Quote:
Originally Posted by floydpink
In Aruba, US dollars are not only accepted, but preferred to the local currency.
It's a Dutch island so things are well organized and the food is great.
Very little crime in the tourist areas, so have fun and use normal common sense.
It is a pricey island compared to many other islands, so bring plenty of money,
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This is spot on. The wife and I did our honeymoon there. US dollars are fine and the places that took local currency and USD usually had pretty good exchange rates if you compared the prices in both currencies.
Find out how much it'll cost to use your credit card in fees, let them know where you are going, let your bank know for your ATM card in case you do need local currency (you probably won't) and in case you need some emergency cash.
Take your credit card and as much cash as you feel comfortable with (especially if your hotel has a safe). Don't flaunt the cash and don't carry a ton if you are going out drinking, etc.
We never felt unsafe while we were there.
Oh, and get a 4wd rental car. I can't believe we didn't get stuck in our little toyota economy car, but we still couldn't explore as much of the eastern part of the island as we wanted despite going places that the car shouldn't have.