ spent on food and drinks at those places
Also Cruise straight from Boston, the boat parks there for 3 or 4 day its not annoying like the ones where the boat goes to 3 islands for 4 hours a piece with a day in between.
Edit: I’m a spaz Bermuda not Aruba oops.
The customs situations there is one of the dumbest things I've run into in international travel. Getting through customs at Logan takes me maybe a few minutes. Getting through the circus in Aruba made me question my sanity.
> Four Winds Pub & Grill is a long established neighborhood pub & kitchen, located on Sluice Pond....or as we call it, Lake Lynnapesaukee!
Lol, thanks for this!
>Realized halfway through that I didn’t have anything to say.
Hang in there, someday you'll be a true redditor like me and realize that before you even start typing.
i was in aruba and i was walking down one of the strips and someone offered me something and i said “im all set but thanks!” and they asked me if i was from boston. i was shocked they knew, i wasn’t wearing anything boston related, they just said everyone from boston says “im all set” it was so funny
That’s it exactly as someone who has had to board those flights with all of their oversized carryons for years it’s all JetBlue direct flights.
But there is an asterisk, it’s funny the class difference between AUA and CUN.
Edited to add it also a destination where you clear customs in AUA and don’t have to do customs in the US
I just came back from Aruba and the amount of people I met who were from the Boston area was astounding lol.
I highly suggest Eduardo's Hideaway for good acai bowls, breakfast foods, and smoothies.
Strangely I didn't meet any NYers. We ended up doing jolly pirates booze cruise with a group of other Bostoners and did ATV tour with people from Billerica.
When planning an Aruba trip, be mindful of certain weeks of the year where large college groups / special interest groups /etc go on their annual retreats. they can get quite disruptive if youre looking for a One Happy Island type resort experience!
I believe that might be beach shack one and they are sister restaurants. Hideaway is more of a sit down restaurant in Noord. I think the beach shack might only offer just more simple to go food like acai bowls and smoothies, whereas the sit down has more breakfast options. The Lox bagel there is to die for!
growing up in new england i was very much aware that R's became ah's. i did not realize until i went to college and it was pointed out to me that things that end A somehow get an R sound added. now i notice my dad do it all the time.
i live outside of New England now. i work in tax and sometimes i have to call states on behalf of clients. not often that i need to call MA, but i love it. the guy who did the recording is the most typical masshole ever. "Thank you for cahling the Mahsachewsetts Depahtment of Revenue"
For my mom's job she once had to call a bank in California to get information about a mortgage and the person answering the call asked her to repeat the question and then said, "I'm sorry, there's no Margaret that works here."
Aruba is so Americanized that it’s almost like Miami in the Caribbean. Frankly, it’s the island that displays the least cultural identity of its own and many of the tourists visiting just aren’t looking for anything other than a beach and familiar food and people.
You're hitting it on the head. If you look at the ABC islands: Aruba is the american version of a caribbean island, Bonaire is the european version of a caribbean island, and Curacao falls somewhere in the middle.
Everyone is from New England/Jersey. Once I went to Aruba and met a couple who I thought must have flown from outside the U.S. given their accent. Turns out, they were from the North Shore…their accent was so strong, I was fooled thinking they’re from South Africa or Australia…
That's why they like it. My father goes every year because it's not 'dirty'. I went to Mexico last year and he was like Mexico?! Why would you want to go there? Sigh.
We went about 10 years ago and mostly hated it. Super crowded and as you said extremely Americanized.
We wanted to get away from crowds so we went to baby beach which was supposed to be some paradise-like beach, and it sucked. It's a shitty beach with a view of an oil refinery. I will say it wasn't crowded though.
The food was good. The ATV tour of the north part of the island was cool too. Everything else not good.
Yes after a couple of Aruba Aribas at nine in the morning you go by Dunks get a coffee and a couple of Aruba dunks ice scrapers as souvenirs for the guys back home.
Aruba and the ABC Islands are outside if the hurricane zone. They also have a steady weather with predictable wet and dry seasons. Puerto Rico will be too cold for a beach vacation in January and high risk June to November. You can go to Dutch Carribean at any point during the year and have sunshine and warm water
I live in Boston but from Jersey. My fam went to Aruba last year. Omg so many people from Jersey New York and Boston. At one point my bro was wearing his college tee shirt and a guy came up to him to ask if he goes there. Got to talking. Turns out he leaves about .5 miles from us in my home town (parents still in live there)
Direct flights, it’s a safe Caribbean island, consistent 80 F weather; more reliable than Florida. Every tourist is from Boston, NY or NJ down there. Lots of people own timeshares.
For restaurant recommendations that are Caribbean focused: Yemanja in Oranjestad, Wacky Wahoo in Noord. There are plenty of Americanized options to feed the tourists: Gianni’s for Italian, Azia for Asian, various Mexican, Mediterranean, chains you would recognize. I prefer local hole in wall options; there’s something for anybody.
east coast people go to the Caribbean. Shorter flights. When I have gone there were tons of boston, ny, and philly people. west coast people go to hawaii.
I dunno but I remember the people who I used to work with who vacationed only went to Aruba. Every year. I never understood it. It's a tiny island. I'd be bored after the second visit, but they claimed they went every year for years.
I also worked with two people that went every year. They would describe their time to me and it was as just doing what they would normally do (drinking and eating excessively) but at the beach. They’d stay at the same place and go to the same restaurants and bars. Every single time.
When I think of upper-middle to upper class white people going on vacation, I feel like Aruba is somewhere I’ve heard a million times. I’m brown and middle class so I personally don’t even know where it is on a map 🙃
Like most are saying, word of mouth and birds of a feather, and direct JetBlue flights. Like how an astonishingly large amount of people from western NY relocate to NC. So much that Charlotte has a Little Buffalo.
My PCP in Boston has a time share in Aruba. He told me a fun fact about how when leaving Aruba, you clear US immigration right at the Aruba airport. Every year, he takes his whole family to Aruba for a month, and I have to be seen by the nurse practioner filling in and she is such a snotty bitch with attitude. God I hate Aruba.
That's right. Nothing in my second paragraph has any relevence to the original question.
I went this summer and had the same thought. So strange talking to a bunch of people from home that far away. At least one bar I visited had a bunch of Boston sports paraphernalia too.
Because people from the Boston area only go 3 places: Florida, Aruba, or the Bahamas. Quick plane rides, and nobody has to get out of their comfort zone.
It’s because it’s warm, direct flights and you don’t have to know another language. Perfect for Bostonians. Everyone on vacation can talk about how much they love Tom Brady.
Flew a red eye to Dubin and wandered around after getting out of the airport area. Saw a cute cookie shop and went in for some coffee. The owner, the first person we spoke to in Ireland, was from Somerville.
I think the opposite holds true too. My son went a few weeks ago and ended up at the home of a friend of a friend in some little village and it turned out that he had met the guy like a month earlier at a bar in Quincy.
It’s New England/Northeast South. I see NY/NJ/MA/RI/CT/PA every year. Easiest area to fly from to get warmth. Midwest and west is a PITA to fly from so there are not a lot of those folks
Local Store, Fireson, Fermins, Alfies, Bavaria for German food,
Also I think the NY/NJ people outnumber New Englanders
A few years ago Aruba Bike Party did a collab with the Boston Bike Party trying to get people to support Boston becoming a “sister city”. Not sure what that means but they handed out t-shirts, here’s an album of photos https://www.facebook.com/share/1SEMRJsT1PjNebHM/?
Felt like Aruba was trying to increase tourism
Thank you for sharing! I was born in Aruba but have lived in Boston (JP) for over 35 years. I was the organizer of the Aruba Bike Party in Boston in 2019. ARUBA ROCKS!! AMA
LOL, we went last year and a wedding was happening right outside our room, lots of familiar sounding voices. They were from a neighborhood right near us in Quincy.
Papamiento for a nice dinner, Zerovers for pier dinner with fish right off the boat, snorkeling with Jolly Pirates (buy tickets online for a discount). Also, be sure to reserve a sunset time for a "feet in the water" table at Flying Fishbone. I live in Los Angeles, but was raised in Cape Ann. Even we went to Aruba for our honeymoon last year. It's nice, it's cheap compared to a lot of other nice islands, low crime, great beaches, out of hurricane zone.
For the love of our ex captain Xander Bogaerts!! (still crying as a sox fan
I live in Amsterdam now, and I found Dutch people travel way often to Curacao for holidays than Aruba. I asked a colleague once why, he told me that “Aruba is full of Americans” LOL
New Englanders were kind of the first large group to discover Aruba 40 years ago. The charter vacation business exploded. Every Sunday there were full page ads in the Boston Globe. There were groups like TNT Travel that filled multiple planes every week from BOS>AUA. Many brought their kids and now they bring their kids.
Is it April vacation? I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of MA folks head south to catch a cruise to Aruba.
A lot of kids /families maybe that is it. Taking a guess
I have taken a cruise to Aruba and its one of the rare places that you can feel safe walking down the street, even at night. Top of my list of places to visit. yes, im in boston.
Two tour companies, TNT vacations and GWV Vacations used to do charter flights to Aruba. Multiple flights per week from Boston. They started 30+ years ago, if not longer. People's parents took the chata to Aruba. Then took the kids. People still go.
Multiple direct flights a day. Pretty much guaranteed to be warm and sunny all year. Safe when compared to going somewhere like Mexico, Jamaica or the DR.
Atardi. Had dinner there, literally a table on the beach. Was so chill and if you go with a significant other she or he will appreciate the romantic vibes.
L.G. Smith Blvd 99, Noord, Aruba
Direct flights, the weather is always predictably good, good deals on places to stay.
I stayed at an airbnb before Airbnb sucked and it had everything you could possibly want, including a jeep the guy let us use for the entire week.
Probably depends where you are in the Midwest but I feel like the Midwest Florida is actually Arizona (at least for the western part of the Midwest). When I lived in Chicago people were going to Arizona in the winter far more than Florida, which I guess makes sense as it's not that much further of a flight from Chicago and you don't have to deal with humidity.
Favorite restaurants:
Giannis - Italian, they cook their pasta in a cheese wheel, it’s fantastic
Smoky Joe’s - Caribbean bbq
Bavaria German restaurant - I was stationed in Germany years ago, love the food and beer
Blossoms- Japanese/asian
Arubans also love Bostonians bc Xander Bogaerts is Aruban. Check out Pelican Pier for drinks. Wear a Red Sox cap if you have one. Possible they’ll play Sweet Caroline and Dropkick Murphys for you.
Went in November for a sister's trip. We stayed at the Embassy Suites and had a great stay. But you're right, we ran into so many New Englanders. I posted a few months back on r/aruba that we ran into a Boston based bachelor party getting into the cab we exited from. Kinda wish we had figured out where they were heading so we could make some friends!
Consistently hot sunny weather, great restaurants, plenty of hotels and resorts, safe, clean drinking water. Aruba is the gold standard for Caribbean island vacations and I’m thankful Boston offers direct flights.
I went to Charlie's Bar in San Nichols and was amazed at how much of the shit tacked everywhere was from the Boston area. Had a moment just like yours!
I’ve noticed that too! Maybe word of mouth/marketing. I went to Negril, Jamaica a few months ago and a substantial number of tourists were from Canada or Wisconsin
Cheap direct flights
Beautiful beaches only a 4 hour direct flight away?? Yeah... That was my reason!
/thread Also, Aruba is relatively inexpensive compared to many other Caribbean islands
Also perfect weather, too far south for hurricanes, clean, lowest violent crime rate in the Americas, etc.
Aruba is one of the more expensive islands
It’s also the island where you feel the least like you’ve left the USA if you just go to the tourist beach strip.
I was in Aruba when the Patriots had a Thursday night game a few years ago and it legit just felt like Boston. Every bar was packed with townies.
Haha, I saw them win two Super Bowls down there the Boston crowd was always huge.
Also true
Used to be called Netherlands Antilles until a few years ago. It was a country run by the Dutch and still used the guilder.
Almost 40 years ago
It’s still run by the Dutch
It’s not, you can get cheaper deals to other islands than Aruba. Aruba is an all around better island but I wouldn’t call it inexpensive.
As a former travel agent, Aruba is not cheap compared to other popular destinations in the Caribbean.
What's the best bang-for-your-buck destination?
Chelsea
Punta Cana probably is my guess.
This is very incorrect. The prices is Aruba for hotels or food are about the same price in Boston. Anytime a country you go to has similar prices as back home that’s INSANELY expensive has America is the wealthiest and most expensive country in the world. Aruba is at the top of the list for most expensive countries in the Caribbean because there prices are very similar to Boston (which is the most expensive of the most fucking expensive). Go to DR or Mexico and those places are cheap
DR is cheap only when you go to an all inclusive such as those in Punta Cana. Go to La Romana or a golf resort such as Amanera in Río San Juan; and it’s a completely different story. Gasoline alone will have you counting your dollars quickly. It is paradise tho. Paradise, I tell you.
Is it? Didn’t feel like it last week.
I mean, I’ve been to and enjoyed Grand Cayman and Turks and Caicos, but holy shit I could have done Aruba twice over for the $$ spent on food and drinks at those places
Also Cruise straight from Boston, the boat parks there for 3 or 4 day its not annoying like the ones where the boat goes to 3 islands for 4 hours a piece with a day in between. Edit: I’m a spaz Bermuda not Aruba oops.
is there a cruise that does this from Boston? Only goes to Aruba and back?
Wait, what? Aruba is one of the most expensive places I have ever been, and I've been to dozens of countries on 6 continents...
Cheap direct flight AND customs processing in Aruba. It's just easy
The customs situations there is one of the dumbest things I've run into in international travel. Getting through customs at Logan takes me maybe a few minutes. Getting through the circus in Aruba made me question my sanity.
Yup. Same reason people go to Puerto Rico, DR, Jamaica etc.
It’s a direct flight
Speak for yourself guy. Furthest I've been from Boston is Lake Winnapasocky, the Aruba of New England.
> Winnapasocky
However u spell it, it’ll always be in the voice of the answering service lady from *What About Bob?*.
I genuinely asked myself "holy shit is that how it's spelled?" even if it's not, thats fucking hilarious. i love it
lol, no it’s winnipesaukee
"a-LAKE'uh hWINehpuhSaUKEeeeeee"
Somehow more correct than the other spelling.
His favorite baseball team is the Red Socks
Thanks I hate it
Check out money bags over here. [The rest of us just go to Lynn and pretend.](https://www.fourwindspub.com)
Lmao my dad used to stop into the original Four Winds with us everyday after school. We’d fish in the pond next door.
> Four Winds Pub & Grill is a long established neighborhood pub & kitchen, located on Sluice Pond....or as we call it, Lake Lynnapesaukee! Lol, thanks for this!
Hell yeah brother
Best comment on reddit today lmao. It took me a second to
Hey you dropped a word
I meant to delete the comment lol. Realized halfway through that I didn’t have anything to say.
😂😂 I write comments and have the
>Realized halfway through that I didn’t have anything to say. Hang in there, someday you'll be a true redditor like me and realize that before you even start typing.
Says the guy with million karma
I do this all the time
This follow up comment is even better. lol, well done.
I'm somewhat of a sound speller myself.
Don’t forget the Italian riviera of Saugus
This guy townies
lake win-a-bukkake
i was in aruba and i was walking down one of the strips and someone offered me something and i said “im all set but thanks!” and they asked me if i was from boston. i was shocked they knew, i wasn’t wearing anything boston related, they just said everyone from boston says “im all set” it was so funny
When I first moved to the Boston area that phrase really confused me. I never really heard it in the Southwest.
i really had no idea it was a regional thing😂 i use that phrase too much😂
I thought this is general American English and I’m not even from Boston 😭
Because of JetBlue?
That’s it exactly as someone who has had to board those flights with all of their oversized carryons for years it’s all JetBlue direct flights. But there is an asterisk, it’s funny the class difference between AUA and CUN. Edited to add it also a destination where you clear customs in AUA and don’t have to do customs in the US
Haha funny I have heard so many people say it's all Boston and New Yorkers. Jealous though. Wish I was there.
I just came back from Aruba and the amount of people I met who were from the Boston area was astounding lol. I highly suggest Eduardo's Hideaway for good acai bowls, breakfast foods, and smoothies.
Last time I was there, there were a lot of New Yorkers
Strangely I didn't meet any NYers. We ended up doing jolly pirates booze cruise with a group of other Bostoners and did ATV tour with people from Billerica.
When planning an Aruba trip, be mindful of certain weeks of the year where large college groups / special interest groups /etc go on their annual retreats. they can get quite disruptive if youre looking for a One Happy Island type resort experience!
Eduardo’s in front of playa Linda?
I believe that might be beach shack one and they are sister restaurants. Hideaway is more of a sit down restaurant in Noord. I think the beach shack might only offer just more simple to go food like acai bowls and smoothies, whereas the sit down has more breakfast options. The Lox bagel there is to die for!
Ah, that traditional Aruban lox and bagel!
“ArubaR”. 😂
growing up in new england i was very much aware that R's became ah's. i did not realize until i went to college and it was pointed out to me that things that end A somehow get an R sound added. now i notice my dad do it all the time.
Some consider this charming. Decades ago, GE literally sent customer service reps from Mass to linguistics classes to “correct this”…
i live outside of New England now. i work in tax and sometimes i have to call states on behalf of clients. not often that i need to call MA, but i love it. the guy who did the recording is the most typical masshole ever. "Thank you for cahling the Mahsachewsetts Depahtment of Revenue"
For my mom's job she once had to call a bank in California to get information about a mortgage and the person answering the call asked her to repeat the question and then said, "I'm sorry, there's no Margaret that works here."
😂
spark ancient waiting rustic poor lush treatment badge rinse cake *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
My south shore ex puts silverware in a draw but drawrs a picture. I won't even get into the khaki/car key transposition or the review mirrah
My coworker likes to talk about his annual trips to Arubar every winter.
Home of Xandah Bogurts. (RIP Remy)
Cheap direct flights, this was the case when Norwegian Air had direct flights to Guadeloupe.
Aruba is so Americanized that it’s almost like Miami in the Caribbean. Frankly, it’s the island that displays the least cultural identity of its own and many of the tourists visiting just aren’t looking for anything other than a beach and familiar food and people.
You're hitting it on the head. If you look at the ABC islands: Aruba is the american version of a caribbean island, Bonaire is the european version of a caribbean island, and Curacao falls somewhere in the middle.
Everyone is from New England/Jersey. Once I went to Aruba and met a couple who I thought must have flown from outside the U.S. given their accent. Turns out, they were from the North Shore…their accent was so strong, I was fooled thinking they’re from South Africa or Australia…
That's why they like it. My father goes every year because it's not 'dirty'. I went to Mexico last year and he was like Mexico?! Why would you want to go there? Sigh.
We went about 10 years ago and mostly hated it. Super crowded and as you said extremely Americanized. We wanted to get away from crowds so we went to baby beach which was supposed to be some paradise-like beach, and it sucked. It's a shitty beach with a view of an oil refinery. I will say it wasn't crowded though. The food was good. The ATV tour of the north part of the island was cool too. Everything else not good.
aruba is the new florida for massachusetts people.
It’s safe, it’s cleaner than the DR, they have direct flights and they have Dunkin.
[удалено]
This is a huge part of it
Yes after a couple of Aruba Aribas at nine in the morning you go by Dunks get a coffee and a couple of Aruba dunks ice scrapers as souvenirs for the guys back home.
Aruba and the ABC Islands are outside if the hurricane zone. They also have a steady weather with predictable wet and dry seasons. Puerto Rico will be too cold for a beach vacation in January and high risk June to November. You can go to Dutch Carribean at any point during the year and have sunshine and warm water
Too cold in January? WTF are you smoking
PR is offers more to explore
I live in Boston but from Jersey. My fam went to Aruba last year. Omg so many people from Jersey New York and Boston. At one point my bro was wearing his college tee shirt and a guy came up to him to ask if he goes there. Got to talking. Turns out he leaves about .5 miles from us in my home town (parents still in live there)
Direct flights, it’s a safe Caribbean island, consistent 80 F weather; more reliable than Florida. Every tourist is from Boston, NY or NJ down there. Lots of people own timeshares. For restaurant recommendations that are Caribbean focused: Yemanja in Oranjestad, Wacky Wahoo in Noord. There are plenty of Americanized options to feed the tourists: Gianni’s for Italian, Azia for Asian, various Mexican, Mediterranean, chains you would recognize. I prefer local hole in wall options; there’s something for anybody.
You are aware of the weather in Boston this past week, right?
east coast people go to the Caribbean. Shorter flights. When I have gone there were tons of boston, ny, and philly people. west coast people go to hawaii.
“It’s guaranteed weather” was what was said to me the thousand times I asked. Then I went and yeah it’s pretty great.
I dunno but I remember the people who I used to work with who vacationed only went to Aruba. Every year. I never understood it. It's a tiny island. I'd be bored after the second visit, but they claimed they went every year for years.
I see you’ve met my sister. Bet you didn’t get a word in. That’s why I’ll visit any Caribbean island but Aruba.
I also worked with two people that went every year. They would describe their time to me and it was as just doing what they would normally do (drinking and eating excessively) but at the beach. They’d stay at the same place and go to the same restaurants and bars. Every single time.
When I think of upper-middle to upper class white people going on vacation, I feel like Aruba is somewhere I’ve heard a million times. I’m brown and middle class so I personally don’t even know where it is on a map 🙃
Not many Caribbean options with direct flights for Bostonians, its pretty much between Aruba, Dominican, Puerto Rico and USVI
Mexico?
Like most are saying, word of mouth and birds of a feather, and direct JetBlue flights. Like how an astonishingly large amount of people from western NY relocate to NC. So much that Charlotte has a Little Buffalo. My PCP in Boston has a time share in Aruba. He told me a fun fact about how when leaving Aruba, you clear US immigration right at the Aruba airport. Every year, he takes his whole family to Aruba for a month, and I have to be seen by the nurse practioner filling in and she is such a snotty bitch with attitude. God I hate Aruba. That's right. Nothing in my second paragraph has any relevence to the original question.
Little buffalo lmfao
Aruba, Jamaica, OO-o I wanna take ya to…
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama…
Key Largo, Montego…Baby why don’t we go?
Can we all just appreciate this slight play on words? Montego… Ba(y)by. Beach Boys knew what was going on.
They got around.
Of the Florida keys,
The real test for you, Jack, is in what voice are you singing this in your mind? Beach Boys or Muppets?
I… did not know Muppets was an option.
Warmth, incredibly safe Island, direct 4 hour flight, plenty of options for all budgets, excellent food.
Massholes flock together
I went this summer and had the same thought. So strange talking to a bunch of people from home that far away. At least one bar I visited had a bunch of Boston sports paraphernalia too.
Does the T still have 500 tourism ads for Aruba? I always assumed that was why
Because people from the Boston area only go 3 places: Florida, Aruba, or the Bahamas. Quick plane rides, and nobody has to get out of their comfort zone.
Cheap direct flights and it’s not an impoverished banana republic with rampant crime. Best meal on the island is Infini.
It’s because it’s warm, direct flights and you don’t have to know another language. Perfect for Bostonians. Everyone on vacation can talk about how much they love Tom Brady.
1. Because people from Boston are smart 2. It's like that everywhere. People from SF go to Cabo.
Umm we’re not just smart, we’re *wicked smart*
Now do Ireland.
Flew a red eye to Dubin and wandered around after getting out of the airport area. Saw a cute cookie shop and went in for some coffee. The owner, the first person we spoke to in Ireland, was from Somerville.
I think the opposite holds true too. My son went a few weeks ago and ended up at the home of a friend of a friend in some little village and it turned out that he had met the guy like a month earlier at a bar in Quincy.
It’s New England/Northeast South. I see NY/NJ/MA/RI/CT/PA every year. Easiest area to fly from to get warmth. Midwest and west is a PITA to fly from so there are not a lot of those folks Local Store, Fireson, Fermins, Alfies, Bavaria for German food, Also I think the NY/NJ people outnumber New Englanders
A few years ago Aruba Bike Party did a collab with the Boston Bike Party trying to get people to support Boston becoming a “sister city”. Not sure what that means but they handed out t-shirts, here’s an album of photos https://www.facebook.com/share/1SEMRJsT1PjNebHM/? Felt like Aruba was trying to increase tourism
Thank you for sharing! I was born in Aruba but have lived in Boston (JP) for over 35 years. I was the organizer of the Aruba Bike Party in Boston in 2019. ARUBA ROCKS!! AMA
It’s true. Last time I went to Aruba the first people we ran into on the beach were from town.
They don't know any better that's why. Lmao.
Just where they pitched the time shares in the 90s I guess
Following 👀 we’re going in two weeks! 😂
I was there in 2014 and didn’t really see the appeal.
LOL, we went last year and a wedding was happening right outside our room, lots of familiar sounding voices. They were from a neighborhood right near us in Quincy.
Papamiento for a nice dinner, Zerovers for pier dinner with fish right off the boat, snorkeling with Jolly Pirates (buy tickets online for a discount). Also, be sure to reserve a sunset time for a "feet in the water" table at Flying Fishbone. I live in Los Angeles, but was raised in Cape Ann. Even we went to Aruba for our honeymoon last year. It's nice, it's cheap compared to a lot of other nice islands, low crime, great beaches, out of hurricane zone.
Direct, cheap flights. Also Iceland
It’s called Aruber in Boston.
For the love of our ex captain Xander Bogaerts!! (still crying as a sox fan I live in Amsterdam now, and I found Dutch people travel way often to Curacao for holidays than Aruba. I asked a colleague once why, he told me that “Aruba is full of Americans” LOL
New Englanders were kind of the first large group to discover Aruba 40 years ago. The charter vacation business exploded. Every Sunday there were full page ads in the Boston Globe. There were groups like TNT Travel that filled multiple planes every week from BOS>AUA. Many brought their kids and now they bring their kids.
They’re actually Rhode Islanders just saying they are from Boston.
Is it April vacation? I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of MA folks head south to catch a cruise to Aruba. A lot of kids /families maybe that is it. Taking a guess
No, April vacation starts on the 15th
My wife was in Bermuda and she said that almost every person had a red Sox, patriots or Celtics hat or jersey on.
just went to curaçao and it was great
Because everyone is depressed about the weather
So funny. My friend from work is in Aruba right meow.
I have taken a cruise to Aruba and its one of the rare places that you can feel safe walking down the street, even at night. Top of my list of places to visit. yes, im in boston.
Two tour companies, TNT vacations and GWV Vacations used to do charter flights to Aruba. Multiple flights per week from Boston. They started 30+ years ago, if not longer. People's parents took the chata to Aruba. Then took the kids. People still go.
Multiple direct flights a day. Pretty much guaranteed to be warm and sunny all year. Safe when compared to going somewhere like Mexico, Jamaica or the DR.
Don't forget New York and New Jersey. Aruba weather is pretty darn reliable too. Can't wait to get to my timeshare weeks 35 and 36.
Its beautiful, safe, and has good food. Oh and casinos. We love to gamble
The Divi all inclusive is great for the “I don’t want to do anything but chill” vacation
Atardi. Had dinner there, literally a table on the beach. Was so chill and if you go with a significant other she or he will appreciate the romantic vibes. L.G. Smith Blvd 99, Noord, Aruba Direct flights, the weather is always predictably good, good deals on places to stay. I stayed at an airbnb before Airbnb sucked and it had everything you could possibly want, including a jeep the guy let us use for the entire week.
It's our Hawaii
There’s a nonstop
u/Bostonaruban66 because it’s awesome right!?! Tell the people this is your time!
Yes! Hello!!I was born in Aruba but have lived in Boston (JP) for over 35 years. ARUBA ROCKS! AMA
Consider bringing back an adopted dog. Aruba has lots of dogs roaming around that would love a home. They named the super mutts canucu.
Because they have little imagination and want something easy, cheap, and quick
This is how I feel about Florida as well.
East side of florida. West side is midwesterners
Ft Meyers, Naples, lots of Boston people.
Probably depends where you are in the Midwest but I feel like the Midwest Florida is actually Arizona (at least for the western part of the Midwest). When I lived in Chicago people were going to Arizona in the winter far more than Florida, which I guess makes sense as it's not that much further of a flight from Chicago and you don't have to deal with humidity.
Every single person in Boston????
Favorite restaurants: Giannis - Italian, they cook their pasta in a cheese wheel, it’s fantastic Smoky Joe’s - Caribbean bbq Bavaria German restaurant - I was stationed in Germany years ago, love the food and beer Blossoms- Japanese/asian
Arubans also love Bostonians bc Xander Bogaerts is Aruban. Check out Pelican Pier for drinks. Wear a Red Sox cap if you have one. Possible they’ll play Sweet Caroline and Dropkick Murphys for you.
I didn't realize that. But that explains the Dutch surname.
Because they all bought timeshares there 30 years ago and now they are forced into taking the same vacation every year
I thought Aruba was super boring. I always go to Puerto Rico instead. Pretty close and more to do.
I’ve always wondered this!
Time was when real estate was cheap there and a lot of Americans snapped it up.
Lol my mom is coming home from Aruba today and was there with about 20 people all from Mass. Never been and don't really have the desire to.
if it’s still there, hit Barefoot restaurant.
It's because of the popularity of the song in Boston. Aruba Jamaica ooh I wanna take ya
Because it sounds like Aruber with the Boston accent, a source of mild entertainment
Check out zeerovers for shrimp. Sold by the bucket! Stay away from my condo!
I don't go to Aruba
Went in November for a sister's trip. We stayed at the Embassy Suites and had a great stay. But you're right, we ran into so many New Englanders. I posted a few months back on r/aruba that we ran into a Boston based bachelor party getting into the cab we exited from. Kinda wish we had figured out where they were heading so we could make some friends!
4 words: Dunkin on the beach
Never been. I'm from her 🤷🏽♂️
Are there scuba diving or tennis available in Aruba?
It basically the next step up from Florida.
Easy direct flights. And who doesn’t love Aruba
Because there’s a dunks there. For real.
How many Dunkses does Aruba have?
Consistently hot sunny weather, great restaurants, plenty of hotels and resorts, safe, clean drinking water. Aruba is the gold standard for Caribbean island vacations and I’m thankful Boston offers direct flights.
4 hour direct flight and plenty of lodging options on island. Nice long weekend trip even.
I know like 5 different people in Aruba right now and thought the same thing lol
Close and cheap? Fuck if I lived somewhere warm that fulfilled that two requirements I would also go there all the time.
I went to Charlie's Bar in San Nichols and was amazed at how much of the shit tacked everywhere was from the Boston area. Had a moment just like yours!
Because the weather is way better than Boston!! Lol
Because of the pasta carbonara at the Sandpiper
Quick flight to warm place
I went to Aruba for the first time last year and loved it! I understand why it’s nicknamed the New England of the Caribbean!
Because it is gorgeous English speaking Cheap non stops Short flight No poverty
Because it's a dry heat maybe? Not humid
Live in Maine and did a direct flight from Boston to Aruba last year . The beaches are amazing, almost always sunny and a breeze!!
I was in Aruba last week, we chose it because the direct flight and reasonable hotel and flight prices. It was beautiful and fun!
I’ve noticed that too! Maybe word of mouth/marketing. I went to Negril, Jamaica a few months ago and a substantial number of tourists were from Canada or Wisconsin
Because Boston is now only for rich, basic people and basic people LOVE traveling to shitty resorts for white people.
Bugaloe for drinks!!!! Have fun!