Aruba is famous for powder thin white sand beachesbordered by the calm and inviting sea, especially along the west coast. Also great about Aruba is its pleasant year round climate. Aruba is on the southern fringes of the traditional Atlantic/Caribbean hurricane belt. So Aruba is usually unaffected by the hurricane season.

Aruba's primary industry is tourism. So the emphasis there is on making visitors feel welcome. In fact, Otmar E. Oduber, new Minister of Tourism, Transportation & Labor Affairs, noted in January 2010 that Aruba has the highest number of repeat visitors in the Caribbean.

Aruba is known as One Happy Island. It's culturally diverse with is a population that's 80 percent mixed and 20 percent other ethnicities. The modern day Aruban is a blend of over 40 nationalities in addition to the original Arawak inhabitants. Just as Hawaii is famous for Aloha, Aruba is famous for 'Bon bini'. That's Papiamento for 'Welcome'.

Three of the products manufactured on Aruba are aloe vera based beauty products, Fluff, and household cleaners/detergents. Body, sun, and hair products containing 100 percent Pure Aruba Aloe Vera gel are manufactured by Aruba Aloe Balm N.V. Located in Oranjestad, they're the oldest company on Aruba. They were founded in 1890. Their website can be accessed by the link provided below.

Fluff is made from household garbage through the WastAway hydrothermal process at the Solid Waste Management Facility in Perkietenbos. It's similar in consistency to wood pulp. On Aruba its initial use is as a growing medium to supplement topsoil. Bouldin and Lawson of McMinnville, Tennessee finished building their first international WastAway system on Aruba in 2009. Their website can be accessed by the link provided below.

R.J. Van Der Sar N.V. have manufactured household cleaners since 1975. They've expanded their product line to include dishwashing and liquid laundry detergents as well as pine and industrial cleaners. They started in Oranjestad, and now they're based in Barcadera. Their website can be accessed by the link provided below.

A square Aruban 50 cent coin equals 28 U.S. cents.

Specifically, Aruban money basically converts at half the value of U.S. money. One Aruban florin equals 0.56 U.S. cents. As with the U.S. dollar, the Aruban florin is made up of 100 cents.

CDC recommends: HEPATITIS A HEPATITIS B and TYPHOID

where vaccinations are administered at least 4-6 weeks prior to travel.

ALSO RECOMMENDED: ensure you are up to date on all other routine immunizations: measles mumps rubella (MMR), diptheria, pertussis, tetanus (DPT), poliovirus, varicella (chicken pox) etc., when travelling or working in ARUBA as well the Caribbean in general.

CAUTION: This is by no means a complete list of precautions or potential disease risks for travel to the Caribbean. For complete information, go to the Centers for Disease Control website, Travelers Health Section, Caribbean. Diseases currently present in the Caribbean include DENGUE FEVER & MALARIA.

NOTE: Although YELLOW FEVER is currently is NOT a disease risk in Aruba, the government requires some travelers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever virus transmission to present proof of yellow fever vaccination. If you will be traveling to Aruba from any country other than the United States, this requirement may affect you. For specific requirement details, see Yellow Fever & Malaria Information, by Country.

Powder fine white sand beaches with calm, clear watersare what makes Aruba famous and known worldwide. The southwest coast of Aruba is dotted with popular beaches, such as Eagle, Manchebo and Palm Beaches. Baby Beach on the southeast coast has shallow waters that are enjoyed by waders and beginning swimmers and snorkelers.

If you haven't visited at least one beach, then you haven't seen Aruba.

Two distinctive landforms on Aruba are Hooiberg and Mount Jamanota. They're both visible from anywhere on Aruba.

Hooiberg ['Haystack'] is a volcanic formation almost in the center of the island. It's 541 feet [168 meters] high. There are 562 concrete steps leading to the top. From the top Venezuela is visible on clear days.

At 620 feet [188 meters], Mount Jamanota is the highest point on Aruba. It's known for its wild parakeets and roaming wild donkeys and goats.

There is a lot of ocean around Aruba.

Specifically, Aruba is an island. It therefore is surrounded on all sides by water. In fact, all of its borders are demarcated by Caribbean coastlines.

The language with the most native speakers is Mandarin.

The language that is most widely spoken in the world is English.

The least spoken language is a tie of about 200 languages, with only 1 or 2 remaining speakers. Ter Sami is often listed as the least spoken, but there are languages all over Australia, Africa, and the Americas with only 1 speaker left.

According to the Official Aruba Community Forum on Food to Pack, there's no problem in bringing food into Aruba. The only exception that's noted is fresh produce. It also is noted that Aruba has a number of large supermarkets such as Certified Cash & Carry, Hong King, Ling & Sons, and Super Food with prices comparable to their equivalents in the United States of America. In fact, Ling & Sons is an IGA super center.

For the discussion on Food to Pack, please visit the link provided below.

The flight time is 3 hours, 54 minutes.

This is 1,952 air miles.

The price depends upon the transportation, the season, the point of origin and the planned activities and lodgings.

Specifically, air tends to be the transportation means to Aruba although there are limited options for travel by water. Prices rise during the high tourist season and lower off-season. They also increase in regard to the further points of origin of the visitor. Additionally, they depend upon where the visitor wants to stay and what kinds of activities the visitor wants to do during the stay on the island. Additionally, visitors whose homes are further away tend to pay higher travel costs.

The Aruba Tourism Authority lists 26 hotels on its website.

Specifically, hotels in Aruba are clustered mainly in the area of Oranjestad, Aruba's

capital. Most of the popular beaches are located there on Aruba's southwest coast.

Hotels range from informal and modest to elegant and grand.

Because it is within the area of the eastern Caribbean trade winds is the reason why Aruba is described as windy.

Specifically, Aruba is a beautiful, but flat island whose vegetation consists more of low-lying ground cover than of trees. The island therefore has no natural protection by which the force of the trade winds can be deflected or minimized. The consequence is a year-round, coolly welcome breeze whose force tends to be more obvious in April, May and June than during other months in Aruba.

Imports:

200 cigarettes or 50 cigars; 1l of spirits or 2.25l of wine or 3l of beer; gifts to a value of AFl100.

Customs authorities may enforce strict regulations concerning temporary importation into or export of items such as firearms, religious materials, antiquities, medications, business equipment and other items . It is advisable to contact the Embassy of your destination country in Washington or one of that countrys consulates in the United States for specific information regarding customs requirements.