Here Are The Most Interesting Cars I Saw In Aruba

Photo: Tom McParland

Every few years my family does a vacation in Aruba. The weather is perfect, the food is good, the flight is reasonable and the people are friendly. It’s not an adventurous vacation but it’s great for two kids under 12. We go to the beach, we hang out at the pool and I drink too many local beers. I also will spot pretty interesting rides, some of which would not normally be found on American roads.

Aruba was once a Dutch colony so you see a lot of European-style city cars, it’s also right off the coast of South America so there is no shortage of affordable compacts and old trucks as well. I was surprised how many EVs there were cruising around this time. However, EVs make perfect sense for the lower-speed city driving on an island that is only about 70 square miles. I saw at least a dozen or sow VW ID models mostly used as taxis.

Whenever we were strolling around I would try to find some kind of unique or interesting model. My kids were often confused about why I was so excited to take a picture of what looked to be a very ordinary car to them. Here are some of my favorites from Aruba car spotting.