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”
Although tourism remains the island's chief occupation, other island industries flourish on a variety of levels. Large-scale operations are readily apparent in Balashi, where the Water and Electricity Bureau of WEB N.V. not only provides the island with power, but its famously pure drinking water, known affectionately as the “Balashi Cocktail”. The desalination process, using coral rock as filters, results in fresh water that flows direct from the tap as well as is bottled by the Tropical Bottling Company and labeled simply as “AWA,” Papiamento for water.

Balashi Beer
State-of-the-art technology is carried out by the Balashi National Brewery in the creation of other well-known, locally made beverages including Balashi Malta, a sweet, non-alcoholic drink and the award-winning Balashi Beer. It is currently one of the most popular beer choices on the island and is exported to Curaçao and Bonaire.

Palmera Rum
More potent Aruban beverages can be appreciated in Palmera Rum produced by Palmera Quality Products. The raw materials are imported, but the island's own particular blending process has resulted in a distinctive Aruban rum used in mixed drinks such as the “Aruba Ariba.”

Sea Grape Wine
Aruba's low-lying sea grape trees have adapted to the salty breezes, producing a surprisingly sweet, rich purple grape, known locally as “druif” used to create a unique Aruban wine. Produced on a small scale, Aruban wine is most often found during special occasions.

“Coecoei”
A local Aruban liquor, “coecoei,” the recipe for which is centuries old, its still sold on the island by the Playa Liquor and Bottling Company. Purportedly first made by Indian tribes, coecoei is a distinctive red color, derived from one of its prime ingredients, the sap from the “kukwisa” or agave plant, which is mixed with rum and cane sugar

Hot sauce
The island's hot sauce, bottled as Hot Delight and found in the island's supermarkets, packs its own particular punch. Mixtures utilizing the locally-grown variety of the scotch-bonnet pepper, called Madame Jeanette, are sold in their pure form or mixed with papaya.

Homemade candy
Sweet snacks are also on the Aruba menu with “cocada” coconut candy and tamarind balls found in most supermarkets as well as in a variety of small shops such as pharmacies, called “boticas”.

Dutch Cheeses & Chocolate
Aruba's Dutch ties yield sweet and tasty results with the local supermarkets featuring a wide variety of Holland's distinctive cheeses as well as rich chocolate specialties.
Dutch and Belgian chocolate brands, such as Vergade, make for a sweet memory of Aruba.

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
 

Aruba Aloe
One of the most successfully locally-grown crops remains the aloe plant. Although not indigenous to the island, it has thrived on the island since its introduction at the turn of the 20th century. One hundred years ago, it was one of the island's most profitable exports, and as an important part of the island's history, it rightly holds a place of honor in Aruba's national seal.

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 CDs
A visit to the local CD shop in Aruba reveals the abundance of music talent found not only on Aruba, but in its sister islands of Curaçao and Bonaire. A full range of musical styles are presented, with lyrics spoken in Papiamento against modern beats as well as popular Carnival tunes of fast moving Roadmarch rhythms, commentary-laden Calypso, the high impact of brass bands and the soothing sounds of steel drum.

Cigars
Locally-grown tobacco, hand rolled into “Aruhiba” cigars offers a singular experience for the cigar connoisseur. Grown from Santo Domingo and Cuban strains, Aruban tobacco offers a full, distinctive flavor in both its mild and strong varieties.