We ended up going to a local grocery store and stocking up on food. This provided us with breakfast and lunch. There aren’t any cheap places close to the hotels (that we found), so this turned out to be the best option.

We also stocked up on alcohol too to drink on the beach.

I stayed at an all-inclusive resort in Aruba, so all meals were included. But yes, otherwise, Aruba can be wicked expensive. If you are staying in a condo, and it is feasible to buy stuff in a local store, eat that for breakfast and lunch and then go out to some of the great restaurants they have for dinner.

Breakfast is a very expensive meal to eat out almost anywhere you go. If you’re staying some place that has a kitchen (which we do), or even just a little fridge and a sink, eating breakfast in can be a real money saver, especially in Aruba. If you’re not renting a car, you can get a taxi to and from the grocery store, just make sure to add that cost in when figuring out which is cheaper.

When my wife and I go to Aruba, we often eat in for breakfast and dinner except for two or three nights (out of 10 days) that we go to local restaurants. That can save you a great deal if you’ve beeen to Aruba before and know what you want to go back and try again.

I highly recommend the all-inclusive. We stayed at a not-so-high-end place that was actually very nice. The Divi Aruba. We ate out once just for kicks…. the meals that were included at our resort were lovely and certainly worth it.