For local flavor and bargain purchases, visit the island’s fun, informal flea markets. Find a mix of Caribbean products, local snacks and even BBQ meals. Inexpensive, yet charming souvenirs, can be found in abundance.

Aruba's "Balashi Cocktail"

AWA (Papiamento: water) is a clear, refreshing liquid in the blue-labeled bottle.  Aruba has some of the best-tasting drinking water on the planet.  The desalination process utilizing coral rock as filters takes place at WEB NV (Water and Electricity Bureau) located in Balashi.  This results in the fresh water that flows directly from the tap and is also bottled. 

Balashi Beer

Balashi is Aruba’s national beer, produced in a fully-automated brewery with cutting edge technology.  Built in 1998 at a cost of about US $ 12 million, the state-of-the-art facility is equipped with special computer software from Germany that controls the quality of the brew during the entire process.  The beer is a deep golden color and easy on the foam.  It has a soft bitterness, an aroma of fresh hops and a short aftertaste. 

Palmera Rum

Palmera Quality Products imports raw materials for rum and other alcoholic beverages and uses their own formulas for blending.  They have the most extensive line of locally bottled products sold on Aruba, include including rum, the top selling brand whiskey, gin, vodka, brandy, Canadian whiskey, bourbon, tequila and seven different flavors of liqueur including the Palmera, Bon Bini and Taste of Aruba labels.  Grenadine is bottled in red, green and blue colors. 

Sea Grape Wine

The island’s low-lying sea grape trees produce a surprisingly sweet, rich purple grape known as “druif” used in creating a unique Aruban wine.  Produced on a small scale, it is often served on special occasions. 

Coecoei & Ponche Crema

Playa Liquor & Bottling Company produces coecoei, a deep red alcoholic beverage used in many tropical cocktails.  The recipe is centuries old, originally made by an Indian tribe of Venezuela and introduced on Aruba some sixty years ago.  Leaves of the agave or century plant (Papiamento:  kukwisa) are squeezed to produce a red sap that is then mixed with rum and cane sugar.  Ponche crema is a creamy, smooth and refreshing beverage made of egg yolks, cream, rum, and a variety of spices.

Hot sauce
Pica di papaya, light orange in color, is a hot sauce made with locally grown green papayas.  It is less potent than Hot Delight, made of Madame Jeanette scotch bonnet peppers that far exceed the jalapeno in intensity.  These sauces are all natural and contain no preservatives.  Hot Delight gourmet products have won national acclaim and are found in most homes and restaurant all over Aruba.  These condiments are made by Aurelio Ruiz, using a recipe that his grandfather developed in 1880.

Sweets & Snacks
Arubans have a sweet tooth and prepare treats such as cocada (coconut candy) and tamarind balls as well as rich desserts such as pan bollo (bread pudding) and cashew cake.  Delicious chocolate flakes, bars and bonbons hail from Belgium and Holland.  Piet’s Ice Cream has been a family tradition for decades.  It is made from evaporated milk and is non-fat; try some of the delectable tropical flavors.  Try a pastechi, the ubiquitous national snack, a deep-fried half-moon pastry with a savory filling (chicken, chop suey, tuna, beef, cheese or ham).

Dutch Cheese 
Distinctive cheeses are found in waxed wheels of various colors.  The creamy, buttery, mild-flavored young Gouda (jonge kaas) with a yellow rind is ripened for about three weeks. The black wax-coated aged Gouda (oude kaas) is at least one-year-old and has a more robust nutty taste, drier texture and firmer consistency.  Sharp cheese (belegen kaas) ripens from 2 - 7 months.  Edam, the only cheese in the world to hold a perfectly round shape, is lower in fat and has a red-waxed protective coating.  The flavor is mild, sweet and nutty and the texture smooth and elastic.

Aruban Recipes
Here’s some recipes straight from the kitchens of local residents:
Keshi Yena
Pisca den foil
Bolo Ponche Crema
Giambo
Funchi
Sopi Mondongo
 

Aloe

Aloe has dominated Aruba’s culture and landscape ever since the 19th century. Historians report that one-third of the island was once covered with aloe plantations.  At the beginning of the 20th century, Aruba became the world’s largest producer and exporter of aloe.  Its superior quality is a result of clay, moisture-retentive soil and use of fresh gel.  The state-of-the-art Aruba Aloe Factory and Museum is still surrounded by acres and acres of aloe plants, harvested as has been done for centuries.  Velvety creams, lotions, skin and hair products are on sale at the Aruba Aloe factory and retail outlets as well as at supermarkets, kiosks and resorts. 

Handicrafts

Local artisans create unique and decorative items made of clay pottery and natural materials such as shells, sand, driftwood and kwihi wood.  These souvenirs can be found at flea markets, stores and resorts, as well as at the weekly Bon Bini Festival.  The djuco nut that washes ashore is polished and accented with gold filigree to create one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry.

Art & Photography

Local artists utilize canvas and multi-media to interpret the Aruban culture and landscape.  The island’s friendly people and natural beauty are captured through the lens of talented photographers.

Stamps

Aruba’s colorful and artistic stamps celebrate Aruba’s unique history, culture and nature, and also have international themes.  Post Aruba provides year packs of first-day-covers and postage stamps.  New and innovative features have included triangular and glow-in-the-dark stamps; stamp sheets also contain decorative features.  A stamp can be created from your own digital photo as part of a souvenir sheet with an Aruban design and map.  (The Main Post Office is located in downtown Oranjestad.  A new branch is opening at Palm Beach Plaza in the high-rise hotel area.)

Jewelry

Available materials have shaped the types of handicrafts found on the island. One of the most creative uses of natural products is in the crafting of "djuco" nuts into unique jewelry pieces. The djuco plant is not grown on Aruba, but the nuts wash up on shore, primarily from Venezuela. They are collected, polished and accented with gold filigree and can be found at some of the locally owned jewelry stores.

Pottery

Aruban-made ornaments for the home are best represented in the numerous pottery crafts that are made by various studios throughout the island. Artful shapes and pottery decorated with Aruban scenes of divi-divi trees and cunucu houses can be found at various souvenir shops and also sold at the weekly Bon Bini Festival in Fort Zoutman. 

Miniature Aruban Art

Aruban motifs are often also found on painted works at local markets, but also beautifully displayed in the island's stamps series. The island's most respected artists, such as Ludwig de L'Isle, Nigel Matthew and Stan Kuiperi, are often commissioned in the creation of stamp series marking local events, holidays and flora and fauna. The Post Office's Philatelic Section not only sells the most recent editions of stamp series but also maintains past series of these miniature Aruban artworks. For more information, please contact filateliearuba@setarnet.aw.

Music

What better way to relive your Aruba vacation than to take home a music CD?  Popular carnival tunes include the rhythmic fast-moving road march, the tumba of African origin, and the commentary-laden calypso.   Traditional lilting steel pan music has expanded its scope to include easy listening, classical, salsa, jazz and reggae.  Latin salsa and merengue and Aruban waltzes and boleros attract music fans of all ages. 

Cigars

Aruhiba is a cigar produced and cultivated in Aruba by Benjamin Petrochi. Grown from Dominican and Cuban strains, Aruban tobacco offers a full, distinctive flavor in both its mild and strong varieties.  Petrochi spent ten years perfecting the process, providing a singular experience for the cigar connoisseur. The cigar case has the Aruhiba logo and “Made in Aruba” stamp.  The cigar shop is located in the historic Dutch windmill.  Aruban cigars are permitted in the US.