Just learning a bit about a country makes a trip even more fulfilling. So we read up on Aruba since our Caribbean adventure is coming up!
Check out what Aruba facts we discovered and look out for our traveler’s guide to the island (coming soon).
Aruba Location and Geography
Aruba is one the of “ABC” islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao). A lot of cruises include all 3 on trips. But this allows so little time on each island that visitors don’t get to really know them.
Aruba is SUPER small at only 19.6 miles (31.5 km) long and 6 miles (9.7 km) wide. It’s tucked next to the South American continent. This makes it out of the path for hurricanes. Woohoo!
The dominant geography of the island is desert. This is why food has to be imported (and why it’s expensive!). It’s also why you won’t get rained out in Aruba.
The temperature averages 80-83 F (26.6-28.3C) year-round. Beautiful :)
History
There is evidence that people lived in Aruba allll the way back to 2500 BC, when only the Caiqueto Indians inhabited the island.
Centuries later, in 1499, the Spanish stumbled upon the island. They used Aruba as a colony until the Netherlands took it from them. An independence movement led by Betico Croes finally led to Aruba’s succession in 1986.
But Aruba didn’t totally leave: it is still a “constituent country” of Holland. That means Aruba takes care of all its internal affairs but Holland oversees foreign issues such as defense. (Pretty sweet deal!)
Languages and Nationalities
Aruba is incredibly diverse for an island of only 110,000 people. For example, over 90 nationalities are part of the permanent population.
English, Spanish, and Portuguese are spoken by many inhabitants. The official languages of Aruba are Dutch and Papiamento.
Environment and Sustainability
There has been progress in sustainability, including for tourism. First, no single use plastic is sold on the island. And sunscreen with oxybenzone is prohibited.
That’s because oxybenzone is super harmful to the native reefs which make snorkeling and diving so great in the Caribbean.
The government of Aruba has made other efforts recently to improve the island’s environmental issues. This includes an up-cycling center and improvements to local agriculture.
Conclusion
Ok, now we’ve got some basic Aruba facts. Now let’s plan an epic trip that is adventurous, responsible and fulfilling!
Aruba is a great place for such travel, actually. That’s because adventure and outdoor activities abound. Check out our guide to enjoy Aruba (in a fun, Earth-friendly way), coming in a couple of weeks :)
te aworo (“see you later” in Papiamento!)
