Aruba: Last Minute Travel

[tkachuk]

Context: I am a 60 year old intermediate twin tipper that just wants to jump, carve jibes and safely ride waves.
This is only about Boca Grande and I am assuming nobody wants to kite the offshore winds up north near Fishermans and casino hotels, although the local kiters seem to have no problems kiting there between the wind shadows).

upside:
being in southern caribbean, good reliable wind Jan-Aug
easy waves
safe island with a local middle class, good roads and infrastructure
Arnold is a great guy and his Kite Inn is very convenient.

downside:
no night life, limited restaurants (down in Boca that is)
With more than 7 or 8 kiters crowding the "channel", forced to kite in lots of chop
need a rental car
no local kite shop (the one in Boca has been shut down for a couple of years)

If you are with a group of friends who only want to kite and the wind doesn't looks as good as it does in elsewhere in the Caribbean, then yes, I'd go back. May try out Columbia first though.

[Wind Runner]

I also just went to Aruba a few weeks ago. My group rented a VRBO condo up in the resort area just a short walk to all the action. We had 2 rental cars and drove down to Boca every afternoon when the wind is strongest. We were all on 9-10-12 kites depending on the time of day, kiter weight, etc. We had a great time. BTW... yes the reef area, which is referred to as the lagoon or Grapefield Beach, has some dangerous sharp pointy spots, but if you head along the beach a ways the lagoon opens up and is a great flat water spot.