Aruba, recommended dive tours for a 'beginner'

[merrypig]

Hi,

My wife and I are currently taking our OW certification and hope to be all certified (for diving, not mentally before we go to Aruba in August.

Now I have a question - we'd like to be able to go diving while out there but since this will be a first real diving trip I'm not sure who would be the ideal tour group to go with. I don't think we'd be comfortable being one of a huge herd and left to our own devices; nor would we want to be pressured into a deeper dive . I get a feeling that some of the red sail tours go to the deeper sites and I don't know how they deal with some folks being certified to go down to 100ft and us wanting to stay above 60ft.

Well, that and there is another catch.

I'm partially deaf and use a hearing aid. Since I cant' wear it while in water/diving I'll largely be relying on hand signals as soon as it comes to suiting up . Having a dive group that can accomodate a little extra time to make sure I got the message would make the dive far more enjoyable and less worrying.

Do any of you have any tips on who to go with or what to ask for to get that little extra bit of assistance? or are they really all so friendly?

Thanks in advance
Ian

 

[sigelr]

I dove with Red Sail and they seemed like a good operation - dove with others there that were good too but don't remember their name. I would suggest you let them know you situation in advance and then remind the divemaster once you're on the boat. I'm guessing you're wife can relay anything important that's said. Bottom line is that you should make sure you're comfortable with the situation and the dive shop's/divemaster's attention to your needs. Diving is supposed to be fun but it's no fun if your overly nervous or worried. Knowing that you're new, a good DM will likely give you a little extra attention until he/she sees how you're handling things. By the way, if you like the DM and they're good to you, I've found a little extra gratuity in their palm after the dive goes a long way toward ensuring that they take good care of you on subsequent dives. Enjoy!!!!

 

[Norda]

My wife and I used Dive Aruba last fall and had a great time. They are a small operation so there were only three of us on board besides the DM and Captain. They gave us our option of dive sites. We had only been certified for two months and were on our 8 - 9 dives. They can be found at www.divearuba.com

Bill.

 

[navy85]

I've dived with both Red Sail Sports and Dive Aruba, and didn't have any problems with either (I certified with RSS). As far as diving deeper than 60 ft, most of the spots the dive boats hit are fairly shallow. You can check the schedule and go on those dives to ensure you remain within your desired limits.

Dive Aruba, being a smaller operation, can probably cater more easily to your needs. They operate a 6-pack, so there won't be as many people as there would on a RSS dive boat (I never had more than 12). They are also a bit more flexible in choosing the dive site.

Both operations allow you to make reservations online; RSS even gives you a discount for doing so.

Enjoy!

 

[Scotty]

If you want a real good dive with someone who will take good care of you and have about 4 - 6 people on the boat go with Dive Aruba. Clive will take personal care of you and treat you like a person not a $. I just got back from diving with him. A 6dive package cost only 195 but I gave him more because I was so impressed. Look him up on the internet. DIVE ARUBA THE BEST PLACE TO GO.

 

[MikeS]

There are two big operators Pelican Adventures and Red Sail Sports .

Both operate big well-maintained boats with all the amenities, heads (bathrooms), and showers. However, they tend to take out many divers and snorkelers at the same time (cattle boat) and run "follow the DM" tours. In addition, the big operators depend on tour boat customers so the trips fill up on certain days when the ships are in and they give the tour boats priority.

Last April my wife and I dove with Native Divers. They operate a six-back off the beach. It was a much more personable and enjoyable experience. We were there for a week and did two tank dives on Mon., Tues., Thurs., and Fri. mornings. My wife was newly certified and still a bit nervous, Romeo the Captain/DM was very good working with us to accommodate that.

Next year, we have a timeshare so go back every year, we plan to dive with Native Divers.

I suggest that you make arrangements via email before hand. Don’t be surprised if they take a while to respond; they operate on island time. All of the operators should pick you up and drop you off at your hotel for dives at no additional charge.

Hope this helps,
Mike

 

[Scotty]

I too have heard that Native Divers are good. I don't know but for word of mouth. Dive Aruba is also very geared toward beginners. We had a beginner on one of our dives and watching Clive with the beginner was interesting. He made sure all was safe which made me feel safe too. Good luck. DIVE ARUBA

 

[o2scuba]

19 trips to Aruba, and have dived with just about all of the operators there.

Red Sail is a large company and operates on several islands. They tend to have crowded boats (lot of cruise ship divers).
Windie's Watersports and Dive Aruba are small outfits, and can offer personalised service. However smaller operators offer less dive opertunities in my experience.

I suggest using Pelican Adventures. Pelican is slightly smaller than red sail. Pelican has it's own pier on Palm beach. Pelican also has a good dive schedule with 3-4 boat dives a day. The staff are VERY COMPETANT AND FRIENDLY. They offer dm guided tours. Usually there are enough staff on board to separate into groups (one for beginners and one for more experienced divers).

The west coast sites (Antilla wreck, Pedernalis wreck, Arashi reef and Malmok reef) are generally calm and offer quality dives above 70ft.
The south coast (am) dives have a longer boat ride (40min) and go to deeper sites. The waters are a little rougher (3-12ft swells). It is possible to stay shallower, but usually not enough staff to offer a guide for shallow divers.

I have more info about aruba diving on my website aquatic1.com
feel free to pm me for more info.
Good luck,

Andrew