Aruba Currency and Money Guide

The currency, and where it came from.

Aruba uses the Aruban florin. The Centrale Bank van Aruba records that the florin dates from the moment Aruba obtained its Status Aparte within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1986, and that the currency is governed by the Central Bank Ordinance.

That constitutional change is the reason the island has a currency of its own rather than the one used by the country it belongs to, and it is worth a sentence because it explains why so much general advice about the Kingdom does not apply here.

⚠ The rate is a peg, and the bank that sets it publishes it.

The Centrale Bank van Aruba states that the florin is pegged to the United States dollar at one dollar to 1.79 florins. That is a fixed parity set by the issuing authority, not a market quote taken from a conversion website, and it is the reason this page carries a figure at all.

Most of our island guides publish no exchange rate, because a daily quote goes stale between the day it is written and the day it is read, and because the authority that would stand behind it often cannot be read at all. A fixed peg published by the central bank is a different kind of fact, and it survives being written down.

Two caveats even so. A fixed parity is the official rate and not the rate you personally receive, because a bank, a card scheme or a bureau adds its own margin on top. And a peg can be changed by the authority that set it, so treat this as the published position and confirm it if a large sum depends on it.

Carrying dollars.

Because the parity is fixed against the United States dollar, the two currencies sit in a stable relationship rather than a moving one. This guide does not tell you which to carry, because no source in this register states which is accepted where, and that question is answered by the place you are standing in rather than by a web page.

The one fare rule that comes from the safety advice.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office notes that taxis are not metered and that a passenger should agree the fare in local currency with the driver before setting off.

In local currency is the operative phrase. Agreeing a number without agreeing which currency it is in is how a fare doubles between the curb and the destination, and a fixed peg does not protect you from that, because the argument is about which unit the number was in rather than about the rate between them.

Our transportation guide covers the rest of what the sources say about getting around, including the driving requirement that has to be arranged before you leave home.

What this guide will not tell you.

No bank fee, no card acceptance rate, no tipping percentage, no cash machine advice, and no typical price for anything. None of that is in this register, and an invented figure about money is the kind a reader acts on immediately.

If you want a sense of the cost of a trip, price the specific things you intend to do with the operators you intend to use. Our trip planning page is the place to start that conversation.

Sources

• Centrale Bank van Aruba: The Aruban florin: that the florin dates from the moment Aruba obtained its Status Aparte within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1986; that the florin is pegged to the U.S. dollar at one dollar to 1.79 florins; that the Central Bank Ordinance governs the currency; and that the coinage has included a square 50-cent piece. Accessed 19 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Aruba travel advice, safety and security: that it is a legal requirement to carry identification; that the island is used as a drug passageway from South America to Europe and North America and that there are severe penalties for all drug offenses; that a driver needs the correct version of the international driving permit, that it cannot be bought outside the United Kingdom, and that hire companies may require 2 years of driving experience; that a driver found with just over half of England legal limit of alcohol in their system may face a fine and possible imprisonment; that taxis are not metered and that the fare should be agreed in local currency with the driver before setting off; that the hurricane season in the Caribbean normally runs from June to November; that most hurricanes pass to the north of the island, which has no record of a recent major hurricane; and that there are occasional tropical storms. Accessed 19 September 2026.