Aruba Shopping

Shopping

Above all, it appears that Arubans are very aware that their economy is completely dependent on tourism - so Arubans are polite to tourists, and even street vendors don't generally seek to rip off their customers (though as in all traveling, don't let advice like this lull you into a sense of complacency). This may be helped by the fact that Aruba is a relatively expensive place to go to, so it tends to attract the reasonably well-off. Oranjestad is filled with nearly identical shops and stalls selling souvenirs. Ironically, many of these souvenirs are imported from the United States, only to be purchased by Americans and brought back to America. Some shops carry cutesy little statuettes that depict acts of sexual intercourse among stylized, cartoony animals, so keep an eye out if you opposed to your children seeing that sort of thing. Also in Oranjestad is the Renaissance Mall, which contains various American and European major apparel brands (i.e. Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Gucci) at essentially the same prices as in the United States. American dollars are accepted virtually everywhere at a decent exchange rate - if you are coming from the United States there is no need to change money into the local currency, the Aruban florin. The current exchange rate (as of May 2006) given in shops is about 1.75 florins to the dollar. Because the island is a Dutch dependency, one would assume that Dutch currency is also easy to spend. Groceries and other supplies are all imported from elsewhere, so prices tend to be high. Ling & Sons Grocery is the closest to the resort area, is not badly priced, had high quality produce and meat and possibly one of the least known to tourists. Two other major supermarkets are Super Food (LG Smith Blvd) and Kong Hing (various locations).