Aruba is perhaps the busiest and most lively island among the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao). The population of the country is slightly over 100,000. Most of the visitors come from the US, either by cruise ship or by air, since many American airlines fly here directly.

The island is so tiny that you can drive around it in just a couple of hours. It’s a great destination for those looking for a resort-style holiday — the beaches are genuinely fantastic. Beyond that, there are also some quirky activities, like visiting donkey farms, exploring caves, seeing cactuses, and spotting flamingos.

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Aruba is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, so many government servants are deployed here from the Netherlands. An immigration officer, who actually lives in Amsterdam, told me he was sent here for six months — and he calls it “unfortunately.”

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Many people here speak four languages — Dutch, Spanish, English, and Papiamento.