As I mentioned in my previous post, we wanted to take baby on his first vacation to some place that was child-friendly and not too long of a flight.

Since we were paying with American Airline miles, it had to be one of their destinations, fortunately AA is the largest airline so the options were basically endless. I ended up narrowing down our options to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, aka the ABC Islands. When it came down to it and after reading countless reviews, while Aruba is the most touristy of the bunch, they had the best and most affordable AirBnB options.

Traveling with a baby definitely adds a new element to finding the right accommodations. We knew we wanted a nice and quiet place, with a full kitchen, a pool, and easy access to the beach, restaurants, and sightseeing attractions. Our AirBnB offered all of those things and was a short 10 minute drive from the airport.

Speaking of, renting a car is a must. While they do have taxis, they’re expensive and don’t seem to be readily available. Having a car allows you to drive around the entire island and check out the various beaches and tourist spots like the California lighthouse, The Natural Bridge, and Fontein Cave.

Typically, I’m one to pack our daily itinerary full, but with a baby I knew we would be on his schedule. I had an idea of the things I wanted to do and the places I wanted to go but didn’t want to commit to anything because let’s face it I hate to get my hopes up only to be disappointed.

Although we made plans to go out each day to explore a different part of the island, we slept in until about 9 or 10am each day and usually didn’t leave until around noon. We went to 2 beaches for a short period of time, no more than 30 minutes each, because we didn’t want our 2.5 month old winter baby to get too hot. We lathered him up in baby sunscreen, put on a floppy hat, and made sure to keep him in lightweight clothing so that he’d be comfortable.

Taking time for rest allowed us to return home without feeling drained like I’m used to when traveling. You know, the feeling of needing a vacation after returning from vacation.

This was definitely one of the most low key trips I’d been on in years. I was glad to see a little excitement when we sat front row along the parade route for the finale of Carnavale. We made friends with a local family. Being that it’s such a small world, the man we sat next to has a brother who lives in Alexandria, VA which is less than 15 minutes away from where we live.

We had an amazing time in Aruba and I look forward to our return. That “happy island” has a fond place in my heart.