6 Best Places to Shop in Aruba

Aruba might be property to a range of shopping facilities and malls, but it is the markets and boutiques you will truly want to investigate. Scattered all around the island, they provide artisan goods like locally designed hot sauce, pottery, aloe vera cleaning soap and more, all of which make for distinctive souvenirs.

Irrespective of whether you are on the hunt for gourmand treats, resort use, or some Aruban artwork, you’ll come across the greatest local products and solutions at sites like a food emporium in Noord, a compact store on Eagle Beach front, and the open up-air stalls on Oranjestad’s major pier. Shop at places like these and, somewhat than leaving with a mass-made memento, you will head property with a little something that you can only obtain on island.

Browse on for the six greatest spots to store in Aruba and put your vacation bucks toward a deserving memento of your trip. 

Caya G.F. Betico Croes

Aruba is a paradise for customers, and this leafy street, named for a nearby flexibility fighter, is its major attraction. Lined with palm trees and an antique streetcar, the 50 percent-mile stretch in Oranjestad options numerous various merchants, all housed in pastel-hued, Dutch Colonial–style structures. Choices operate the gamut from superior-close trend and jewellery to memento T-shirts and postcards—housewares are of particular be aware. Really don’t leave the place without buying some Dutch Edam cheese, which comes wrapped in purple wax, and a piece of legendary blue-and-white, Delft-model pottery.

Bula Surf Aruba

Situations are ideal year-spherical in Aruba for each beginner and seasoned surfers. Easterly trade winds blow steadily more than the island from March as a result of August, while waves occur consistently in late fall and wintertime. If you’d like to consider surfing—or even just seem like a surfer—while in Aruba, Bula Surf Shop in central Oranjestad can get you began. Opened in 2003 by two surfers, the store features a welcoming staff which is educated about all points watersports on the island. Decide on up swimsuits, sunglasses, boards, and backpacks by well-known surf makes like Billabong, Quicksilver, and Ripcurl. Just do not end by on Sundays—that’s when the staff is “gone browsing.”

The Nearby Industry

Suitable by Oranjestad’s cruise terminal, near a single of the larger malls, you are going to obtain The Area Market, comprehensive with Dutch-design stalls hawking distinctly Aruban goods. The open up-air spot is the place to go for items as assorted as handicrafts, watercolors by neighborhood artists, cigars, leather-based items, and hand-milled aloe soaps—all at inexpensive costs. Bargaining is envisioned, so really don’t settle for the initially price tag you hear. And carry a great deal of income both of those florin and U.S. pounds are acknowledged. 

Mopa Mopa

At Mopa Mopa in Oranjestad, neighborhood handicrafts are not just souvenirs—they’re decorative art. The gallery specializes in carved wood figures, crafted lovingly in the common mopa mopa, or barniz de Pasto, design. To end just about every piece, artisans paint them with vegetable dyes and resin-dependent lacquer, generating for 1-of-a-type keepsakes. Pay a visit to the gallery to shop and speak with the artisans them selves, who will gladly respond to queries and show their intricate strategies.

Tremendous Foodstuff Plaza

Even though there is nothing specially charming about this Goal-esque emporium in Noord, Tremendous Food items Plaza is the best put to go for gourmand goods. Only-on-Aruba possibilities include Scorching Delight sauces (all-natural flavor enhancers handcrafted on the island) and coecoei liquor (a generations-aged spirit made from agave), while Dutch specialties vary from cheese (Edam, Gouda) to chocolate (Verkade, Droste). If you get nothing else, try out the stroopwafels, which element a caramel, syrup-like filling sandwiched involving slim-baked dough. Tremendous Food’s café, Jack’s, features fantastic espresso and Dutch dishes in the course of the day.

The Lazy Lizard

Crammed with resort wear for guys, girls, and kids, The Lazy Lizard on Eagle Beach is stocked with seaside bums in brain. Right here, purchasers will locate an endless array of extensive-brimmed hats, baseball caps, and straw totes together with T-shirts, bathing fits, and address-ups. There are also components like water resistant cellphone instances and wind chimes designed from shells, as effectively as a collection of neighborhood artwork. Introducing compound to design and style, the retail outlet donates a percentage of every single invest in to neighborhood charities.

>>Next: The AFAR Guide to Aruba