I was looking for something local and low key and started reading the reviews of Charlies. Sounds like an interesting place but the question I have is about the area it is in.
I don't see much on the board talking about that end of the island so can anyone give me some insight? Good for a vacationer? Things like that. You will need a car. Charlie's is in San Nicolas and not near the more tourist populated areas, although Charlie's is plenty touristy. I would say it is safe enough during the day. In the evening you may encounter women soliciting. We usually go there at least once per trip for lunch and drinks when we're out and about exploring.
I've never been in that area at night but, as noted above, you may see a few women looking for "dates". Serious question, and I hope I don't ruffle any feathers here, but The lady's of the night there, are they trafficked from Venezueala or are they doing so under their own free will? I saw an article a while back talking about a local who owned a club who was arrested under suspicion of human trafficking. We had planned on going to Charlie's before, but after reading that, we don't want any part of that scene.
I have no problem if these women want to do this, but being forced into it, that's obviously not cool. They are doing so under their own free will. I should say the majority are anyway.
Prostitution is legal in Aruba and there are specific laws regarding it similar to the Netherlands. Having said that, trafficking still probably exists to some extent because there are scumbags everywhere. Consider Charlie's a tourist attraction, we went once and glad we did.
