Honeymoon: Aruba vs Cabo, Mexico

Aruba is amazing. I typically love all-inclusive resorts, but at Aruba, I actually wouldn't recommend one. When we went, we stayed at an airbnb and rented a car. There are so many amazing restaurants on the island, and at least in the Noord area (where Riu is), I felt incredibly safe going around. All inclusives are good if you primarily want to stay on the resort and do an occasional excursion (otherwise, why pay for that food and alcohol if you are going to go out and eat at other restaurants). I haven't been to Cabo, so I can't speak to that. I've only been to the eastern side (Cancun, Riviera Maya).

I haven’t been to Aruba, but I’ve been to Cabo. My experience was a solo trip, and I stayed in an Airbnb and walked everywhere. A lot of the activities around Cabo revolve around the nightlife— there are some famous clubs around there. But there’s also Los Arcos, some good deep-sea fishing, swimming with whale sharks (we did this in Cancun, not Cabo, and it was amazing), and there are some art museums and such in San Jose del Cabo. From what I understand, there’s only one really swimmable beach in Cabo, and it’s in Cabo San Lucas. I could see Cabo getting kind of boring after a few days, unless you really like to drink and party. But there’s probably a lot more to the place than I got a chance to see so I might be wrong about that.

I feel like Aruba and Cabo are both great choices for beautiful beaches and lots of other activities!! I know there's a casino or two on Aruba which could be fun!

Here's a guide with recommendations for each location you can check out for ideas:

Aruba Honeymoon Guide

Los Cabos Honeymoon Guide

I would vote for Aruba for a honeymoon. I’ve stayed at the Riu in Cabo and it was beautiful and a lot of fun but it couldn’t beat Aruba. In Cabo, you can’t really swim in the ocean from the beach due to rip tides. As stated above, if you do go to Aruba though, I would not do all inclusive. There are way too many delicious restaurants that AI is not worth it in my opinion. The island is very safe and tons of activities to do. Also, simply not eating/drinking AI food and beverages will not have you feeling like crap by the end of the week.