Buying a local line in Aruba is simpler than on most islands because the two operators have converged on the same price card. SETAR and Digicel each sell a visitor product at 20 US dollars for three days, 30 for seven and 50 for fourteen, and both have a booth in the airport arrivals hall, SETAR on the left and Digicel on the right as you come through. Prices are quoted in US dollars because that is what most visitors carry, and the Aruban florin sits at a fixed 1.79 to the dollar if a shop quotes you in florins instead.
Where the two separate is the fine print. SETAR's tourist bundles give you a 5 GB daily data allowance and a bank of SETAR minutes, SMS and minutes to other networks, and SETAR will sell the bundle online by credit card. Digicel's Paradise plans advertise unlimited data with unlimited calls and texts to Digicel numbers. Either one is better value per gigabyte than anything an international eSIM brand sells for this island, and the eSIM case rests on skipping the booth, not on saving money.
What This Guide Covers
Jump to the section most relevant to you
Two Tourist Offers With One Price List
The matching prices make the comparison unusually clean. Neither operator is undercutting the other, so the question is which package of extras suits you, and how those packages stack up against the travel eSIMs sold for the island.
| Product | Price | Data | Calls and texts |
|---|---|---|---|
| SETAR tourist, 3 days | US$20 | 5 GB per day | 100 SETAR minutes, 20 other, 25 SMS |
| SETAR tourist, 7 days | US$30 | 5 GB per day | 200 SETAR minutes, 30 other, 50 SMS |
| SETAR tourist, 14 days | US$50 | 5 GB per day | 300 SETAR minutes, 60 other, 50 SMS |
| Digicel 3 Days in Paradise | US$20 (Afl 35.50) | Unlimited | Unlimited to Digicel, 15 minutes other |
| Digicel 7 Days in Paradise | US$30 (Afl 53.40) | Unlimited | Unlimited to Digicel, 50 minutes and 50 SMS other |
| Digicel 14 Days in Paradise | US$50 (Afl 89) | Unlimited | Unlimited to Digicel, 100 minutes and 50 SMS other |
| Airalo eSIM | US$23 | 5 GB over 7 days | None, data only |
| Nomad eSIM | US$8 | 1 GB over 7 days | None, data only |
| Holafly eSIM | US$59.90 | Unlimited for 7 days | None, data only |
SETAR's version is described as unlimited but runs under a fair-use policy: you get 5 GB at full speed each day and the connection slows until the next day's allowance lands. Five gigabytes a day is more than a beach holiday will burn, so in practice it behaves like unlimited unless you tether a laptop for long uploads. The minutes are the real differentiator. SETAR's bundle is weighted toward calls to SETAR numbers, while Digicel's gives unlimited calling within its own network. Since you cannot easily tell which network a restaurant or tour desk uses, the headline minute counts matter less than the allowance of minutes to other networks, and Digicel's seven-day package is more generous there.
SETAR's Rules, and Its Florin Data Packs
SETAR sells its tourist product only to people it can identify as visitors. You qualify if you are a foreign national staying a limited time and can show a foreign document, and it accepts a passport, a national ID card or a driver's licence. The company states that the document is used only to confirm nationality and is not scanned or kept. The SIM card itself stays valid for 45 days from activation, while each bundle runs from the day and time you activate it, so you can buy a fresh bundle on the same card for a second week or a return visit within that window.
One rule catches people out. Ordinary recharge credit, whether bought on a prepaid card or online, only pays for calls and SMS. It cannot be converted into another tourist bundle, so if you want more data you buy the bundle again at a Teleshop or online rather than topping up credit and hoping.
SETAR also publishes a shorter menu of prepaid data packs priced in florins on its visitor pages, and some of them undercut the tourist bundle for a data-only user.
| Data pack | Price | Roughly in US dollars | Valid for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 GB | Afl 5 | US$2.80 | 1 day |
| 9 GB, 3 GB a day | Afl 15 | US$8.40 | 3 days |
| 5 GB | Afl 17 | US$9.50 | 7 days |
| 21 GB, 3 GB a day | Afl 30 | US$16.75 | 7 days |
| 10 GB plus social apps | Afl 50 | US$27.95 | 30 days |
Reading florin prices
The florin is pegged at 1.79 to the US dollar, so dividing by 1.8 gets you close enough at a counter. These packs need a working SETAR SIM underneath them, and the starter card has its own price, so compare the total you pay on the day rather than the pack price alone. The 30-day, 10 GB pack also includes social media use on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
Digicel's Paradise Plans and Store Hours
Digicel markets its visitor range as tourist eSIMs named 3 Days, 7 Days and 14 Days in Paradise, with the fourteen-day plan flagged as the most popular. All three include unlimited data and unlimited calls and texts to Digicel numbers, and they differ in the allowance for calls to other networks and abroad: 15 minutes on the shortest, 50 minutes and 50 SMS on the week, 100 minutes and 50 SMS on the fortnight. Digicel sells physical cards as well, through its stores.
Where Digicel is genuinely more convenient than SETAR is the airport. Its arrivals-hall kiosk opens from 9 in the morning until 8 at night every day of the week, which catches most US flights, including the afternoon arrival wave from the East Coast. In town the hours are shorter and Sunday is closed across the board.
| Digicel location | Address | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Airport kiosk | Queen Beatrix International, arrivals hall | Daily 9:00 to 20:00 |
| Digicel Sasaki | Sasaki Building, Italiëstraat 38, Unit 2, Oranjestad | Mon to Sat 9:00 to 17:30 |
| San Nicolas | B. v/d Zeppenveldstraat, Lok 7 | Mon to Fri 8:00 to 16:30, Sat 9:00 to 17:30 |
| Tanki Leendert | Tanki Leendert 245 | Mon to Sat 9:00 to 17:30 |
| Boolchand's (dealer) | Havenstraat 25, Oranjestad | Mon to Sat 9:00 to 18:00 |
Travellers have reported the airport Digicel desk taking cards only on recent visits, while SETAR's booth took cash in both US dollars and florins as well as cards. If you land with nothing but cash, head left.
Booths, Teleshops and the Cruise Terminal Kiosk
Most visitors buy at the airport because both operators are standing there when you walk out of customs. If you miss the booths, SETAR has the widest retail spread on the island, and it is the only operator with a presence at the cruise terminal.
Keep an ID document in your hand luggage
SETAR requires a foreign passport, ID card or driver's licence before it will sell a tourist bundle. Digicel does not publish the same rule on its tourist page, but carry the passport anyway, because shop practice varies.
Choose the booth by payment method and minutes
SETAR sits on the left of the arrivals hall and has taken cash as well as cards. Digicel sits on the right and has been card only. Pick Digicel if you expect to phone locals a lot, SETAR if you want the daily data allowance and a cash option.
Or buy SETAR in town
Teleshops operate in Oranjestad at J. Irausquinplein, in Palm Beach, in Santa Cruz and in San Nicolas, plus the Setar Store at 200 Caya G.F. Betico Croes. SETAR also sells tourist bundles online at setar.aw/tourist with a credit card.
Test before you walk away
Open a map and load a page while you are still at the counter. The bundle clock starts at activation, so a problem fixed on the spot costs you minutes rather than a day of a three-day plan.
Cruise passengers have a separate route. SETAR runs a kiosk at the Oranjestad cruise terminal selling SIM cards and WiFi cards, and the terminal itself has no port WiFi. On a single port day, though, a 20-dollar three-day bundle is poor value against an 8-dollar international eSIM you installed on the ship.
Check Your American Plan Before Buying Anything
A large share of Aruba's visitors fly in from American hubs, and some of them are already covered. The answer depends entirely on the carrier and the plan name, so look it up before you queue at a booth.
| Carrier | Aruba treatment | Seven days, one line |
|---|---|---|
| Verizon TravelPass | 12 dollars a day, not the 6-dollar Mexico and Canada rate; 5 GB high speed daily | 84 dollars |
| AT&T International Day Pass | Aruba is on the destination list; advertised at 12 dollars a day | 84 dollars |
| T-Mobile premium plans | Included, 5 GB high speed on Experience More, Go5G Plus and Magenta MAX, 15 GB on Experience Beyond and Go5G Next, then 256 kbps | Nothing extra |
| Local tourist bundle | SETAR or Digicel, bought in the arrivals hall | 30 dollars |
Reasons to buy locally anyway
Reasons to skip the booth
Where the Local Card Stops Making Sense
The line on this island falls by appetite rather than by trip length, which is unusual. A family of four streaming in the room, a remote worker tethering a laptop on the balcony, or anyone uploading drone footage from Eagle Beach should buy a 30-dollar tourist bundle, because no metered travel eSIM offers that much data at that price, and Holafly's unlimited week costs twice as much on the same Digicel network.
A couple on an all-inclusive at Palm Beach, who only need maps, WhatsApp and a taxi confirmation away from the resort WiFi, are better off with a small eSIM installed before they leave home. Nomad's 1 GB for seven days at 8 dollars, or Airalo's 3 GB week at 17, covers that pattern for less than the bundle and without an ID check at a booth. The eSIM also keeps your US number live in the physical slot, which matters for bank verification codes and airline messages on the way home.
If Aruba is one stop of several
Island-specific bundles from SETAR and Digicel stop working the moment you sail or fly on. If Aruba is part of a cruise or a multi-island trip through the southern Caribbean, read our Caribbean island-hopping eSIM guide before buying a local card at each port, because a single regional plan can work out simpler.
Many experienced visitors combine the two: a small eSIM for the arrival, the transfer and the flight home, and a local bundle bought on day one for the heavy-use days in between. With Airalo on Digicel and a SETAR card in the tray, that setup also puts both Aruban networks in one phone, which is the easiest insurance against a weak spot in Arikok. The Aruba eSIM guide sets out current prices for all three international brands.
Frequently Asked Questions
What ID does SETAR want before it sells me a tourist bundle?
Any foreign document that proves you are a visitor: a passport, a national ID card or a driver's licence. SETAR says the document is only used to confirm nationality and is not scanned or saved. The rule exists because tourist bundles are restricted to foreign nationals on a limited stay, so residents cannot buy them. Carry the physical document to the booth rather than a photo of it.
Is SETAR's unlimited tourist data genuinely unlimited?
It is unlimited under a fair-use policy. Each day you receive 5 GB at full speed, and once that is spent the connection slows until the next day's allowance refreshes. For a normal holiday of maps, messaging, social media and some video, 5 GB a day will not run out. It becomes noticeable only if you tether a laptop for large uploads or stream high-definition video for hours, in which case Digicel's Paradise plans, which advertise unlimited data, are worth comparing.
Can I add another week of data to the same SETAR card?
Yes, as long as you stay within the card's 45-day validity. Buy a new tourist bundle at a Teleshop or online at setar.aw/tourist and it attaches to the same number. What you cannot do is top up ordinary recharge credit and expect it to buy data, because SETAR only lets that credit pay for calls and SMS.
Which booth should I use if my flight lands in the evening?
Digicel's kiosk in the arrivals hall is open until 8 at night every day, which is the only published airport retail hour we found. SETAR's telekiosk sits across the hall, but its hours are not published on its tourist pages, and one traveller guide describes the airport SIM shop closing at 6 in the evening. If you are landing late, install a small eSIM before you fly and buy a bundle at a Teleshop the next morning, remembering that stores in town close on Sundays.
Is a local SIM worth it for a four-night resort stay?
Only if you use a lot of data. Four nights on a Palm Beach or Eagle Beach resort with good WiFi usually needs a gigabyte or two away from the property, and Nomad's 1 GB week at 8 dollars or Airalo's 3 GB week at 17 dollars covers that for less than the 30-dollar tourist bundle, without a queue or an ID check. If you plan to stream, work, or share data with family, the bundle's daily allowance is far better value and worth the ten minutes at the booth.