Travel to Aruba: Flights to Aruba Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) and Car Rentals in Aruba

Spotlight

Aruba

Getting There

One of the top selling points of vacationing in Aruba is easy flying time, especially from the East Coast. Nonstop flights to Aruba Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) depart from Miami, New York (JFK), Philadelphia, Charlotte, Houston, and Chicago (seasonal service). American Airlines (www.aa.com) has daily nonstop flights from Miami, New York, and San Juan; weekly service from Boston. Continental (www.continental.com) flies nonstop from Houston and Newark, while Delta (www.delta.com) flies from Atlanta daily and weekly from New York. JetBlue (www.jetblue.com) has daily nonstop flights from New York, while US Airways (www.usairways.com) offers daily nonstop service from Philadelphia and Charlotte.

Note: A great perk about flying home from Aruba is that since U.S. Customs and Immigration agents are stationed at Aruba's airport, formalities for re-entering the country are over and done with by the time you board your plane, making for an easy-breezy return to your home city. With this in mind, be sure to give yourself a good 3 hours to check in and go through customs.

Package providers
There are plenty of deals on air-and-hotel packages to Aruba floating around the web. Most airlines and discount travel sites, like Expedia (www.expedia.com), Travelocity (www.travelocity.com), and Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), usually have a smattering of offers posted at all times. You can also check out Caribbean specialists like CheapCaribbean.com (www.cheapcaribbean.com), Vacations For Less (www.vacations4less.com), Discount Vacations (www.discountvacations.com), and Vacation Outlet (www.vacationoutlet.com). For tailor-made luxury getaways, try Classic Vacations(www.classicvacations.com) or Lux Getaways (www.luxgetaways.com).

Getting around Aruba
It's not necessary to rent a car unless you're planning to explore on your own for at least a few full days. Otherwise, there are plenty of sightseeing tours (listed in Attractions section) that will get you to all the desired sights. For nights out on the town, taxis and buses provide a reliable and affordable means of transportation.

For car rentals, try Budget (Kolibristraat 1; 800/472-3325; www.budgetrentacar.com); Avis (Kolibristraat 14; 800/331-1212; www.avis.com); Thrifty Car Rental (at the airport; 800/847-4389); or Hertz (Sabano Blanco 35; 800/654-3001; www.hertz.com) Local agencies may provide better rates and are worth checking out: Explore Car Rental (Schotlandstraat 85; 877/803-9313; www.explorecarrental.com), and Economy Car (Bushiri 27; 297/583-0200; www.economyaruba.com). Buses are reliable in Aruba, running regularly from 6am to 6pm every half-hour and from 6pm to midnight once every hour. Round-trip fare between the beach hotels and Oranjestad costs $2, while a one-way ride is $1.10. The Arubus office (297/582-7089) will have up-to-date schedules as will your hotel's front desk. Taxis have fixed rates, no meters, so discuss the price before you get in to avoid surprising high tariffs. You can easily grab a taxi right from your hotel; hailing them in the street is a lot more difficult. Have the number for a taxi service on hand so you can call for a ride once you're out and about. The dispatch office can arrange taxis (297/582-2116) or try Best Taxi Services Aruba (297/588-3232) or Taxi Address Service (297/587-5900).