Aruba.
Stunning turquoise waters!
That was reason #1 for our choice to head to Aruba.
Following closely behind were: we could get a good flight there, we had friends who had been and loved it, and another big factor is that Aruba is the most revisted Caribbean Island.
Family Travel.
Over our teenagers’ Spring Break is when we took this trip. If you are new to my blog or have stumbled across this post, the hubby and I have three teenagers. Currently, Big Mr. is 18, Mr. D is 16, and Miss Sunshine is 14. Our teenagers like adventure and so we knew that we’d want to have some scheduled during our time in Aruba.
Snorkeling.
Of course, we decided to begin our Caribbean Island vacation with snorkeling!
With my teens and I having been born and raised (ok…they’ve not been fully raised-we’re approaching year 5 of living in Virginia) in Florida, we aren’t strangers to snorkeling. However, this would be our first time in waters this clear.
Jolly Pirates.
We decided to book our snorkeling trip with Jolly Pirates.
We wanted to maximize our time on the water and opted for their four-hour sail, snorkel, swim, and swing. This trip would take us over the WWII wreck of the SS Antilla, Boca Catalina, and Malmok Beach.
Location.
We booked our trip and also filled out the waivers online prior to heading to Aruba. This made the check-in process very quick.
The building for check-in is located right behind MooMba Beach, which you can see in the background. While I didn’t get a chance to visit MooMba Beach (something I’ll need to remedy…we aren’t so good at making food reservations when traveling with five people who are hungry at different times), it comes highly recommended as a must visit beach bar and restaurant.
I snapped the photo for my Thursday Doors friends, but I also love that they list their crew.
The Crew.
The crew was amazing!
We sailed on Easter Sunday.
Julio was the captain of our ship. Johan and Milton were also part of our sailing adventure. I’m pretty sure Tony was our lifeguard, but since I don’t see his name on the board, I’m questioning whether I heard (and remembered) his name correctly. The four-hour sail included an open bar, plus lunch. All four of the guys were kept busy and yet were still always full of smiles.
Fins, Masks, and Snorkels.
Fins, masks, and snorkels are included in your trip.
We did contact them prior to booking our trip to be sure that they could accommodate Big Mr.’s size 16 shoe.
They could!
This was wonderful because we were traveling with carry-ons only and needing to carry a set of fins would have been a hassle.
Turquoise Waters.
Yes, the Caribbean waters are as stunning as you see in magazines! My favorite part of snorkeling was seeing all the brightly colored fish. There is something quite serene about gliding along under the clear waters with them.
Pirate Ship.
This was a view of another of their ships for snorkeling. There is palpable excitement about sailing on a pirate ship. Or perhaps that’s just gypsy wanderer in me.
Toward the bow of the ship, you can see someone jumping from the platform. While the hubby and teens did use this approach into the water (Mr. D even did a flip from it), I preferred to climb down the ladder.
Rope Swing.
However, I did get brave enough to step from the platform and ride the rope swing into the water (albeit, not on Johan’s back. The really brave people piggy-backed on Johan while he swung and then did a flip in the air.)
As I mentioned in this post, as I released from the swing, I pinched my nose to avoid the water shooting up into it. Apparently, too hard when you wear a nose ring because I came out of the water with a nosebleed.
The crew was amazing, grabbed some toilet paper, and the bleeding stopped almost as soon as it had started. They checked on me again later in the trip. It was a minor thing, but I’ve made a note to myself to remove my nose ring before future snorkeling trips.
In that same post from last Friday, I shared more of my personal experience surrounding the snorkeling and the little clip Miss Sunshine took of me snorkeling.
She also made a compilation of some of her snorkeling, which she has said that I can share with all of you.
Memories.
I’ve mentioned one of my favorite parts of traveling with my teens is the memories that we create.
We created many memories during our brief time in Aruba.
I’ve shared a few photos from Aruba in this post and in the future I will be sharing more about our time there.
Stay tuned.
Have you been snorkeling?
Where? And did you enjoy it?
Let your light shine!
Amy
*please note-all opinions are my own. No compensation was given for this review.
My snorkling was in the Bahamas. Joeys don’t belong in the Caribbean, but if they have to be there, it’s best they drink way too many rum drinks and that they do not fall asleep in the bottom of a glass-bottomed boat and wake up red.
We never made it over to the Bahamas even though it was literally a short(ish) boat ride away when we lived on the East Coast of Florida. I had many rum drinks…and did end up with some red. Hilariously, because I am the mom. I stopped my sunscreen application to apply to everyone’s backs and then forgot my arms. 😳
Isn’t that the way of it? Like when they’re little and you make them a lunch and forget to feed yourself! lol Oh, I am sorry you got the red!
Great post. Love the photo of the colorful fins. They almost look like a flower arrangement
Thank you! I loved the way they had the fins arranged. It looked like a piece of art. 🙂
Fun stuff. You’re bang-on about the experiences and family memories you build on trips like this.
Good memories are so much more precious than any material gifts you could give them. Material things wear out or eventually outlive their usefulness and get tossed aside – this will stay with them forever.
Thanks Norm. I’m glad to be creating memories and I love that they don’t wear out. 😉
I agree with Joey. This Joanne isn’t a beach bunny. The heat, the salt water, the humidity … a rather rough combination.
… but I have snorkelled and scuba-d – Mexico, Hawaii, Australia. If I’m going to be somewhere hot, water must be involved! 🙂
I did a bit of a double-take on your son’s size 16’s. I won’t make jokes anymore about my son’s 13’s 🙂
I haven’t attempted to scuba dive…and it’s likely I won’t. I agree 100% about water needing to be involved in hot places!
Thank goodness for online ordering. No local stores carry 16’s. 😂
My son has discovered the same challenge!
What a beautiful place to relax and have some fun.
Have a fabulous day. ♥
Thank you! We definitely had lots of fun with plenty of relegation thrown in for good measure!!
I love the Caribbean, but haven’t been to Aruba. He-Man is more a beach bum than I am, but if there’s a nice chaise lounge with an umbrella, and a bar not far behind that I’m in! 🙂
Snorkling. I tried once in Hawaii and it was a major fail for me. I couldn’t breath! In the end I put the mask on, and held my breath for as long as possible to swim around and look at the fish, but I was highly distracted trying to keep an eye on my children who were 8 and 4 at the time too. They took to snorkling like fish! They also liked to swim in different directions making me an anxious mess.
I’d try it again. I think I’d be more relaxed with just He-man, or with my kids now that they’re all grown up, and both spent all their summers in high school and into their early college summers working as certified lifeguards. I wouldn’t worry about them too, too much today. 🙂
I am much more the lounger than the daredevil. I conceded to join into the water adventures to help create some extra memories.
I did love the snorkeling and would do it again. I was really worried about the breathing part because it has not gone well in the past. My preference is definitely in shallow waters. I can’t imagine having done this trip with the teens were younger. I would have been a mess worrying about them in the water (even though they swim like fish).
We snorkeled at the same place, the underwater wreck was interesting too! 🤗🐠
I snorkeled over the wreck at the surface, but the hubby and teens dove all the way down to it. My favorite snorkeling spots were in shallower water. 😊
Love the quote of Hopkins. Yes, the ABC islands were always interesting to me, because they were once Dutch colonies. Wow, that water is so clear! Nice that the people were immediately so responsive to your nose bleed:)
I thought that was a great quote as well. There are some buildings whose architecture is Dutch. The water was surprisingly clear. I hadn’t experienced that before. I’m not a fan of being the cause of a scene, but I did appreciate the help in stopping the nosebleed! 🙂
Haha, you don’t seem to me not the person who like to attract attention to herself:)
My Dad used to go scuba diving when we were young – I have never done it myself. I’ve been snorkeling though – off the coast of Turkey about 10 years ago. Love the video!
I have not attempted scuba diving and don’t think that I will. I did enjoy the snorkeling though and would definitely do more of that! I’m glad you loved her video. I loved it too! 🙂
Great pictures Amy! Love the color of that water 💧 💕
Thank you DeeDee!! The water was breathtaking!!
What a paradise! Snorkeling in the clear turquoise water and swim with the fish. Nothing beats the relaxing vacation with lots with lots of sun and sea.
It was beautiful. I feel very lucky to have been able to spend some relaxing time with the sun and the sea! 🙂
What an adventure. I love snorkeling, having lived by the sea as a kid. I never attempted Scuba Diving, also as my wife doesn’t like the open water. Would love to do it though one day! Happy Friday! Marcus
It was a lot of fun! I have not attempted scuba diving. My husband has done it, but many years ago. I’m not a fan of open water, but the boat was large enough and there was plenty of action to keep my mind occupied. When we had our 20-footer, we mainly only went into the backwaters. Plenty of people would run over to the Bahamas on a glassy morning. I was not that brave!!
Looks amazing. And that water is so clear. What wonderful memories. I love snorkelling, it’s like you’re in another world. xo
Thanks Miriam. We had an amazing time and created so many memories. It does feel like another world under the water! 💕💦
What a great holiday! The colour of the water is amazing.
Thank you! The water was like nothing I’d seen before.
I did snorkeling in Aruba and loved it. Although the day we did it the water was unusually rough, we still saw so many fish!
It was great! The water was a little rough over the shipwreck, but it was great in the other spots. I loved seeing all the fish and hope that I get to go back again someday!!
I’m heading to Aruba in a month!! This is great, thanks!
Awesome!! It’s such a great island. I’m sure you’ll have a blast! Enjoy!! 🙂
I absolutely love snorkeling but doing it in Aruba… fantastic! I want to do this!
I haven’t been snorkeling in many places, but it was a blast in Aruba!