Fodor's Pocket Aruba, 4th Edition

A very good concise reference to a variety of places and things to do on this One Happy Island. We got this for our second Aruba visit, so I had a chance to compare some of the contents against places I had already been, in addition to checking out new spots. Many sections in the book, including a fairly good coverage of restaurants, snorkeling spots, and beaches. There aren't a lot of guides out there for Aruba, but this would be a useful investment for anyone preparing to visit - especially if you plan on renting a car to take in the island on your own. We had a Jeep for a couple days and I found the info on places on the north side of the island and some of the less visited beaches very helpful. The only thing lacking are driving directions (although they try), but, I think that's more the lack of signage on Aruba in general then a fault of the book. When driving in Aruba - just plan a little extra time for getting lost! The good part is on this small island, you're seldom more than 20 minutes away from your room. $10 well spent.

This book provides excellent information if you want to go to Aruba. Although, our personal experience is that the Marriott Surf Club was overpriced, no room serivce, and the swimming the beach at the hotel was disgusting. The bottom of the ocean was mucky mud instead of sand. This may have been due to the amount of fuel from the jetskis and motor boats. In addition, the airport security was so rude. Two men searched my girlfriends purse without asking. They laughed as they dramatically dropped an expensive bottle of perfume into the trash can. The airport was not crowded and out checkin luggage was just a few feet away. Yet they were too lazy to walk us over and let us put the 4 oz. bottle into our luggage. The airport security took pleasure in being rude to the tourist. The book is helpful in surviving Aruba, but there are better islands to visit than Aruba.