Matt & Amanda | On Their Aruba Honeymoon

Amanda & Matt won our honeymoon trip to Aruba Marriott Resort, telling us how, as two teachers, they formed a strong bond and helped each other through family problems. (A phys ed teacher, Matt proposed in the gym in front of her class!) 

At Aruba … Our first impression of the resort was that it was beautiful! When we walked into the lobby, we were handed welcome drinks and could see straight ahead to the pool and beyond that to the beach. The lobby level offered restaurants, shops, food stands, bars and the concierge desk. One of the first things we did was go to the lobby bar for a drink, the best orange mojitos we’ve ever had!

Our room had a king-size bed, a spacious bathroom, and our favorite, a balcony overlooking the water. The view was incredible! Our room gave us access to a private beach area and the Tradewinds Lounge, which offered drinks and snacks throughout the day. The best meal was one of our first nights there at a restaurant right on the beach. The food was delicious and we sat with our feet in the sand, watching the sunset. It was perfect!

We did a few different excursions. The first was a sunset cruise. There were snacks, drinks, dancing and the best view for watching the sunset, which happens quickly!

Our second excursion was a jeep tour along the coastline with stops at the oldest church in Aruba, the natural bridge, and the natural pool where we went snorkeling. The tour was so thrilling, a bumpy ride down and over huge rocks to make our way to the pool. We were covered from head to toe in dirt by the end but it was so worth it!

The third excursion was sailing, snorkeling, swimming, and a rope swing on the Jolly Pirate. The crew was awesome and it made for such a fun afternoon. We stopped at different spots for snorkeling. Our favorite was near a sunken ship. It was eerie but exciting! Our last excursion was to DePalm Island. We had breakfast, lunch, and drinks, and there were a ton of activities to do, including zip lining, banana boats, volleyball, snorkeling tours, salsa lessons, and  palapas on the beach to relax in.

The resort offered many outdoor sports and activities. There was paddle boarding, jet skiing, tubing, banana boats, and a  water-powered jet pack.  We went tubing and paddle boarding.

We also met a lot of couples in Aruba, a few were also on their honeymoon but most were returning visitors. Many of them were from New York or the surrounding areas, and every couple told us the same thing: once they visited Aruba, they never stopped coming back.

The funniest thing to happen was during a dinner on the beach. We would see stray dogs every now and then walk by but they would never come up and bother you. This one night however, a dog wandered over to us at the end of our meal. We had a small piece of filet mignon left, and asked the waitress if we could feed it to the dog. After the dog ate it down quickly, we gave it a piece of bread that was left over as well. The dog took the bread and immediately spit it out. We laughed as the dog turned around and walked away, watching it move on to find its next expensive meal.

The most romantic thing during our honeymoon was the first sunset we saw, which was on the sunset cruise. It’s amazing how fast the sun goes down in Aruba, but being able to view that minute or two of the sun setting is incredible.

We also met another couple on the cruise, who asked about our story, engagement, wedding, etc. It felt good to think back to everything that had happened since that September day in our school gym when Matt proposed, and to be in one of the most beautiful places celebrating our future together.

There are many things we’ll remember months and years from now, and hope to one day experience again there, but most of all, the beautiful views, perfect weather and time spent together just enjoying each other.

Amanda & Matt won their honeymoon at the Aruba Marriott Resort with Their Romantic Honeymoon-Winning Story.
And here’s Their Heart-Warming Family Life 10 Years Later!
For information visit … www.ArubaMarriott.com