Aruba is a perfect island to feel at home right away. Together with the other trainees we booked a flight with KLM since it was the only airline which flew to Aruba directly. Now, Martinair is replacing KLM's flights to Aruba. Another airline flying from Amsterdam Arke Fly and Martin also offers flights to Aruba. Amsterdam – Aruba is approximately a 9 hours flight. In Aruba we stayed at Blue Village (Taxi ride from the airport $19) where there are also other Dutch trainees staying.
Blue Village (http://www.arubabluevillage.com/ ) is perfect to get to know other people quickly and the atmosphere made me feel at home right away. At Blue Village everybody shares an apartment with a roommate. Although Blue Village was very nice to stay because of the people and the atmosphere I also have to mention that during our stay there were several break-ins. From several apartments, laptops, cameras, wallets and passports were stolen. If you would not feel comfortable staying at Blue Village I can also recommend Montana which is not as cozy as Blue Village but it is safer (http://www.mpa.nl/). The prices for Blue Village at this moment are AFL 600 per person which is comparable to €300. The price per person at Montana is AFL 700 per person which is comparable to €350.
It is recommendable to rent a car. Hertz is by far the cheapest company; they rent small jeeps for about AFL 500 per month.
The weeks on Aruba became regular pretty fast. On a regular day I got up in the morning and started with an ice cold shower since there is no warm water available. Then I went to work, came back home, ate something and usually hung out with some of the guys at Blue Village. On off days I usually went to the beach for my necessary tanning and relaxation. There is also a lot to do on Aruba, for instance renting ATV’s, scuba diving, several tours (the Jolly Pirates is very nice) and more. Every Wednesday “Café the Paddock” offers a trainee night that is very nice for going out. We were big fanatics of the happy hours in café’s and bars. Also the “full moon party” at Havana is an excellent opportunity to have fun once a month.
Although Aruba offers many opportunities to have fun please remember that your traineeship is the most important thing that you are here for. I would really recommend starting with your internship report as soon as possible because it is a lot of work. Make sure that you have the right attitude because you can learn so much of your traineeship.
