First time in ARUBA - Beaches good or not?

Hi everyone! This is the start of a new series in which I travel through the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire - also known as the 'ABC' islands.
Aruba is the smallest of the ABC islands in terms of geographical size, but it has the second largest population, after Curacao. It is located less than 30 kilometres from Venezuela and lies below the hurricane belt. It has a dry climate and a lot of wind, and the temperature is roughly similar throughout the year at c. 30 degrees Celsius. It is also renowned for its beaches...
In this first episode of the new series, I am in Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba. The aim of this vlog is to explore beaches of Oranjestad on a quiet Sunday. Specifically, I aim to get from Surfside Beach, where this vlog starts, to Eagle Beach, which is arguably the flagship beach of Aruba.
At Surfside Beach, I take my first tip ever in the Caribbean Sea, and meet Ronnie, a local Aruba resident. I also notice the many planes landing at Queen Beatrix International Airport, indicative of the island's reputation as an all-year holiday or vacation destination.
After a brief dip at Surfside Beach, I walk along the beach towards Oranjestad in a northernly direction. I provide some information about the island as well as my first impressions. I then arrive at the Renaissance complex in Oranjestad and walk around the harbour / waterfront area. Most of the shops are closed as it is Sunday, but I do take the opportunity to have a brief scan of the Marketplace with not a lot of people around. I notice the traffic in the area as well as the large number of luxury shops in the centre of Oranjestad.
I then pass the cruise terminal and head further north looking for Eagle Beach. I ask for directions from some people along the way but experience some language difficulties or lost in translation moments. However, I do get to see some spectacular beaches along the way. I wasn't sure which are technically classified as "resorts" rather than "beaches", so do let me know in the comments. I think one of the beaches I passed was Druif Beach, whilst also passing Divi Beach, the beach near Casa del Mar and Manchebo Beach - again, please confirm in the comments!
I also provide some practical tips or advice about walking in Oranjestad, and give some further details about my journey to the ABC islands including cost.
Finally, I arrive at Eagle Beach and marvel at the iconic Fofoti trees, the natural compass of Aruba facing in a southwesterly direction due to the harsh northeastern trade winds that batter the island. Many confuse the Divi Divi tree with the Fofoti tree, and I explain the difference.
I hope this vlog gives you a unique perspective of someone's first time in Aruba, whilst also finding it useful and informative. Ultimately, only you can answer the question in the thumbnail and title of the video - as people have different tastes - but I hope the video gave you enough footage to decide for yourself. Note, however, that I've only seen a handful beaches of Oranjestad, nevermind Aruba!
More vlogs coming in due course!
Happy exploring
Willie

[@InspireMatrixx]

Hello Willie, I'm from Aruba but currently living in the Netherlands for a short period. I enjoyed watching this video, and I have been watching all of your ABC island videos for the last 3 days. They are addicting to watch and I enjoyed seeing that you also show the other side of the islands. It is also part of life, part of culture and history that isnt't shown often! Keep up the good work and I hope to see morre of your videos soon! You earned a new subscriber!!! Top work mate, cheers!!!

[@willieexplore]

Hi Jaxon! It is comments like these that puts a smile to the face of any creator. Glad you enjoyed the variety of content in the Dutch Caribbean that I've put together. Really appreciate your support and encouragement my friend!

[@johnmullin1188]

Nice 👍 1 Willie a beautiful place to be no doubt thanks for the video my friend all the best John x

[@willieexplore]

Glad you enjoyed it John! Definitely a special part of the world this :)

[@ablack5012]

Awesome video thank you!! I have never been to Aruba, but now I may reconsider and book a vacation!!☺️

[@willieexplore]

Thank you so much for watching and supporting my channel! Glad you enjoyed the video and I hope you get to Aruba one day!

[@Thesunsout]

and yet again i have enjoyed my homemade pizza dinner ,whilst watching your new escapade in the Caribbean. Looking forward for the sequel's!

[@willieexplore]

Haha brilliant Sunny! Cheers for your continued support and hope you enjoy the rest of the series :)

[@andybaker2456]

Well, that was an unexpected surprise, Willie! It certainly looks stunningly beautiful there. Looking forward to the Curaçao episode too, the company I work for recently started an operation there, so I live in hope of being sent there on a work trip! It's an extremely slim hope, but one can but dream. 😅

[@willieexplore]

Nice one Andy! Glad you enjoyed this one and that you look forward to the rest of the series. Hope you get that work trip agreed in due course!

[@jaspervanzyl6212]

Wonderful video Willie! All of us are jealous! Keep up the good work!

[@willieexplore]

Nice one Jasper! Glad you enjoyed this video and hope you're looking forward to the series. Appreciate the support :)

[@Swanoaks]

Stunning walk Willie, the beaches are as I expected for the Caribbean. Like you and being a Kiwi from New Zealand , the sea is also in my DNA. The South Pacific is blue on the East Coast of my country while the Tasman Sea on the western coast is greenish in colour. But this part of the Caribbean is beautiful with the palm trees and the white sand. Really enjoyed this walk with the space and the peaceful tranquillity of the place, makes it unique. Kiwi from Virginia.

[@willieexplore]

Was a wonderful day of exploring Swanoaks! The colour of the water will stick with me forever. As tiresome as it was in parts, the beautiful views and peaceful settings more than made up for it. The Tasman Sea is definitely on my list of areas to explore! I will make it to Aussie and Kiwiland at some point :)

[@GQguy24]

Great video Willie! Next month me and my family are going back to Aruba for the SIXTH TIME! However, not once have I ever been to Eagle Beach. Looks amazing! We always stay up on Palm Beach and never really explore the other beaches. This video gave me a good idea of how awesome that beach really is. Keep up the great content mate!

[@willieexplore]

Hi there! Thank you so much for watching and leaving this comment, I really appreciate it! I didn't make it to Palm Beach but I've heard very good things. You must really like Aruba if you go back so often, and to be honest, I can completely understand why. A wonderful destination!

[@sabersworn]

Just earlier today, I was thinking to myself "It's been a few weeks, I wonder when Willie's next video is coming." Good timing! You're half-way around the world compared to your last video. I'm looking forward to watching this!

[@willieexplore]

Cheers Firelord Azula! Hope you enjoy this series. I have several more vlogs coming of this fascinating part of the world :)

[@sheilam4525]

Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for taking the heat to bring us this vlog, Willie. Again, I don't know anything about Aruba and surrounding places so looking forward to the rest of the series. I hope you managed to relax on those loungers for a bit after all the walking ☀️

[@willieexplore]

My pleasure Sheila! I only realised later on that (some of) those deck chairs / loungers are only for the guests of the resorts that supply them! But what a beautiful part of the world. Glad you're looking forward to the rest of the series - that is music to any content creator's ears! :)

[@sheilam4525]

​@@willieexploreoh really? Ha! I was thinking that it was great that those loungers are just put out for anyone to use😂.

[@willieexplore]

@@sheilam4525 definitely some of them are for guest use only - not sure about the one I was lounging on...

[@sheilam4525]

@@willieexplore 🤣

[@davidatkinson1764]

Thanks for a really great video! Coming back to Eagle Beach in September for our 3rd visit.

[@willieexplore]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment David! I really appreciate it. I have some more footage of Aruba coming shortly so watch out for those videos. You must really be looking forward to your next visit!

[@frontrowrugby]

Great video, Willie. Bit of a long one so I saved it in my Watch Later items until I got a nice gap. Beautiful scenery. I got Seychelles vibes but also when you moved into the town/city area I got a bit of a Swakopmund feel. Cool that "Dankie" works in Aruba. Laughed when you said you picked up your sunglasses for £1 ... I used to buy my sunglasses for R20 at the robots but then I developed an astigmatism so now I have prescription sunglasses!

[@willieexplore]

Cheers Peter! I've never been to Swakopmund myself but interesting to see you mention that comparison. Those £1 sunglasses were put to the test in the Caribbean sun, that's for sure!

[@frontrowrugby]

@@willieexplore I've been to Namibia four times (although the time when I was 2 shouldn't really count since I don't remember anything). Twice for work and then I went on holiday with my wife a few years ago. I'll be honest it's not my favourite destination but Swakopmund is charming and then you have the desert activities which are fun.

[@willieexplore]

@@frontrowrugby I've only been to Windhoek and would love to explore more of Namibia - if only for the vastness!

[@frontrowrugby]

@@willieexplore Oh yeah you need to go check out the other spots. With all due respect to the folks who live there, I'd say Windhoek is probably bottom of the list.

[@dkm4567]

Never been to a nice beach before, I’m going there next month! I hope it’s as beautiful as it looks!

[@willieexplore]

Sorry to hear you've never been to a nice beach before, but Aruba surely will take care of that! :)

[@mayousimon1]

Great video Willie that is part of formally dutch empire? Great scenery and views of the country nice place thanks!

[@willieexplore]

Thanks Simon, appreciate your support! Aruba has a Dutch colonial past but, as I'll explain in upcoming vlogs, the Spanish and the British were also involved.

[@LandsharkTravels]

Love the rock edge and trees near the beach. I'm not very good with heat, so that would help out for sure! lol Always loved Caribbean waters, the bright blues remind me of some of the lakes in Alberta and BC in Canada. Absolutely stunning! Also, the birds they have in the Caribbean are very beautiful. I hope you get to see some of them!

[@willieexplore]

Cheers Landshark! You are right about the birds, I saw a number of species around the beaches. The only notable species I missed was the flamingo - although the statue outside the Renaissance Marketplace surely counts? ;) I've not been to Alberta or BC, but I have been to Lake Ontario and now that you've mentioned it, I can certainly appreciate how the blues compare! Re the heat - before this trip, I thought I'd love to live in a climate with temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius year round...but I am starting to have second thoughts about that!

[@ivanbordon7153]

Muy bueno tu video. Me gustó completo. 50 min que valieron!

[@willieexplore]

Gracias mi amigo, muy apreciado! :)

[@ivanbordon7153]

@@willieexplore Gracias a tu por compartir.

[@no_soy_rubio]

Bit of a contrast to your Caucasian adventure mate! Doesn't look like it's really set up for walking there but the beaches look perfect 👌

[@willieexplore]

Definitely a contrast there mate! It was a real baptism of fire vlogging in that heat and wind, I'm not gonna lie. But the scenery made up for any discomfort I may have experienced!

[@isabelcowley1248]

❤❤❤Beautiful ❤❤❤

[@willieexplore]

Thank you so much!

[@bobovanzyl3008]

ek kyk weer. pragtig

[@willieexplore]

Daarsy!

[@gcegubbels4734]

Zeegras are good hamieyou can go tnr oder cith to

[@willieexplore]

No idea what you are saying, sorry

[@welshlyn9097]

I hate sand 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

[@willieexplore]

Well in that case you're better off staying off the beach :)

[@gcegubbels4734]

No privacy in Aruba beatyful

[@willieexplore]

Lots of private beaches