need good dive shop Aruba

[Arnaud]

...Taking padi class up in Boston and open water dive in Aruba is this a good plan ? ...

Well, if you're never ever planning to dive in the Atlantic, why not? Otherwise, it's not a great idea. You should learn to dive:

a. In the most challenging conditions available to you, and
b. Where you're going to be diving the most (and usually, that's where you live)

How many dive days will you spend in Aruba in a year?

 

[klaporte]

My fiance` and I took a cruise back in Jan. One of the ports of call was Aruba. We aranged to do a two tank certified dive through the cruise ship (who contracted with Red Sail). They certainly took great care of us.

It was crystal clear that safety was a top concern without it being oppressive. In fact they wouldn't let a guy on the boat who hadn't been diving in a number of years (10 comes to mind but I'm not sure).

On the boat the divemaster did a nice job explaining exactly what the dive was going to entail, including a nice history of the site. UW he did incredible at pointing out objects of interest and keeping everyone together.

I hope this helps, and I'm sorry to contradict the experiences of some of you guys.

-Ken

 

[Kat]

Red Sail caters to the cruise ship crowd. They will bump you to get those cruise ship divers on. Their concern f/ safety & the briefings wont matter squat to you-if your not on the boat. There are other dive ops who are concerned about safety too.
If the actual dive is important, I wouldn't risk booking w/ Red Sail.
Their customer service skills leave A LOT to be desired.

 

[MikeS]

I’m starting to get excited about the yearly trip to Aruba; we leave April 3rd for two weeks.

Taking padi class up in Boston and open water dive in Aruba is this a good plan ?

I think it’s an excellent idea, it’s what I did. IMO the classroom portion of the training at resorts leaves a lot to be desired, and who wants to study on vacation? On the other hand there’s no better first impression than diving in warm clear water with lots of critters. The best of both worlds.

I highly recommend going with one of the smaller operators. We dive with Romeo at Native Divers and while I’ve never dived with him, I’ve heard only good things about Clive and Dive Aruba. I’ve also dived with both Pelican and Redsail; to my mind there is no comparison; can you say cattle boat?

Also while you’re there, three things we never miss:
4-Wheel ATV ride in the national park with snorkeling in the Natural Pool.
Rent a 4-wheel drive vehicle to drive around the windward side of the island (Romeo or Clive will show you on a map the sites to hit).
Drinks and dinner at Iguana Joes.

Have fun,
Mike

 

[ScubaFrog]

Going to Aruba in May like to know a good dive shop down there .Taking padi class up in Boston and open water dive in Aruba is this a good plan ? help me please






thank so so very much Tim

Hi Tim,

I just got back from Aruba and dove all week with Clive from DiveAruba. It was the best diver operation that I have seen. Clive gives divers personalized attention. He will take 7 people on his boat max. We went into wrecks including an airplane, pilot boat and a 400 foot freighter called the Antilla. I would recomend DiveAruba to everyone.

Where in Boston are you taking the classes? I took my classes at Northeast Scuba in Chelmsford and did my open water dives on a cruise in St Marteen, St Thomas and Barbados.

 

[Neckbone]

I did the Dive Aruba resort course (got it as a gift from my dear wife- I'll bet she regrets THAT decision! ). I found Clive to be safety-conscious, courteous and best of all PATIENT! The dive was so much fun I've since pursued my OW and will cert dive as soon as the cold-assed Atlantic warms up off Rhode Island....

 

[FuzzyNutz]

I got my full OW cert with Red Sail. It started out as the 'discover scuba' through the hotel (from Red Sail), and I was so fascinated that I spent the rest of my vacation in the classrooms. I really enjoyed Red Sail. My instructor was Anthony, a current police officer down there who does the scuba thing on the side, and he was an absolute class act! Very thorough, very patient, and very good. It was only me and another couple who were getting certified then, so the individual attention was great. The dives I did afterwards with them were 'cattle' boats, which I've come to dislike, but my instruction with Anthony was top notch! I can't reccomend him enough!

Either way, the diving in Aruba was awesome - you're gonna have an excellent trip!!! As ScubaFrog mentioned, you must see the Atilla! That's an incredible sunken ship!! Very cool site, especially for a new diver! Bring LOTS of high SPF sunscreen though, the sun is VERY strong down there!! I normally don't wear sunscreen since my Italian skin doesn't burn easy, but by the 3rd day I was just about lathering myself in 55-65spf sunscreen made for babies! Luckily Aruba's #1 export is Aloe-Vera! haha!!