Our Workation in Aruba

Workation. In the past year, workations have really had their time in the limelight. As an independent contractor, I can work from anywhere anytime. Now that Doug is doing school fully online, WE’RE IN BUSINESS. And by that I mean, we’re mobile and the world is our oyster (in a safe and socially-conscious way, of course).

And that’s why we spent most of the month of February in Aruba.

Three weeks on a tiny island (21 miles long and 6 miles wide) is actually the perfect workation. We didn’t cut down on work hours, but life felt slower, more relaxed, and fuller in all the best ways.

Because Aruba is an hour ahead of the Eastern time zone, our day started at 9:30 AM and didn’t end until about 6 PM. We were working all week, so we didn’t rent a car during the week. Instead, we’d walk to Starbucks (for internet), walk to lunch, walk back to our little apartment. All that walking naturally slowed down our day, which was one of our favorite things about being in Aruba.

Another favorite thing was lunch at the snack shacks by the local souvenir market. It seems like every snack shack owner has their own special story of how and why they started their business. Doug and I connected with a couple of the owners and went back day after day for fruit milk smoothies and empanadas, pastechis, and whatever delicious food they had on their menu that day (fresh fish, stoba, rice and shrimp… all the good things).

Our first full weekend in Aruba fell on President’s Day, which made it a long weekend and perfect for exploring the island. Aruba is tiny, so in three days we saw everything. The other weekends we revisited our favorite spots and snorkel sites.

Flights

We purchased our flight from Miami to Aruba and from Aruba to Chicago on the return. We were already down in Florida for a family wedding, so that just made sense.

Because of this itinerary, our flights were about $222 each. This is the entire reason we went to Aruba. Did I know anything about the island before landing in Oranjestad? No. Did I expect it to be green and luscious like all the other islands we’ve been to? Definitely. But when I decided we needed to take advantage of our “work from home” status and go on an extended trip, Aruba was the least expensive and most accessible.

Lodging

We found an Airbnb by the cruise port for $20/night. I promised Doug our accommodations would be less than a month of rent, and the full 20 days came out to $457, which is less than a month of rent.

I loved our little room. The studios Kwihi Lodge are basic, with a queen bed, a small bathroom with a shower (no tub), a kitchenette that included four burners, a large sink, a dorm-sized fridge, and a shared balcony with a few dining tables. We shared the balcony with our neighbors, which was nice because it made it easy for us to meet them. The caretaker is a kind Venezuelan lady. The chickens were loud the first couple of nights, and then it was like they weren’t even there.

The one downside, which is pretty big for a workation, was that the Wifi was not strong enough for us to do video calls/school and work online. Fortunately, we were a 10-minute walk from Starbucks. In fact, if our Wifi had worked we would have spent a lot more time in our room than we did. Instead, we developed a routine of walking to Starbucks every morning, taking an hour lunch break at the snack shacks (about another 10-minute walk from Starbucks), then going back to Starbucks for an afternoon coffee and more work. By the end of our time in Aruba, we were on a first-name basis with the fun Starbucks baristas, our favorite snack shack women, and regularly saw our neighbors at lunch who stopped by the snack shacks as well!

COVID-19 Travel

Traveling during a global pandemic is a more complex project that takes some extra planning. Not everyone is comfortable traveling during Covid, and that’s okay. Remember though, there are countries whose #1 source of income is tourism and because of that, they’ve taken a careful approach to keep their country open while also maintaining safety. Some things to do before you head off on an adventure:

• Check your destination’s tourism page for a list of pandemic guidelines. Some of the Aruba guidelines included:
  • Upload a negative Covid test taken no more than 72 hours prior to your flight. The country had a list of accepted testing types, and if you upload a test outside of those guidelines you will have to pay to retake your test when you arrive at the Aruba airport and quarantine until you receive the results.
  • Download their virtual entry card where you upload all your information as well as purchase pandemic insurance ($30 per person).
  • Get a full list here.
• Check the CDC website for travel recommendations.
• Make sure you have a contingency plan in case you catch Covid during your travels. The US is requiring a negative Covid test before reentering the country, and they have already stated that if you catch Covid during travels there is little the local embassy can do to help. This means you would have to pay for extra expenses (such as accommodations for an extended stay).

Food/Dining

Of course, most of our budget went to food and dining. This includes groceries and eating out. Let me tell you something, Aruba has some GREAT food. Most of it is not in tourist restaurants. Some of the best meals Doug and I had were huge, delicious, and less than $20 at snack shacks or corner stores. The only tourist restaurant that not only did not disappoint but also did not come out at more than $30 per person was Local Store. Best burgers we had on the island, funchi fries, great appetizers, and drinks. As my grandma would say, solo buenas vibras. 

Ground Transit

Every weekend, we rented a car for 2 – 3 days. During the week we didn’t need a car, we worked and walked. But on weekends we snorkeled, explored, ate, and then explored some more. Some of the highlights:

• Bushiribana ruins and new natural pool (we returned to the new natural pool more than once and even went on our last morning on the island for a spectacular and wild sunrise)
• Arikok National Park (the caves, petroglyphs, pool with the fish that eat the dead skin from your fish)
• Mangel Halto for snorkeling and swimming
• Lounging at Moomba Beach and getting drinks brought right to us
• Dinner at Faro Blanco. Amazing food, beautiful views, so romantic

Miscellaneous

Shopping, shopping, and a little more shopping. We actually didn’t do that much shopping, but we did buy souvenirs. Doug is a big souvenir guy for the family. Personally, I feel like most souvenirs are just knick-knacks no one really wants. But a guy has to have his things.

We enjoyed shopping at the local market by the cruise port, as well as the local vendors who post up at the Renaissance Marketplace on Friday nights.

Every time we travel, Doug and I hunt for the best local art to bring home for our art wall. I started doing this before we got married, and now it’s turned into a fun tradition. Cosecha is definitely the best place to get local art in Aruba. They represent local artists from all over the island (we actually met one at the Friday night market) and their art is sold for a very fair price.

***

Aruba is a wonderful island to visit. As one of our local friends said, Aruba doesn’t have a major export. Their economy is based on tourism. But the one thing they do have is this feeling. A feeling of joy, deep satisfaction, and openness. One evening, Doug and I took the bus to snorkel by the high-rise hotels. We met a Dutchman, JJ, who calls Aruba home, and he offered to give us a ride home. On the way, we mentioned that we were looking for local art and he took us to his friends’ photo studio, an Aruban man, who also does digital art. We ended up there for almost three hours, playing music, singing, talking art. We kept in touch with them and met up with JJ again a couple of times for snorkeling and dinner.

While shopping at the local market, we met a Haitian man who wanted to start an Instagram account for his souvenir store. Later that week, I went by the store and met with his wife for a crash course on Instagram.

Before we left, our snack shack friends wanted us to stop by. We ended up eating two very large and full meals that day because both of our favorite snack shack women wanted to feed us and had made special food.

That is Aruba. More than the snorkeling, more than the adventures, it’s the people.