The California Lighthouse towers above the panorama. Looking to the south, you see a lush, green 18-hole golf course in the foreground and the Las Vegas-like strip of Oranjestad gleaming in the distance. To the East, a stark landscape stretches as far as the eye can see.
Most of the island gleams with extraterrestrial beauty, its battered coast defying development. But balmy sunshine, silky sand, aquamarine waters, and constant trade winds have made the calmer southwest coast a tourist mecca. Most of its 28 major hotels sit side by side down a single strip of shore, with restaurants, exotic boutiques, fiery floor shows, and glitzy casinos. Nearly every night there are theme parties, treasure hunts, beachside barbecues, and fish fries with steel bands and limbo dancers. Surround all this with warm blue-green waters and you've got the perfect destination.
The A in the ABC Islands (the other two being Bonaire and Curaçao), Aruba is small -- only 19½ mi (31½ km) long and 6 mi (9½ km) across at its widest point. Once a member of the Netherlands Antilles, it became an independent entity within the Netherlands in 1986, with its own royally appointed governor and a 21-member elected parliament.
Aruba's economy was once based on oil. These days, education, housing, and health care are financed by tourism, and the island's population of 110,000 recognizes visitors as valued guests. The national anthem proclaims, "The greatness of our people is their great cordiality," and this is no exaggeration. Waiters serve you with smiles, English is spoken everywhere, and hotel hospitality directors appear delighted to fulfill your special wishes.
The island's distinctive beauty lies in its countryside -- full of rocky deserts, divi-divi trees, cactus jungles alive with the chattering of wild parakeets, secluded coves, and blue vistas with crashing waves. With its low humidity and average temperature of 82°F (28°C), Aruba has the climate of a paradise. Sun, cooling trade winds, friendly and courteous service, efficient amenities, golf and tennis clubs, modern casinos, glorious beaches, duty-free shopping, and remarkably varied cuisine help fill Aruba's more than 7,500 hotel rooms.
