What cultural etiquette should I know for Palm Beach?

The single thing that changes how Arubans treat you is whether you greet them in Papiamento. Walk into a minimarket near Palm Beach and say "bon dia" before noon, "bon tardi" in the afternoon, "bon nochi" after dark. It takes 2 seconds. You'll notice the tone at a place like SuperFood on J.E. Irausquin Boulevard shift from transactional to warm the moment you try. Handshakes are standard on first meetings. Among friends, Arubans do a light kiss on the cheek, sometimes both. Don't initiate it with someone you've met once at a hotel pool bar. A nod and "con permiso" when you squeeze past someone in a narrow doorway goes further than you'd think. Arubans notice when visitors skip the hello and jump straight to asking for directions.

Tipping along Palm Beach's high-rise strip follows a loose 15% standard, but check your bill first. Several restaurants on J.E. Irausquin Boulevard add a 10-15% service charge automatically. If you see "servicio" printed on the receipt, leaving another 5% on top is generous but not expected. At beach bars near the Marriott Surf Club or the Hilton, $1-2 per drink keeps the bartender attentive. Taxi drivers don't expect tips, though rounding up from $18 to $20 on a ride to Oranjestad is common enough. Aruba's currency is the florin, pegged at 1.79 to the US dollar since 1986, but US dollars are accepted everywhere along the strip. Most visitors never handle a florin. The catch is that change often comes back in florin coins, so you end up with a pocket full of unfamiliar metal that adds up faster than you'd expect.

Swimwear is fine on the sand and the beachfront walkway, but step across J.E. Irausquin Boulevard into a restaurant or shop and you'll get looks. Arubans tend to dress sharply even for Saturday errands. The contrast with the resort strip is real. For dinner, Palm Beach restaurants lean smart casual. You won't need a jacket anywhere on the island, but board shorts and flip-flops at a sit-down place feel underdressed. If you're heading 20 minutes south to San Nicolas for the street art murals or toward Savaneta's fishing piers, the same smart-casual baseline applies once you're off the sand.

Alto Vista Chapel, rebuilt in 1952 on the island's windswept north coast, is Aruba's most visited religious site and a working Catholic chapel, not a photo backdrop. Silence inside. Cover your shoulders and knees. The same applies at St. Ann's Church in Noord, built in 1914, and at St. Francis of Assisi in Oranjestad, which dates to 1813. Aruba is roughly 75% Catholic, and Sunday morning services still fill the pews. Don't walk into a service mid-Mass for photos. To be fair, the island is generally relaxed about social norms compared to mainland South America. That said, public displays of affection between same-sex couples outside the resort areas can draw stares in smaller communities like Santa Cruz and Paradera. One thing that catches North American visitors off guard is littering enforcement. Dropping trash on the beach or tossing a cigarette butt on the sidewalk near Eagle Beach can bring a fine of up to 500 florins, about $280.