True Trip Costs: Aruba
before you go
- DoAsk for an all-in nightly figure including levies, service charge and resort fee before you book
- DoOn a card: Choose florin, not dollars
- DoWhere: edcardaruba.aw, nowhere else
- ExpectResort fee: Commonly $30 to $90 a night
- ExpectRestaurants: Check for a 10 to 15% service charge
- ExpectThe fee: $20, once per calendar year
That's the short version. Below: every fee we checked, what it all adds up to, and the traps we help you dodge.
No match. See all guides.
Money in Aruba, sorted.
A calm, current plan for the money side of your trip: why your dollars simply work, where a card covers you, the small cash worth carrying, and the two things that catch first-timers, a hotel bill that stacks up and an entry form you must do before you fly.
Money scorecard
Aruba
- Ease of payingEasy
- Cash dependenceLight cash use
- Daily costExpensive
- Getting aroundSome caution
- CurrencyUSD works at par
Every rating is our own judgment from the Aruba guide, not a score.
See the full Aruba guideThe three things people ask
Will my card work? Do I need cash? Are ATMs easy?
The quick read for a first trip.
Your card
Works almost everywhere
Visa and Mastercard are taken at hotels, restaurants, shops and tour operators across the island, with Amex less consistent. A no-foreign-fee card covers most of a trip. Because prices are often in US dollars, watch for a terminal offering to bill you in dollars: choose florin so your own bank sets the rate.
Check yours →Cash (dollars work)
Small US bills for the extras
You do not need to exchange money: US dollars are accepted almost everywhere, and you may get florin as change. Carry small US bills for tips, taxis, beach vendors and food trucks, where cash is easiest, and keep in mind change for large notes can be short.
How much to bring →ATMs
Florin or dollars, your choice
ATMs are plentiful in Oranjestad, along Palm Beach and at the airport, and many dispense both florins and US dollars, so check which you are withdrawing. Expect a withdrawal fee, and if a screen offers to convert to dollars, decline and take the local amount.
See ATMs in Aruba →(opens in a new tab)Cash or card
Cards and US dollars cover almost everything. Keep a little cash for tips and vendors.
A rough feel for everyday spending. Cards are widely accepted, and US dollars work almost everywhere alongside the florin, so most of your spending is card or dollars. The cash you want, in small US bills, is for tips, taxis, beach vendors, food trucks and the odd small shop.
See what the trip really costs →Your money plan
Four steps and you're set.
Before you go
- Complete the online ED Card at the official site, edcardaruba.aw, before you fly. It is required to board, includes a 20 dollar per-person sustainability fee (children under 8 exempt), and must be done in the window before arrival, not at the airport.
- Bring a no-foreign-fee Visa or Mastercard for most spending, plus a backup card from a different bank.
- Pack some US cash in small bills (fives, tens and twenties) for tips, taxis and vendors.
- You do not need to buy florin at home. US dollars work almost everywhere, and you can pull local cash from an ATM if you want it.
At the airport
- Have your ED Card confirmation (the QR code) ready to show.
- If you want cash, use a bank ATM, pick florins or dollars, and decline any offer to convert.
- Taxis are fixed-rate, not metered, and there is no Uber. The airport fare to the Palm Beach hotels is roughly 28 dollars, posted at the stand, so agree it before you ride.
- Set up an eSIM before you land, or grab a local SETAR SIM, for maps and calls.
Day to day
- Card or US dollars for almost everything: hotels, restaurants, shops and tours.
- Small US cash for tips, taxis, beach vendors and food trucks.
- On a card terminal or ATM, choose the local amount (florin), never dollars.
- Remember taxis are fixed-rate: agree the posted fare first.
A golden rule
- Spend US dollars freely, but on a card choose florin, not dollars. Paying in US cash is fine and expected. What costs you is letting a card terminal or ATM convert to dollars, which quietly adds a markup, so pick the local currency and let your own bank do the exchange.
- Budget for the add-ons. The 12.5% tourist levy, the environmental levy, the hotel service charge and the resort fee are not in the headline room rate, and together they can add roughly a quarter to a third.
Staying connected
Will my phone work here? And what will it cost?
Yes, and it is reliable across this small, tourism-focused island. The carriers are SETAR and Digicel, 4G is widespread and 5G is growing, and coverage is good in Oranjestad, along Palm and Eagle Beach and across most of the island, thinning only in the wild Arikok interior. A travel eSIM from Airalo, Nomad or Holafly works well if your phone supports it, or you can buy a local SETAR SIM. Most hotels have Wi-Fi. Worth knowing: Aruba's tap water is desalinated and safe to drink, so you can skip buying bottled water. The cost is where people get caught out, and on most US plans it lands in one of two buckets.
Your plan may already include it
Often, do nothing
Some US plans include slow data abroad at no extra cost. If that is you, the honest move is to leave it alone.
we earn nothing
Or it charges quietly, after the fact
The bill lands later
On pay-per-use plans the cost runs in the background while you travel, and the charge can show up weeks after you are home. Forgetting to switch off data roaming is the classic one. For a week or more, an eSIM is usually cheaper and keeps you in control.
Check what your own carrier charges before the trip, not after.
If an eSIM is the cheaper call, Nomad covers Aruba.
Get your Nomad eSIM→(opens in a new tab)we may earn a commissionMedical cover
The one cost with no price tag.
Every other number on this page has a price you can look up. This one does not, and it can be the largest of them all. Most US health plans cover little or nothing once you leave the country, and Medicare covers essentially none of it abroad. A serious illness or injury is paid up front, and a medical evacuation runs from tens of thousands of dollars to past $100,000 if you are remote or an ocean from home.
First, you may not need to buy anything.
A cheap, refundable trip close to home does not need this. And if you are healthy, headed somewhere with good care, and one of the premium cards on the shortlist above already includes emergency medical and evacuation, you may be covered already. Check your card's benefits guide before you buy. Saying that costs us the commission, and it is still the right call.
How much cover matters here
Care in the main cities is good, but costs add up and reaching top care from a remote spot takes time, so it is worth a real look for a trip here.
If you do want cover, this is what it is for: the evacuation and the up-front hospital bill, the part no card limit is meant to absorb.
Enough for most trips
Faye, or a comparable whole-trip policy
Bundles trip protection with emergency medical, which is enough cover for most travelers on a typical trip.
The deeper end
A dedicated travel-medical plan built for serious care and evacuation abroad
Stronger on medical care and evacuation, for a remote or higher-risk trip where that is the real exposure.
If it happens
Call it first, then call your insurer's 24/7 assistance line, which is what confirms payment and arranges an evacuation. 911 reaches police, ambulance and fire. For a traffic accident specifically, 100 reaches the police. There is no US embassy in Aruba: consular help for US citizens runs through the US Consulate General in Curacao.
TrueTripCosts explains the gap and points to options. It does not set your coverage amounts or act as your insurance advisor, and every policy carries its own exclusions, so read them before you buy. Emergency number checked Jul 2026. Confirm the current number before you travel, as local lines can change.
Currency basics
The dollar works, and the florin behind it.
US dollars work almost everywhere
US dollars are accepted across Aruba, at hotels, restaurants, shops, taxis and tours, and prices are often shown in both dollars and florin, so there is no need to exchange money in advance. Pay in dollars and you may get change in a mix of dollars and florin. Shops and hotels give roughly 1.75 to 1.80 florin per dollar.
The florin, fixed to the dollar
The Aruban florin (AWG, written Afl.) has been pegged at about 1.79 to the US dollar since 1986, so it never moves. To picture florin prices in dollars, divide by about 1.8: 100 florin is roughly 56 dollars. Coins run up to the 5 florin piece, and you will mostly meet the florin as change.
Cards are widely taken
Visa and Mastercard work almost everywhere, with Amex less consistent, so a no-foreign-fee card covers most spending. On a card terminal, choose to be billed in florin rather than dollars to avoid a conversion markup. ATMs are common and many dispense either florins or US dollars.
Tipping is your call
Tipping is not obligatory. Many hotels and restaurants already add a service charge of about 10 to 15%, so check the bill first: if it is there, that is the tip. Where it is not, around 10 to 15% for good service is normal, and small cash tips for taxis, housekeeping and beach staff are appreciated.
Real exchange rate
What your money is really worth here.
This is the mid-market rate, the one the banks trade at and the yardstick every other rate is measured against. Your card lands a little below it, and if a screen ever offers to bill you in dollars, that is worse again. So this is the number to expect, and how you spot a bad one.
1 US dollar is about 1.79 AWG
Taxes and the hotel bill
No VAT refund, and a hotel bill that stacks up.
Two things to know. First, there is no tourist VAT refund in Aruba, because Aruba does not have a VAT: it uses a turnover tax (BBO) of around 7% on goods and services, usually built into prices, with nothing to reclaim at the airport. Second, an Aruba hotel bill stacks up beyond the headline rate. On top of the room you will see a 12.5% tourist levy and a small environmental levy of about 3 US dollars per room per night, both government charges. Most hotels then add their own service charge (often around 10 to 15%) and a resort fee (commonly 30 to 90 dollars a night), which are not taxes but are usually mandatory. Together these can add roughly a quarter to a third to the room rate, so read the fine print when you book. Separately, every air visitor pays a 20 dollar sustainability fee through the ED Card before arrival, and the old departure tax is now built into your airfare.
That covers what a government adds. What you can still change is what the room itself costs, and that comes down to the booking moment: see how to pay less on hotels.
Fees and taxes to double-check
The numbers most likely to change.
These are the fees and taxes that move on political timelines, so we track each one on its own. Every line shows the amount, whether it is in effect yet, the date we last checked it, and a primary source where a clean one exists.
ED Card and sustainability fee
Mandatory online form before boarding, 20 dollars per person (under 8 exempt)
Tourist levy on accommodation
12.5% of the room rate, plus about 3 dollars per room per night environmental levy
Before you book: passports, the six-month rule and whether you need a visa. Not a US citizen, or connecting through Europe? The rules can differ, and even a layover can need its own visa. See our passports and visas guide →
Watch out for
The small traps that catch first-timers.
Tipping
Your call, and check the bill first.
Tipping in Aruba is not obligatory and is at your discretion, but the island is very used to US visitors, so a tip for good service is appreciated. The key habit is to check the bill first: many hotels and restaurants already add a service charge of about 10 to 15%, and if it is there, that stands in for a tip and you need not add much on top. Where no service charge is included, around 10 to 15% for good restaurant service is normal. Round up a taxi fare, give a hotel porter a dollar or two a bag and housekeeping a dollar or two a day if you wish, and tip beach and tour staff a few dollars. Tip in cash, in small US bills, which is easiest and reaches the person directly. There is no need to tip at counters, food trucks or for drinks at a bar, though rounding up is always kind.
Common questions
Quick answers.
Can I use US dollars in Aruba?
Yes, almost everywhere. The official currency is the Aruban florin, pegged at about 1.79 to the dollar, but US dollars are accepted at hotels, restaurants, shops, taxis and tours, and prices are often shown in both. There is no need to exchange money in advance. Pay in dollars and you may get change in a mix of dollars and florin. Cards are also widely accepted.
Do I need cash in Aruba?
Only a little, in small US bills. Cards and US dollars cover most spending, but cash is easiest for tips, taxis, beach vendors and food trucks. Carry small denominations, since change for large notes can be short, and top up at an ATM if you run low. You do not need to buy florin before you travel.
Do US citizens need a visa for Aruba?
No visa for tourism: US citizens can stay up to 90 days without one. But every air traveler, including US citizens, must complete the online ED Card before boarding, and it now includes a 20 dollar per-person sustainability fee (children under 8 exempt). Do it at the official site, edcardaruba.aw, within the window before arrival, and avoid lookalike sites that charge extra.
What taxes and fees will I pay on an Aruba hotel?
More than the headline rate. On top of the room, expect a 12.5% tourist levy and a small environmental levy of about 3 dollars per room per night, both government charges, plus a hotel service charge (often 10 to 15%) and a resort fee (commonly 30 to 90 dollars a night), which are not taxes but are usually mandatory. Together these can add roughly a quarter to a third. Separately, the ED Card carries a 20 dollar sustainability fee, and there is no VAT refund.
Should I pay in florin or dollars in Aruba?
Paying in US cash is fine and expected almost everywhere. On a card, though, choose to be billed in florin, not dollars: selecting dollars triggers dynamic currency conversion at a marked-up rate, while florin lets your own bank convert more cheaply. At an ATM, pick whether you want florins or dollars and decline any offer to convert.
How much cash should I bring for a week in Aruba?
For two travelers, very roughly 150 to 250 dollars in small US bills across a week, beyond what you put on cards, covers tips, taxis, beach vendors and food trucks. Cards and dollars handle the rest, and you can top up at an ATM if needed. There is no need to exchange for florin in advance.
What will your trip really cost?
Name where you are going. We will show you what nobody quotes.
For instance, right now
ColombiaHotels charge 19% IVA, but as a foreign tourist you are exempt, and about half try to add it anyway.
JapanThe world's most high-tech country is still cash-first, and most bank ATMs refuse US cards.
CzechiaCzech law gives you three hours to cancel a bad currency exchange and get your money back, on amounts up to 1,000 EUR.
GreeceGreece's climate fee charges an Airbnb-style rental about 8 EUR a night against 2 for a budget hotel.
El SalvadorThe country that made Bitcoin legal tender?
CambodiaThe US dollar is Cambodia's everyday currency, and ATMs hand you crisp $100 bills nobody can break.
TurkeyUS citizens need no visa and no e-visa for Turkey, scrapped in 2023.
ItalyMost Italian restaurants add a coperto, a per-person cover charge of commonly 2 to 3 euros, before you have ordered anything.
The one thing most people get wrong about Aruba
Checked Jul 2026You compare Aruba hotels on the nightly rate, because that is the number they show you.
Two of the charges are government: a 12.5% tourist levy and an environmental levy of about 3 dollars a night. Then the property adds its own 10 to 15% service charge and, commonly, a resort fee of 30 to 90 dollars a night. Together they typically add something like a quarter to a third to the rate.
What to doAsk for an all-in nightly figure including levies, service charge and resort fee before you book. Only the first two are taxes; the rest is the hotel's choice.
Everything we checked
What Aruba actually charges you, in one place.
6 things we verified for Aruba, grouped by the kind of thing they are. The numbers are below; this is the shape of them.
fees nobody quotes
traps to dodge
timing
The number
What you'll really spend in Aruba.
Your flights if you want them counted, your room, your on-the-ground spending, the two fees most US cards add without telling you, and Aruba's tourist tax. One number, nothing waiting on the statement. No bank to pick, no sign-up, nothing saved.
Optional. Enter your round trip fare per traveler to fold flights into the total.
Total trip realistically somewhere between $0 and $0.
Getting thereflights, and what the border costs
Departure tax is not a separate line here. Where a country charges one it is collected inside your airfare, so it is already in the flight figure, and adding it again would count it twice.
On the ground detailyour room, your days, and how much of it is cash
Whether at an ATM or a card terminal in a shop or restaurant, always choose to be charged in the local currency, not dollars. Paying in dollars (called dynamic currency conversion) lets the machine set its own, worse, exchange rate on top of any fee.
Fees nobody quotes youthe part that lands on the statement weeks later
What you'll pay
Plus the one-off entry charge, which sits in Getting there above with the flights, because it is per person rather than per night.
What you can refuse, and what the lookalike sites charge, is set out under Costs nobody tells you about below, with the two figures kept apart from these ones.
Costs nobody tells you about
Most of it you can keep. Here is every dollar of it.
Every one of them, and how to avoid it4 items
None of this is in the trip total above, and none of it ever will be. Two of these are money you hand over by default and the rest is money you keep by knowing, so they are counted apart and never added together.
What you'll pay unless you act
- Your own bank's foreign feeswhat the fees above come toMost US cards add a percentage on what you buy and on the cash you pull, plus a few dollars per ATM withdrawal. Nothing about that is a cost of the trip; it is a cost of the card you happened to bring.A no-foreign-fee card takes both fee lines above to zero.The cards that do not charge it
- Paying in dollars at the terminalabout 3 to 8%on what you cardDynamic currency conversion lets the machine set its own rate on top of any fee, and it runs about 3 to 8 percent on whatever you put on the card. It is the single easiest charge on this page to refuse, and it costs nothing to say no.Choose AWG every time, at a till and at an ATM.How to decline it
- The airport or hotel exchange deskExchange counters make their money on the spread rather than on a stated fee, which is why we publish no percentage for it: it moves by counter, by hour and by note. The rule is what is reliable, not the number.Withdraw from a bank ATM instead, and never change cash at the airport.Getting cash here
What we'll help you dodge
- Reseller markup on the ED Card$20 a personthe official priceThe official ED Card is $20 a person on the government site. Resellers charge above that for the same document. We publish no figure for the markup because none is sourced for Aruba, and it varies by reseller.Apply on the official government portal, linked in Getting there above.The official source for this charge
Where these numbers come fromevery assumption, and its limitssources
These are the assumptions behind the number. Change the room price, nights, travelers, or travel style above, and every line here moves with them.
- Hotel
- Daily spending
- Flights
- Cash vs card
- ATM withdrawals
- Foreign fee
- The range
- Tourist tax
Rough guide, not a quote. The percentage here is a blended stand-in for a typical US card's foreign fee, not your exact rate. The real number moves with the card you carry: one no-foreign-fee card can cover both sides, while a plain rewards credit card only removes the fee on what you buy, and cash still costs a little unless that card also waives ATM and foreign-cash fees. A debit card, or accepting the "pay in dollars" (dynamic currency conversion) offer at a till or ATM, can push it higher. Rates checked Jun 2026 and rounded.
How we check and date every figureAruba, TTC-ed
truetripcosts.comWhat this assumes
Tips are already inside the daily spending figure, never added on top.
Not sure which card to bring? See my pick for Aruba.
Already carry a card with no foreign transaction fee? Then you are set for Aruba, and can skip this. There is nothing to buy.
If you are getting a card for Aruba, this is the pairing I would pick: a no-foreign-fee credit card for spending, and a fee-free ATM debit card for cash. We earn nothing on these today. Always confirm the current fee with the issuer before you apply. Checked Jun 2026.
Capital One charges no foreign transaction fee on any of its cards.
No foreign transaction fee
Fee-free ATM cash worldwide
Want one account that holds and spends in the local currency? A different job from the three above, and the one I reach for abroad. It is free to open; you can create a virtual card in the app and add it to your phone wallet in minutes, without waiting for the physical card; and you can convert US dollars into the local currency inside the account before you travel, then spend from that balance. Wise uses the mid-market rate plus a small conversion fee (around 0.4% and up), with no flat foreign fee.
The three picks above pay us nothing, and their tags say so. Wise is the only option here that can earn us a commission, and its tag says that too. Paid or not, the pick is still the pick.
Before you fly
At least 14 countries now make you file a form online before you fly. 13 of them are free. One really does charge, and it is not the one you would guess.
And Aruba is that one. The ED Card really does carry a fee, so here the usual test is inverted: the question is not whether a site charges you, it is whether it charges you the right amount on the right address. Everywhere else on the list, a payment screen is the tell.
See every form we can source, with the official address for eachWhen to go
Cheaper and busier months in Aruba.
The month you pick moves the budget as much as the country does. Here is the shape of Aruba's year, with no price attached to it, because an honest one does not exist.
- Busy and pricey
- In between
- Cheaper and quieter
- Cheaper and quieter
- Sep to Oct, the quietest stretch
- What drives the peak
- North Americans escaping winter, Christmas and New Year, US spring break in Mar, and Carnival season through Jan and Feb
Travelers, not touristsA few words of Papiamento go a long way
A few words of Papiamento go a long way
Aruba has its own language, Papiamento, a warm creole spoken alongside Dutch, English and Spanish, and nearly everyone switches to English with visitors. A cheerful Bon bini (welcome) and Masha danki (thank you) mark you as a guest rather than a tourist on the One Happy Island.
Say a few words
Tip: Aruba bills itself as the One Happy Island, and the greeting Bon bini (welcome) sets the tone. A little Papiamento, the island's own language, especially Masha danki (thank you), goes a long way, though nearly everyone also speaks English, Dutch and Spanish.
Know a story
The divi-divi tree
The divi-divi is Aruba's natural emblem, a hardy little tree sculpted by the island's constant trade winds into a permanent lean. Because those winds almost always blow from the northeast, the trees all point southwest, a living compass for anyone lost in the cunucu, the dry countryside. You will see them leaning over beaches and along the coast all over the island.
Good to know: the divi-divi almost always points southwest
The little chapel in the cunucu
Alone on a rise above the rugged north coast stands the bright yellow Alto Vista Chapel, Aruba's beloved little pilgrimage church. The first chapel here was built in 1750, before the island had a proper town, and the current one sits on the same spot at the end of a winding desert road lined with white crosses. It is a quiet, striking contrast to the beach resorts.
Good to know: the first chapel here dates to 1750
Beneath the turquoise
Aruba's calm, clear water and coral reefs make it one of the Caribbean's easy snorkeling and diving spots. Green and hawksbill turtles glide over the reefs, and the huge Antilla shipwreck off the northwest coast is a favorite dive. Turtles even nest on Aruba's beaches in season, when stretches of sand are roped off to protect the nests.
Good to know: green sea turtles nest on Aruba's beachesAruba calls itself One Happy Island, and means it: a dry, sunny, trade-wind-cooled corner of the Dutch Caribbean where Papiamento, Dutch, Spanish and English all mix, Carnival lights up the winter, and the divi-divi tree leans in the wind over some of the finest beaches anywhere.
No links here, nothing to buy. This part is just to help you travel well.
Sources, and how this guide was checked
Last checkedJul 2026
Changed since last checkSources added on first publish. Confirmed that US citizens need no visa for stays up to 90 days but must complete the online ED Card before boarding, which now carries a 20 dollar per-person sustainability fee; that the florin is fixed at about 1.79 to the US dollar and US dollars are accepted almost everywhere; and that hotels add a 12.5% tourist levy plus a small environmental levy, with no VAT refund since Aruba uses a turnover tax rather than a VAT.
- Government of Aruba ED Card portalthe mandatory online entry form and the 20 dollar sustainability fee
- US State DepartmentAruba entry requirements, safety and the 911 emergency number
- Central Bank of Arubathe florin's fixed peg of about 1.79 to the US dollar
- Aruba Tourism Authoritycurrency, the widely accepted US dollar, tipping and hotel charges
Our own judgmentThe daily cash share, tipping habits, and likely ATM behavior are our own estimate from experience, not an official figure. Hotel service charges and resort fees vary by property, so treat the stacking estimate as a planning guide.
How we checkHow every guide is researched, checked and dated
More money guides in the Americas
If you are also weighing up nearby destinations, each guide covers cards, cash, ATMs and the fees to expect.
Going deeper on Aruba
The money questions people ask on the ground.
Short, focused answers to the specific things that catch first-timers out in Aruba.
- Tipping in ArubaAruba leans closer to US-style tipping than most of the Caribbean, thanks to heavy US tourism. Check the bill for a service charge, and tip a bit more if none is added. Here is what you actually owe.
- Do I need cash in Aruba, or can I use cards and dollars?Short answer: you can do almost the whole trip on a card and US dollars, and you never need to exchange for florin. Here is how to pay, and the one habit that saves you money.
- How much does the Aruba ED Card cost, and do you need a visa?Short answer: no visa, and the form itself is free. What you pay is a 20 dollar sustainability fee, once per calendar year rather than per trip. The reason people end up paying much more is a set of copycat websites that buy ads, outrank the government portal, and charge to file the same free form. Here is what it actually costs, and how to make sure you pay only that.
- Getting around Aruba: taxis, buses and carsShort answer: taxis run on fixed government rates rather than meters, there is no Uber, and a rental car or the cheap public bus fills the gaps. Here is how each works and what it costs.
- Aruba hotel taxes and fees, explainedShort answer: the headline room rate is not what you pay. Between government levies and hotel charges, a nightly rate can climb by a quarter to a third. Here is exactly what stacks on top.
- Staying connected in Aruba.Aruba is 20 miles long, covered end to end, and the kind of place where most visitors spend the week between a hotel, a beach and a handful of restaurants that all have wifi. That makes the honest answer here uncomfortable for us: often, buy nothing.
- What does getting sick in Aruba cost a visitor?Aruba's medical story is the honest small-island one: one hospital serves the island, and the complex case flies out. The hospital is decent, the island is safe and close to the US, and none of that changes what happens when a case outgrows what one island facility can do.
This is how Aruba stands today.
Money rules move. We can let you know for free if that changes.