Aruba - General Notes

Getting There

All flights to Aruba will land at the international airport (AUA ). Coming is is a rush as it appears that the aircraft is about to land in the ocean. At the last second the runway appears underneath you and you touch down. 

The staff that arrive to take you off the plane are friendly and appear to be well trained. We had no problems, and our aircraft used an airbridge although I noticed some that did not. 

The airport is modern. The toilets use the American approach of having one accessible cubicle. Works fine. 

Ask the people who take you off the plane to escort you through immigration because they can then use the "express" lane. Otherwise you will spend a long time in line as all US aircraft seem to arrive at roughly the same time of the day!

Once through immigration you exit into a small baggage terminal. There seemed to be plenty of staff to assist. The arrivals hall is also small and outside the airport are plenty of guys hustling for a taxi fare. Taxis come in all shapes and sizes from Vans to SUVs to beat up old cars. I did not spot any taxis that were wheelchair accessible, however there is a service offered by Lite Life Medicab (Hooiberg kavel E 2, Santa Cruz, Aruba. Tel: +297-585-9764). This is a van with a wheelchair ramp at the back. We pre-booked this for transfer to the hotel, and they met us in the arrivals hall. More expensive than a taxi ($50 from the airport to the Westin Hotel versus maybe $25 for a taxi) it is probably worth it for the peace of mind. They take cash only and do not carry change. Having said that, we used a station-wagon for our second hotel trip (the Marriott) and all fitted comfortably. It depends on what your transfer abilities are and how much luggage you have!

When leaving Aruba to go to the US things are a bit complicated. You clear US customs and immigration in Aruba. There can be very long lines here, so the best thing is to ask for assistance to the gate when checking in. Elevators are clearly marked so it is possible to make your own way but can be difficult in the crowds. It appears that all US bound flights leave at roughly the same time! You check-in your bags and then line up outside to go through Aruban passport control. Then you pass through security (usual stuff - shoes off, laptops out of bag etc.) and then enter a shopping and food hall (the food is breath-takingly over-priced). Then (US passengers only) you pick up your luggage again in a small luggage hall and pass through US immigration and customs. You then place your luggage back on a belt (careful - easy to put it on the wrong one!) and pass through security again! Finally you are in a small departures area. This has a few shops and sandwich stalls but is not as comfortable as the hall before US immigration. All this pulling and dragging makes it difficult for us wheelies, hence the recommendation to seek assistance. There are enough restrooms and all have handicapped accessible cubicles. 

The Island

I'm afraid we were very unadventurous on this trip. With two very young children it suited us much more to stay in the hotel and enjoy the facilities there. So I have little to add about access outside of the hotel itself. We ate in the hotel restaurants every night.

The Westin (where we stayed, see here for details) is located on Palm Beach on the west of the island, at one end of the high rise hotel strip. From the hotel a paved path leads all along the beach. Going south leads you to fairly tranquil areas, past a public beach, and a few spots for stunning sunset views. However, it looks like there is more construction planned so it won't be tranquil for long! Going North leads you past the main hotel strip so it can be noisy and crowded although there are many options for activities and food and drink. I did notice that two places (The Radisson  and Playa Linda) had palapas (semi-permanent beach shades built of wood and palm leaves) specifically reserved for handicapped use. 

The paved path runs by the beach all the way to the Holiday Inn resort  in the North and the Divi Pheonix Resort  to the South.

Opposite the Holiday Inn resort is the Paseo Herencia shopping Mall which is modern and accessible. It contains a movie theatre and a selection of shops and restaurants.

I was unable to find a car rental company that would issue hand controls so exploring the rest of the island involves renting a taxi – something we did not do.

The Aruba Tourism board has a good website (www.aruba.com) and, unusually for such things, has a page dedicated to advice for disabled travellers (http://www.aruba.com/about/disability.php)

We also went for a walk on the island side of the hotel. The pavement surface is very variable, sometime smooth concrete and sometimes gravel. There are a lot fo curb cuts to mount the pavement, but they are not everywhere. However, it seems possible to get access to most of the restaurants and shops that I saw. The island infrastructure is a bit beaten up, but is generally good and shows at least some consideration of the needs of wheelies. We did not go to any of the city/town centers so I cannot speak for those. 

The Butterfly Farm

We took the five minute walk from the Westin to the Butterfly farm. The original building was not wheelchair accessible but they retro-fitted very steep concrete ramps. These are really too steep to be negotiated unaided, but with a walkie pushing it is possible to get into the Butterfly Farm shop and garden. Our 3 year old loved it as there are butterflies everywhere. The garden path is hard sand and can be wheeled on with some difficulty.