5. South Beaches

          Boca Grandi (big mouth) is for those who like a more rustic beach experience. By that I mean that the beach is totally unrefined like the resort beaches to the north.

          In addition, because Aruba's famous, persistent wind blows into the beach instead of away from it like it does on the west side of the island, and because there are rarely any tourists who venture down the island, this is a mecca for local kite surfers. They are a ton of fun to watch.

          Also, just around this point, there is more good snorkeling right here. I mean, you already have tons of other good places to snorkel but you know, just so you're aware.

          Locals always talked up Baby Beach which is also down there but it's nothing to write home about. Maybe it's because of the incredibly off-putting oil refinery that is directly adjacent to it...? Oh, and fun fact about that refinery: It's an old one and, up until not too many years ago, there were steel pipes with swastikas molded into them that were sold to the refinery by a certain Mr. Hitler. I forget his first name. The guy in a model train museum right here has at least one of the pipes you can see if you're interested.


          And here is a picture of a nice little red anchor that sits above Boca Grandi right here.