How I Spent 5 Days and 5 Nights in Aruba for Only $500 (Round-trip Airfare Included!)

I just returned from my five-day, five-night solo trip to Aruba, and not only did I have one of the best trips of my life, but I also only spent a grand total of $510.81!
This included round trip airfare, car rental, gas, hotel stays, food, and fun! 
I had heard so many great things about Aruba- but I also heard that it can be pricey. And with tourism being its main money maker, it definitely can be.
Unlike a lot of places that I have visited, Aruba's prices were fairly comparable to America's, and if you want to stay at the fancy resorts and do touristy things, you can end up spending a lot of money.
My goal was to spend only $500 during my five-day, five-night stay in Aruba, and I accomplished that (ok, I went $10.81 over, but I am ok with that!), and here is how I did it, and how you can too!
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My first tip to save money while traveling Aruba (or for any trip actually), is to figure out what is important to you on vacation, splurge on that, but then save on the things that aren't super important to you. This way you will only spend money on the things that make you very happy and not feel deprived, and also know what not to spend a lot of money on!
For example, the most important thing to me during my travels is to find small local bakeries and coffee shops every morning and drink hot black coffee and eat delicious freshly made pastries. And eat just good food in general really! And what isn't super important to me is touristy things and group tours, as well as having to see every attraction there is. These group tours and tourist traps are usually pricey, and don't usually interest me that much anyways. So I spent a decent amount of money on coffee, pastries, snacks, and food, but saved a lot by not booking group tours.
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These next couple tips are super simple but can save some money;
-I brought my own snacks and sandwiches to the airport, so I didn't have to buy pricey airport food.
-I brought my own beach towel, snorkel, and water bottle. If you're not staying at fancy hotels (which I did not), you will have to pay to rent beach towels and snorkels. Also, Aruba has its own desalination plant, so unlike some other countries, you can drink the tap water in Aruba! Bringing along a refillable water bottle is not only great for the environment but can help save money as well. 
- I packed everything in a backpack (see above), and thus did not have to check (and pay for) a bag at the airport.

-I did not stay in a fancy hotel or resort. This gorgeous place I stayed at above, is much cheaper (and filled with much more character) than one of the many resorts you will find in Aruba. I also stayed in a hostel for three nights, which is always a great way to save money-I spent $184.50 for three nights at my hostel. 
-I did not see the flamingoes. The famous flamingoes of Aruba are exclusive to a private island owned by Renaissance Wind Creek, and you either need to be a guest to this costly resort or purchase a day pass for $130 a person. If visiting the flamingoes is something important to you, then definitely budget for it, but if it's not important, this is a big money saver while traveling Aruba. 
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-​I did not drink a lot of alcohol.
Alcohol can eat up a lot of your travel budget, and I also don't like to drink a lot while I'm traveling solo, so this one was a no-brainer for me. 
-I knew that the 15% service charge added to the bill is the tip. You can definitely tip more on top of that, but just be aware when a bill has a service charge that is the tip. Not all places have this, but a lot do. 
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I did plenty of free activities!
Aruba has more free activities than any place I've ever come across while traveling, on top of being a great place to just lay around, relax and chill.
Some of these free activities include;

Visiting The Donkey Sanctuary
Reading books poolside
Hanging out at my amazing hotels
Hiking the Hooiberg Trail at sunrise
Visiting Mangel Alto Beach
Walking around Renaissance Marketplace
Visiting the Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins
Riding the free trolley by the cruise terminal
Walking around Royal Plaza Shopping Mall
Watching the sunset at Eagle Beach
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I rented a car.
Renting a car is a very good idea to do in Aruba. Some places I was able to walk to from my hostel, but most of the things I wanted to do required driving, and I have heard that taxis on the island can be quite expensive.
And I actually only paid $124.44- about half of the total, using the remainder of my credit card points!
What else did I use my credit card travel points for?
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I used my credit card travel points to get my round-trip flight to Aruba, for free!
And I got two nights in my first hotel for only $.31 using my credit card points!
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What are credit card points and how did they get me all of this?
I just find credit cards, that have great sign-on bonuses (spend a certain amount within the first few months and get a large amount of points), and put all of my spending on that card (paying it off at the end of every month of course) until I get enough points accumulated to purchase flights, hotels, and rental cars! Chase cards are my favorites! I am on my third card from them, and now have an American Airline card.
(My credit card points have also bought me a round-trip ticket to Hawaii, and a round-trip ticket to Florida)

This is the payment summary of my Sapphire Preferred Chase card. It paid for my round-trip flight, and $122.56 of my $247 car rental. You can sign up for this card using my link.
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This was my United Gateway Card. It was for a two-night stay in my first hotel. I didn't have enough points to cover the entire thing, but only had to pay $.31!
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Would you like to hear all my tips and tricks for using credit card points to travel for free- from the best credit cards to use, to how best maximize them?
If you do, just comment below letting me know, or contact me and I will write a blog post about it!
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Peace Love and Aruba
Jess <3
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