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Aruba has one of the highest rates of repeat visitors anywhere in the Caribbean. What continues to draw people back over and over again is the great pride and care that Arubans take to ensure that tourists have everything they could possibly need to make their stay both enjoyable and exciting.

Arubans are famous for their friendliness and hospitality. The climate is perpetually sunny and welcoming, and great care has been taken to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the environment.

The tourist industry here is extremely well-organized, developed, and diversified, catering to a wide variety of different interests. Those who prefer privacy can find a secluded stretch of beach or go exploring through the countryside on their own, while those who are more outgoing can take advantage of Aruba's vibrant nightlife, the casinos, the discotheques, the different theme parties, the music and folkloric festivals.

 Those interested in another kind of wildlife can go bird-watching in a protected sanctuary or take a tour of a coconut plantation or hike through the Arikok National Park tracking the island's exotic flora and fauna.

Sports enthusiasts can go scuba-diving in any of the 42 different diving sites, engage the incredible island winds by windsurfing, rent water-skis or parasails, or charter a boat and go deep-sea fishing. The island offers two golf courses, one of which is professional caliber, an ATP sanctioned tennis center, racquetball courts, trails to go horseback riding, even several bowling alleys. The different hotels provide a whole range of activities for singles, honeymoon couples, and families with children. Whatever kind of vacation you are looking for, the odds are you will be able to find it in

Aruba is the westernmost of the Caribbean islands, Aruba lies just 18 miles off the coast of Venezuela and 42 miles west of Curacao. The island covers an area of 70 square miles, 20 miles at its longest and 6 miles at its widest. Approximately 81,000 people reside here full time, and more than 540,000 visit during the course of a year. The southern, leeward side of the island is famous for its long stretches of powdery white sand beach, while the northern coast features a rugged and dramatic landscape and secluded coves ideal for swimming

The Aruban climate is perpetually sunny and welcoming, and great care has been taken to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the environment.

The first people to inhabit the island were a nation of Arawak Indians called the Caiquetios who migrated north from the Orinoco Basin in South America and settled here approximately 2,000 years ago.

Remnants of their culture can still be found at a number of different sites around the island. Pottery, earthenware, and other artifacts can be seen at the Archeological Museum in Oranjestad and at the Historical Museum of Aruba at Fort Zoutman and William III Tower; and cave drawings and petroglyphs in the Fontein and Guadiriki Caves and at Arikok National Park.

In 1499, the Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda made his way to this remote corner of the Caribbean Basin and laid claim to the territory for Queen Isabella. According to one tradition, he christened the place Oro Hubo meaning there was gold there, but the name Aruba seems to have derived instead from the Arawak Indian word oibubai which means guide.

In any event, the Spanish made little use of the island, finding the climate too arid for cultivation and discovering little evidence of the gold they  were eagerly searching for. For the most part, they abandoned Aruba to the Caiquetios for the next 150 years and devoted themselves to other more lucrative conquests.  Before long, however, the island became a clandestine hide-away for pirates and buccaneers who preyed on ships transporting Indian treasures back to the Old World.

At Bushiribana on the northeast coast, the ruins of an old pirate castle still remain standing.

In 1636, Aruba once again came to the attention of Europeans. The Dutch, who had recently been expelled by the Spanish from their base in St.Maarten, set out looking for another place to establish a colonial presence. They soon captured the islands of Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire from the Spanish who, in truth, put up very little resistance. Curacao became the administrative capital for the Dutch West India Company in the Netherlands Antilles, with Aruba operating as one of its chief satellites. From this early period dates the construction of the historic fortress Fort Zoutman and William III Tower, which is the oldest building in the country.

Except for a short period from 1805 to 1815 when the island fell to the British during the Napoleonic Wars, Aruba has remained under Dutch control ever since.