Bar hopping like a local

Wheter you’ve been to Aruba multiple times, or you’re a first timer to this Caribbean island, there will always be fun places to explore, drinks to sip and new local hangouts to discover. While there are many all-time-favorite hangouts and bars on the island, such as Moomba Beach Bar and Bugaloe in the heart of Palm Beach on just a short walk from Boardwalk, as well as Aruba’s oldest bar Charlie’s Bar in San Nicolas, we’ll take you on a virtual tour of the island and highlight a few places you might not have heard of. Many of them are local favorites and get especially buzzin’ on the weekends and Friday happy hour.

Oranjestad

In Aruba’s capitol of Oranjestad you’ll find many choices for a drink and a bite. Some notable bars for a daytime visit or lunch stop with excellent ocean views are The Paddock, Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar, and West Deck, all located alongside the main boulevard while other bars mainly come to life at nighttime and during the weekend such as the hide-away U-Wanna-Beer, a local eatery serving Portuguese specialties around dinner time, then transforms into a bar with dancefloor as the night progresses.

Alfie’s, although Canadian-owned, is a local hangout in downtown Oranjestad and a favorite venue for local creative talents that gather on Poetry Night. Thursday’s offers live music from local bands and performers; Saturday is Open Mic Night. Sunday and Monday closed. Besides a well-sorted bar, you can also have a bite here. Recommended are their 100% Angus sirloin beef burgers, yet they cater to vegan and vegetarian clientele too, with a wide selection of  veggie and vegan wraps and bites.

Café Chaos, located alongside L.G. Smith Boulevard in Oranjestad has been a local favorite for decades, especially for their live music performances during the weekend, and their very extensive beer menu. Open from 5 pm till 1 am (and 3 am on the weekends); closed on Sunday and Monday.

Close to Surfside Beach, across from The Talk of The Town hotel, you’ll find an eclectic collection of roadside bars, among them Sandra’s Garden and Roadside Café. If you like the mingle with the locals, this is your place to be, especially after work hours (5 pm and onwards). Expect loud music from time to time, live performances and large crowds on special holidays and celebrations.

A much quieter place is The Wine Room, a tiny hide-out in Oranjestad’s industrial area across from the container harbour, yet don’t be fooled by the underwhelming neighborhood as their wines and small bites are very high quality. Wine-lovers and gastro-enthusiasts will truly appreciate this little gem.

Noord (closest to the hotel district)

Adjacent to the buzzing Palm Beach area with its high rise hotels and “Strip” with tons of bars, nightclubs, casino’s, restaurants and favorite hang-outs such as Gusto Nightclub, Soprano’s Piano Bar, Azar and Fireson Micro Brewery, you’ll find the Noord district where things are much calmer and automatically attract a more local crowd. Just across the street from McDonalds you’ll first stumble upon a German-themed brewhouse called Bavaria. They offer (German) comfort food, an extensive beer menu and their signature drink, Das Boot, offers a 28oz glass of beer in the shape of a boot that you get to keep. 

A few doors down you’ll step into a colorful Aruba bar called Local Store. True to its name, the bar is locally owned and attracts lots of locals. From the colors of the bar stools to the scenic photos on the wall of Aruba’s unique nature and landscape, you’ll notice you are in Aruba and no place else. Try the fried funchi, a local snack and their Chubato signature burger. Wash it down with a chilled beer or other drink of your choice. Open 7 days a week from 11-11. Can get crowded after work hours and typically on a Friday afternoon.

Bingo is a typical ‘Dutch brown café’ and restaurant that became a neighborhood staple over the last two decades. On the menu some Dutch dishes, as well as international favorites. The bar is well-assorted and serves specialty bitters called Schrobbeler (yep, try to order that without getting tongue-tided). Open 7 days a week starting 11 am; open Sundays from 4 pm – midnight.

Another Dutch favorite is Café 080, named after the area code for the city of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. In case you are thinking ‘what’s up with all these Dutch bars…. Aruba is part of the Dutch Kingdom and as such offers plenty of Dutch influences on the island. Café 080 offers an indoor as well as an outdoor bar, along with ample outdoor seating under the tree for patrons and diners. Order typical Dutch snacks like ‘bitterballen’ here, or just enjoy a night out among the locals. 

On a short 5-minute car-ride (if that) neighborhood bar and restaurant Oak offers a cozy, quiet environment to enjoy an excellent glass of wine from their extensive collection, and/or grab a bite. There’s choice of outdoor and indoor seating. Open daily except Sunday. Bar is open from 5-11 pm; kitchen closes at 10 pm.

A noteable mention for Nos Clubhuis, which is not located in Noord, yet smack in the middle of Palm Beach, on the 2nd floor of Hadicurari Restaurant. Often overlooked due to its location on the second floor, and the highly popular and well-known Moomba Beach Bar next door, Nos Clubhuis is the official ‘clubhouse’ for Aruba’s local fishermen, affliated with the Hadicurari Fishing Pier right in front of the bar and restaurant. They offer a fun happy hour, often live music, a fresh catch for lunch or dinner and stunning ocean views. Nice mix of locals, fishermen and visitors here.

Extraordinary Experiences

On beautiful Wilhelminastraat in downtown Oranjestad, filled with its monumental houses and plenty of bars and restaurants such as Pepe Margo, Que Pasa, Olivia and Wilhelmina, the newest addition to this gastronomic neighborhood in Aruba is Liquid Chef Gastrobar. This brand new Tiki Bar offers spectacular cocktails and crafted drinks. And at the far end of Wilhelminastraat, across from El Gaucho restaurant, make sure to get your favorite prescription filled at the local Apotek (Pharmacy), Aruba’s only speakeasy tucked away in a historic building. From mixology experts behind the bar and a well-appointed decor to sip your craft cocktail in style, you can’t go wrong here.

Another must-try, next to the Cruise Terminal in Oranjestad is Bodegas Papiamento, a locally owned and operated rum distillery and cocktailbar with a hidden foodtruck, Marco’s Canteen, on the patio in the back. Fun for drinks, bites, mixology course or tour of the distillery. A great ‘photo opp’ too, with the open distillery display, beautifully crafted cocktails and enormous mural on the outside wall. Open from 11 am – 10 pm (11 pm on the weekends); crowds get more local after work hours. For obvious reasons, the place is filled with cruise visitors on days there are cruiseships barked in town so you might want to pay attention to that.

Lastly, as tacky as they may sound and look when you encounter them on the road, or see them purposely take the roundabout three times in a row, if you are on the island with a group of friends of family, in the mood to celebrate or just have a great time, the Kukoo Kunuku Party Bus is a fun experience. Equipped with maracas, discolights, and a music installation aboard the bus, you’ll be in your own little bus bubble and make stops along the way for some bar hopping. Although you might encounter locals on the bus, this is mainly a tourist attraction, if you book the Pub Crawl Tour, it will take you on a bar-hopping like the locals bus ride with stops at bars off the beaten path. 

Chinese Bars

If you want to take a deep-dive into the local bar scene and get to see and experience a totally different side of Aruba’s bar and nightlife scene, you might want to stop for a drink at one of the many Chinese bars on the island. They have a reputation for serving authentic Asion food, very affordably priced drinks and ice-cold beers, and their extended opening hours, often till 2 am. Most places turn into after-hours gathering places and drinking holes from midnight onwards. Your will find these bars and restaurants, oftentimes not even looking Chinese from the outside, mostly on main roads and in residential areas. Often recognizable by huge beer and liquor brand commercials on their facade. Examples close-by Boardwalk are Yen-Yen and Lekker in Noord. Heads-up: this is not your typical fancy night-out-on-the-town, and can even get roudy or sketchy (well) after midnight, but it is a big part of the local bar scene and therefore deserves a place in this blog.

Aruban Rum Shops

The authentic local rum shops in Aruba tell a compelling story of over 100 years of island history. When they first opened over 100 years ago rum was the go-to drink for workmen who wanted to grab an after-work drink to cool down and relax from hard labor on the land, on a boat in the ocean or at the (then) largest oil refinery in the world, located in Aruba’s most southern town, San Nicolas. 

Rumshops like Aruba Rum Shop, Essoville (that got it’s name from Esso, who owned the Lago Oil Refinery in Aruba back in the day) and White Star opened their doors. Unfortunately, with the closure of the refinery, in later years these original rum shops in San Nicolas all closed their doors or transformed into new bars and restaurants.

Luckily a few of the rumshops in Aruba remained. You’re no longer getting rum served straight from the barrel, yet the walk-up bar and over the counter service remained and so did affordable prices. Aruban rum shops are a great place to relax in the most authentic, unpretentuous setting and to casually mingle with the locals. Today the rum shops serve much more than just rum, and they are especially know for their ice-cold beers. Like the once orginial rum shop that transformed into a neighborhood watering hole and pizza place, Urataka Center, in rural Santa Cruz. Opened in 1946 as the Urataka Rum Shop, the son of the orginial owner transformed his dad’s rum shop into a pizza parlor, while keeping the original walk-up bar intact. Since 2022, the third generation is at the helm of this local establisment as grandson Rigo Croeze took over. 

A similar story applies to Pos Chiquito Rum Shop, an original rum shop that opened its doors in the 1960 and was owned and operated by a local fisherman. This rum shop in Aruba, located adjacent to Mangel Halto Beach, is still owned and operated by a local family and a popular stop for locals and visitors alike.

Located alongside the main road that connects Tanki Leendert to Paradera, Tienda Geerman offers rum shop old-school vibes, an authentic local experience and favorite local snacks such as johnnie cake, pastechi and goat soup (sopi cabrito). Lastly, a shout-out to 80-year old rum shop Young Fellow, a bit of a hide-away located just past the airport, serving no frills yet delicious local cuisine, ice cold beers and often with live music, too. 

A category on its own is Charlie’s Bar in San Nicolas. Just like the other (no longer existing) original rum shops in this former oil-town in the south of Aruba, Charlie’s Bar opened during the boom of the -crude- oil refinery business in Aruba during WWII, in 1941 by a Dutch couple, and still operating under the same name with a 3rd generation owner of the same family at the helm, making this one of the oldest bars and family businesses in Aruba. Over time, especially after the refinery closed and San Nicolas became more or less a ‘sleepy town’, Charlie’s Bar became a destination in and of itself and lured many customers in for a drink, a chat, a bite, and a mingle with the locals. Ideal as a stop on your way to Baby Beach, or when you visit San Nicolas to admire the many murals and fun art galleries and museums. Charlie’s Bar, packed with over 80 years of memorabilia and souvenirs is a bar-museum and art gallery of sorts, as well.