Aruba

  • Languages: Papiamento, Dutch (English & Spanish widely spoken)
  • Currency: Aruban florin or U.S. dollar
  • Temperature: Average 82°F year-round
  • Square Miles: 70 Approx.
  • Population: 94,500

ABOUT. Aruba is one of the ABC Islands in the Netherlands Antilles. Indians from South America were the first inhabitants, but today Aruba is a multi-cultural, independently functioning part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Aruba, a tiny Dutch Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela, has dry, sunny weather, gorgeous beaches and gentle surf. Constant trade winds keep things cool and cause the divi-divi trees to slope southwesterly.

In the interior of the island, you’ll find Arikok National Park, a desert like preserve with a variety of wildlife, cacti and dramatic rock formations. You’ll also find some of Aruba’s most striking views, as the ocean crashes against the rugged shoreline below. On the northeast coast, along the windward shore, you’ll see our island’s unofficial mascots, the fofoti trees. The constant trade winds have permanently sculpted them into graceful, southwesterly bending forms

When the Lago oil refinery closed, unemployment resulted in causing economic problems on the island. As a result, tourism was promoted, and entrepreneurs have created an industry that has become the main source of foreign currency.

Today, Aruba has visitors from all over the world and considers itself One Happy Island.