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ARUBA

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The Aruba Tourism Authority provides free Wi-Fi zones in renowned areas around the island, in order to enhance our visitors’ experience.

A healthy 81 degrees Fahrenheit average (27 degrees Celsius).

The Caribbean waters are filled with all kinds of marine life, including sharks. Did you know that on average 5 people are killed worldwide by sharks, while in the same time span people kill 100 million sharks? This is according to a conservationist Sharks4Kids, from the Bahamas (see above film).

Sharks are wild animals and people should be careful near these animals, just as people should stay away from wild dolphins as well. Back in 2007 there was a sighting of a school of wild dolphins near the shallow areas of Palm Beach, which prompted several tourists to foolishly approach these wild mammals. If you are not trained, please don’t try to approach these animals, however well-intentioned it may be.

Fact of the matter is that there are animals in the water surrounding this beautiful island including a diverse and vibrant underwater sea life. It is uncommon, however, to witness sightings of such visitors like sharks, dolphins or jellyfish, to mention a few. Fact is that in recent times (since the tourism boom of the 90s) to this date (early 2015) no major shark attack has been recorded near any Aruba beaches.

One of the most popular and common stories hear about sharks in Aruba is really a funny one. Apparently we locals feed the sharks on the opposite side of the island; this way somehow it will prevent sharks from going near the hotels.

This is not true.  Please put this story in the “old wife’s tale”-column.

Let’s assume, for argument’s sake, that indeed there is shark feeding going on (which would attract a whole lot more than sharks alone) at the opposite side of the island, what guarantee would you then have that after the feeding comes to an end for the day the sharks won’t venture out to other areas near the coast to seek for more “easy” food, therefore creating a whole new set of problems?

Additionally it would seem very costly, time-consuming and un-natural to tackle this hypothetical problem, which makes this assumption not plausible. Please put this story in the “old wife’s tale”-column.

Some of the creatures you may see include: Parrot Fish, Barracuda, turtlles, pods of squid, octopus andmany other kinds of smaller tropical fish, wrasse, dolphins, jelly fish, crabs, occasional sharks

Aruba is surrounded by beautiful white sandy beaches at various of the island's coastlines. There's a Black Stone Beach near the rougher edges of the island where many adventurers like to go off-roading and hiking. To view the diverse selection of beaches check out our Aruba Beaches page. We also have a convenient Aruba Beach Map to help you get started on your beach-hopping journey.

Getting to the best beaches including Eagle Beach and Palm Beach couldn’t be easier. Just exit the premises of the complex and it’s one straight walk to the left! The walk is a little more than 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) which is about a 15 minutes’ walk or just a few minutes by car.

Airport Info

Paid parking has been implemented on the Mainstreet in Oranjestad and noted with white registration numbers. The yellow lined parking spaces are for employees only and are not available for regular parking.

The Tariffs

The tariffs are in Aruban Florins but you can also pay with American dollars:

• 30 min: 1 AWG=$0.55
• 90 min: 2 AWG=$1.15
• +90 min: AWG 0.50 cents for every additional 15 minute = $0.30

Walking around with coins is a hassle, so good thing you can also purchase a rechargeable SmartCard. The SmartCards are sold at most hotel gift shops and car rental companies and can be recharged at any Aruparking/Arubus recharging stations.

Important:

• In case your vehicle got clammed due to not paying for your parking space of surpassing the paid time, you will need to pay AWG 75,-.
• After 3 hours of unpaid parking, a tow truck will transport your vehicle, and the additional AWG 150, - will be charged to you.
• You can pay your parking fines at the Aruparking office:
  • Address: Wilhelminastraat 13 in downtown Oranjestad.
  • Telephone: (297) 5202323
  • Email:info@aruparking.com
  • Website:www.aruparking.com

Going home to raoming and other penalties from your phone provider can be very costly.

Once in Aruba buy a sim card from Digicel or Setar for approximately $20. Purchase a data plan separately.

Change your APN (Access Point Name) settings for better internet connection

1. (for Digicel) APN Name: Digicel – APN: web.digicelaruba.com
2. (for Setar) APN Name: setarinternet – APN: internet.setar.aw

Tips To Save Money On Your Current Phone

• Turn off your mobile data
• Turn on your WiFi
• Put your device in airplane mode.

Aruba is dotted with WiFi hot-spots. You can make a phone call if you need via Skype, What’s App, Facebook Messenger and all other calling apps over WiFi.

U.S. and Canadian cellphones will work in Aruba. However, please keep in mind that if you retain your own US/CAD SIM card you may incur considerable roaming fees from your US/CAD cellphone company. You should call to see if they offer coverage in Aruba and what it would cost. You can also consider renting a cell phone or SIM card (in Aruba) to use with your own cellphone if your cellphone company does not offer coverage in Aruba. Please also keep in mind that the voltage in Aruba can be as high as 127 volts, so you would need to make sure that your charger can handle this voltage. There are no area codes in Aruba, so just dial the phone number directly without any prefixes. To call the United States from Aruba dial "00" (international prefix to dial outside of Aruba), then dial "1" (international code for the U.S.). and then the area code and phone number you wish to connect to.

When making a call you always have to dial +, the country code, area code if applicable and the phone number.

• To call Aruba dial +297 (phone number)
• To call the United States or Canada dial +1 (area code and phone number)
• To call the Netherlands dial +31 (area code and phone number)