Oranjestad
Travel Guide > Caribbean > Aruba > Oranjestad
Introduction
Oranjestad is the capital and largest settlement on Aruba. It is located at the southwestern coast of the island and has just under 30,000 inhabitants. It was built just over 200 years ago and has been the capital of Aruba since then. In local language the city is often called Playa. The city has a harbour, catering to private yachts and cruiseships as well as cargoships. The Caribbean atmosphere combined with the typical Dutch colonial architecture make this place a charming one and many tourists visit the city on daytrips from their hotels elsewhere on the island.
Neighbourhoods
Events and Festivals
Weather
The weather is warm and pleasant year round with temperatures hovering around 30 degrees Celcius on most days. Unlike islands more north in the Caribbean, there is no real rainy season, although the best time to visit is the busier December to May period when showers are almost absent.
Getting There
By Plane
Flights arrive and depart at Queen Beatrix International Airport (UAU), 2,5 kilometers out of the city. Aruban based Tiara Air has flights from Aruba to Curacao, Bonaire and Punto Fijo in Venezuela. Many other airlines serve Aruba from several countries in both North America and Europe. Martinair and KLM have direct flights from the Netherlands, while Condor flies there directly from Frankfurt. Air Canada has flights to and from Toronto, while a number of United States based airlines have flights to cities like Miami and New York. Aruba is well connected with neighbouring islands and countries like Suriname, Dominican Republic and Colombia.
By Train
By Car
By Bus
By Boat
Eat
Drink
Work
Learn
This is version 1. Last edited at 20:11 on Apr 11, 08 by Utrecht (+2304). 3 articles link to this page.
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