Travel Destinations : Caribbean

Aruba

Located in the heart of the southern Caribbean, just off the coast of Venezuela, Aruba boasts a wide mix of history, culture, and luxurious beaches and resorts. The island features a variety of unique topography and vegetation from pristine white beaches to rugged, cactus-studded desert landscapes.

Aruba is a tiny island. Only 20 miles long and 6 miles across at its widest point, it's slightly larger than Washington, D.C. It's the westernmost of the Dutch ABC islands, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao and less than 20 miles north of Venezuela.

On a place as small as Aruba, it's easy to get your bearings, especially since just about everything for tourists centers around the two biggest beaches. You like beaches? Aruba's got beaches, some of the best in the Caribbean, in the world, for that matter. The photos only look as if they've been doctored. What you see is what you get: miles of white, sugary sand; warm, gentle surf; turquoise and aqua seas; and plenty of space.

When you tire of lolling on the beach, there's scuba diving, snorkeling, great windsurfing, and all the other watersports you expect from a sun-and-sea vacation. On land, you can golf, ride a horse, hike, or drive an all-terrain vehicle over the island's wild and woolly outback. Away from the beach, Aruab is a desert island full of cacti, iguanas, and strange boulder formations. Contrasting sharply with the resort area's serene beaches, the north coast features craggy limestone cliffs, sand dunes, and crashing breakers.

And such nice places to stay. You can choose from luxury resorts, all-inclusives, cozy boutique hotels, and modest budget spots. They're all well maintained and chock-full of bells and whistles to meet the whims of most travelers. With all the package tours available, they can be surprisingly affordable, too.

Aruba is famous for its duty free shopping. A tax free haven means that you can get everything from designer watches to fine art at bargain prices. The best places to shop are the big malls of Oranjestad: Alhambra Shopping Bazaar, The Atrium, Midtown Mall, Port of Call Marketplace, Royal Plaza, Seaport Marketplace, Seaport Village Mall, Adventura Mall and Sun Plaza Mall.

Twenty per cent of Aruba is national park, preserving at least some terrain from the big budget beach tourism that dominates this little windswept island. The Arikok park is based in the interior of Aurba, with a stretch along the northern coast. Amongst the flora and fauna are divi-divi and kwihi trees, rare and exotic cacti, aloe, tropical flowers, birds and iguanas. Heritage highlights include Arawak petroglyphs in the Fontein Cave and the ruins of Dutch peasant settlements.

Find some great places to stay during your vacation.

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