Aruba taps into social media

A new travel guide app has launched that showcases the best of Aruba, in conjunction with the launch of the Aruba Table website which aims to bring together some of Aruba’s favourite restaurants. The free travel guide Aruba App contains extensive travel information, such as suggestions on where to stay and eat, main attractions, activities, transportation and the history of the island. It also contains a list of weekly updated events, as well as information on special promotions. Special features include ‘Tips by Locals’, where various Arubans mention their relationship with the island and share their special places and experiences, and ‘Augmented Reality’, which brings up on the screen all the restaurants and sights when you point your phone in a certain direction, like taking a picture. Background information is obtained by clicking on the pop ups, while this 3D feature also works when the app is offline. Additional practical features include an exchange rate calculator, tip calculator, wheelchair accessible locations and key telephone numbers. The Aruba travel guide app is available for iPhone and Android phone users and is constantly renewed, with updates installed automatically. The just launched Aruba Table aims to bring together a number of Aruba’s most popular restaurants, such as the romantic The Old Man and The Sea, the new Marandi Sunset Restaurant, the wood-fired grill Que Pasa and El Gaucho, which has been serving an Argentine menu for 35 years. The new website offers a mix of well known establishments at Aruba’s tourism spots but also off the beaten track, making it ideal for visitors whether they want to stay close to their hotel or dine at a restaurant they would not have heard otherwise. Aruba’s first-class restaurants blend the island’s culinary traditions with flavours of international gastronomy and Aruba Table allows to search more than 10 different kinds of cuisines, which vary from Cuban and Mexican to Japanese and Thai. Visitors can also browse according to their preferred cuisine price range, book their table online and even have the opportunity to win dinner vouchers or free desserts, with more restaurants to be added with time.