Tourist Information

Knowledge is power, especially when traveling outside your country. Let arubalife.net be your information provider. Whether you want to know about the most common or maybe not so common aspects about Aruba, you're at the right place. Potential visitors and repeat visitors alike will surely find something that tickles the interest.

Overview

Aruba is a sub tropical island located in the southern Caribbean, 17 miles (27 kilometers) north of Venezuela and it is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea.

Aruba is an autonomous island in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, these islands are also referred to as the ABC-islands.

Aruba is a very popular tourist destination known for its almost perfect weather, white sandy beaches, trade winds, amazing gastronomy and incredible drinking water.

Summary

» Volcanic island
» Coral island
» Desert island
» Dutch island
» Language spoken Papiamento
» Length: 19.6 miles (31.5 kilometers)
» Width: 6 miles (9.7 kilometers)
» Inhabitants: 102.000 (65% locals | 35% aliens)
» Visitors in 2006: 1,300,000 (76% from USA)
» Marriott biggest resort chain
» Two movie theaters and one drive-in theater
» Closest neighbor: Venezuela » South, 17 miles
» Closest island neighbor: Curacao » East, 44 miles

Economy

Aruba's economy has been dominated by tourism since the 90's. In the present Aruba's economy is still growing and is still dominated by tourism. In fact it is more dominated by tourism than ever before. More resort expansion, condos and other tourism related investments dominate Aruba's thriving economic growth.

Many tourism experts and economists believe that Aruba has to move forward from current tourism-economy-structures to different ones. Some say that the economy has been good to the people, and in certain ways it has, but it has been even better for [foreign] investors.

Mineral Economy

Horse and goat breeding was a major source of income for primitive islanders and settlers alike before mineral wealth exploited commercially.

1824 became an important year for the island's economy with the discovery of mineral.

Food and Drink

Aruba is host to one of the biggest and best water desalination plants in the world. The water that comes out of the tap can compete against any brand of bottled water. According to the World Health Organization, Aruba enjoys one of the purest drinking water of the world.

Grocery

All meat, poultry, pork, fruit and vegetables are imported from the best sources in the world, hence the superb quality of food. Supermarkets are well stocked, if your resort has a kitchen and you feel like cooking, you will have a blast. Side note: about 95% of the grocery stores are owned by the Chinese.

Restaurant

Restaurants are of an exceptional quality. Seafood is very big in Aruba. Catch of the day in many occasions literally means catch of the day, as in the fish was swimming a few hours before in the Caribbean Sea. Prices at the restaurants are on the higher side. Meat and Italian or other international cuisine is available as well.

Fast food

If fast food is what you are looking for, all major US fast food chains are well represented locally.

Getting Around

To get around Aruba is relatively simple. There are three options: taxi, car rental or bus.

Bus

The cheapest form of transportation is the bus. It cost only a few dollars ($2) to travel by bus. Buses are reliable, but the schedules are not. The bus company publishes time tables, but the buses don't go by these times. The majority of the users of public transportation are hotel workers and tourists.

Taxi

The most reliable and expensive form of transportation is the taxi. They will take you everywhere, even on private tours. They are save and dependable. The taxi fare in itself is not high; the accumulation of fares is pretty steep.

Rental

Somewhat of a combination between bus and taxi would be a car rental. US, Canadian and European driver's licenses are honored by rental companies. The minimum age to rent at most car rental establishments is 23 years. Sorry if you're younger, insurance reasons.

Need some recommendations for a good car rental place? For a three-day deal, try Economy Car Rental. For a good weekly deal try Toyota Rent a Car. These companies are dependable, responsible and maintain their cars very well.

Resource

Check out our Traffic rules and signs section, plus the current gasoline price on Aruba.

Money Matters

All major credit cards are accepted in almost all establishments. US dollars are widely accepted on Aruba. The exchange rate from Aruba florins (AWG) [AWG means: Arubaanse Wettelijke Guldens - translation from Dutch: Aruban Lawful Guilder] to US dollars (USD) is fixed.

The exchange is:

The Central Bank of Aruba allows merchants to exchange at a less favorable 1 USD = 1.80 AWG. After a purchase, rules require merchants to give the change back in local money, however this rarely happens.

Please, exchange money before you travel to Aruba, due to higher fees at local banks.

Due to the fact that the Euro is stronger than US dollar some merchants accept Euro as well, beware that in the majority of the cases the exchange rate isn't favorable to you.

Banking

Banking hours are from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Caribbean Mercantile Bank has a branch located at the airport which has different banking hours.

Lines at the banks are very common. Preferably avoid the bank and lines by using the automatic teller machines, which are distributed around the whole island for your convenience.

Aruba Florin

Aruba florin was first issued on 1st January 1986 when Aruba acquired its sovereignty from the Netherlands Antilles. The florin is independently governed by the Central Bank of Aruba (CBA). The CBA main goal is to control the inflationary pressures.

Aruba florin has a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar.

Aruba Weather

A frequently asked question about Aruba is the weather. Obviously visitors come and visit this island to avoid general rainy and/or cold weather condition back home. If sun is what you are looking for, well then, you won't be disappointed in Aruba.

Steady

Aruba enjoys a stable and steady weather. Average temperature during the day is 82 degrees Fahrenheit (27.8 degrees Celsius). Average seawater temperature in Aruba waters is 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27.2 degrees Celsius). Average rainfall per year is 16.1 inches (41 centimeters). This makes Aruba a desert island before a tropical island.

Variation

The variation in temperature between summer and winter is minimal, a degree Fahrenheit maybe. The difference in temperature between day and night is larger. At night the average temperature is 77 degrees Farhenheit (25 degrees Celsius).

All these figures are provided by the Meteorological Service of Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.