Aruba in Dec.

[DiverDebbie]

Hubby and I were thinking of a short, simple (direct flights), inexpensive destination for our annual beach vacation this winter. So out of curiosity more than anything, I was looking at flights to Bonaire (not simple, close, direct or beachy... but is great for diving... unlike Cuba or DR). Hubby has been to Bonaire. I have not, but want to go. I couldn’t easily find flights, so I thought of routing through Aruba. That is when I discovered cheap flights (relatively) from SEA combined with an awesome hotel deal at the Holiday Inn with cheap AI option. So we booked it! We’re going on Dec. 1 for 11 nights.
so ya ya, I’m sure the HI is basic, and AI is likely nothing to write home about there, but it was so cheap it can cover drinks and breakfasts and we can still dine out for many lunches and dinners. So any nearby suggestions are welcome.
But the important thing to ask here is all about the diving.... I will do much homework too... I have already read threads about Dive Aruba. Are they nearby? Tell me about the sites. What should we expect? ...compared to Bonaire? (I’m not worried about disappointment. We’ve been diving in Hawaii and around the Caribbean, including Jamaica... so anything warm with decent viz makes me happy. Our last trip was to Maui in April and it was great. So I’m just curious about Aruba... depths, currents, distances to sites, marine life to see?.... What are the conditions usually like in Dec? Of our 10 full days there we will also want to spend time on the beach, and probably a site seeing island day, so thinking of at least 3 - 5 days of diving. Is that enough? (ok, dumb question... is it ever enough?

 

[arubabob1]

DiverDebbie, You have come to the right place. I will be on Aruba for my 29th trip and I LOVE Aruba. I can tell you anything you need to know. I know spend 6 months a year there and I have a snorkel buisness there. You can check out my website. arubabobsnorkeling.com We would love to take you to the best snorkel spots on Aruba and we have these bladefish water scooters we use. We go out day and night also. My buddy and I just got certified in March and now we even night dive and alot od day dives. We have over 100 dives in on Aruba this year. I can steer you in the right direction but I beleive it will be better if you e-mail me direct. Hope to hear from you. kentgerber@adamswells.com

 

[frostfire]

I've been going to Aruba forever (timeshare family) and have always loved diving there. I think that compared to a lot of islands in the caribbean, Aruba is great. I just think it has to stand next to Bonaire and Curacao in the ABC islands. Definately do the Antilla, for sure.

 

[bartzunga]

The majority of boat dives are about 10-30 minutes from any marina on Aruba.
Shore dives from Holiday Inn are between 30-45 minute drive.
In general visibility at the dive sites on the south coast are very good, 30-90 feet on most days. Visibility on the west coast, 20-50 feet on a good day. Of course there are many things that affect visibility which cannot be foreseen. In general visibility on the south side is better.
Depths on the south coast sites range from 40-100 feet. West coast ±60 feet.
Most dives on the south side have strong currents and you will be more likely to do drift dives on the south side compared to the west side.
Are is known for one of he better wrecks destination in the caribbean. If you like wrecks Antilla and Jane Sea are a must. For shore dives I recommend Baby Beach Reef and Dog Cemetery (if you are an experienced shore diver, Dog Cemetery is a workout)
You won't see a lot of big fishes in the waters surrounding Aruba like you would in Bonaire.

I recommend Jads Dive Center located at Baby Beach, they also have a boat that docks at the marine near the airport. They pick you up at your hotel free of charge.

JADS Aruba | Where underwater dreams come true. or info@jadsaruba.com

 

[DiverDebbie]

Thanks for the tips! We'll do the wrecks for sure! (esp. the Debbie.. haha)
Bonaire is known for easy access shore diving, but I hadn't even thought of shore diving on Aruba. Are they long swims? Can you just rent tanks and weights somewhere? We'll have all our other gear.
We did some shore diving in Maui in April and it was awesome, although shallow... but that's ok, we don't need much depth. Nice to have hour + dives. but I'm not sure that we'll rent a car for more than a day on Aruba though. I thought it would just be esier to boat dive and have them pick us up at the hotel each day. Food for thought though....

 

[arubabob1]

Debbie, The currents can be strong in Aruba so I wouldn't advise shore diving on your own. I will be on the Island when you come so please feel free to e-mail me directly or pm me. Aruba Bob

 

[bartzunga]

Hi Debbie,

Bob is right, you have to be careful with the currents. Some shore dives have strong current, you won't be able to exit the same place you entered whereas others have mild current which will allow you to enter and exit at the same location. There are quite a few of shore dives but the dive ops tend to stay away from them because most divers either prefer boat dives or can not handle the current. Also the shore dives will involve long swims or short intense swims to get out again depending on the dive site. The shore dives on Aruba are not comparable to the ones on Bonaire on the level of difficulty, shore dives on Aruba are more difficult. The dive sites are not marked so you will need to know before hand exactly where they are before heading out. It would be best to do a couple of boat dives and let your dive guide assess your skills and conditioning for an adequate shore dive for you and your husband.

 

[DiverDebbie]

Thanks for the heads up. We'll probably just skip the hassle and do some boat dives.

 

[pedo]

DiverDebbie, You have come to the right place. I will be on Aruba for my 29th trip and I LOVE Aruba. I can tell you anything you need to know. I know spend 6 months a year there and I have a snorkel buisness there. You can check out my website. arubabobsnorkeling.com We would love to take you to the best snorkel spots on Aruba and we have these bladefish water scooters we use. We go out day and night also. My buddy and I just got certified in March and now we even night dive and alot od day dives. We have over 100 dives in on Aruba this year. I can steer you in the right direction but I beleive it will be better if you e-mail me direct. Hope to hear from you. kentgerber@adamswells.com

I too love Aruba. I checked out your web site and the first thing I thought was, man, I should have gone into the lawn and tree business! ;-)

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Baby Beach is good for snorkeling although it seemed pretty dead when I was there in Feb. Malmok is always a good site. I would give the shore diving a miss, stick to the boats. It will be a lot less work

 

[bartzunga]

I hope I don't scare you with this, but according to the distance tracker on google maps. The best shore dives on Aruba are as follow.

Baby Beach Reef:

Surface Swim: 220 meters
Under water swim to reef: 60 meters
Drift dive on reef: 375 meters which take on average 30-45 minutes but I have done it in as little as 15 minutes due to strong currents.
Swim back to shore underwater: 95 meters
Final swim back on surface: 60 meters




Pet Cemetery Reef:

Surface Swim: 75 meters
Under water swim to reef: 150 meters
Drift dive on reef: 1600 meters which take on average 50-70 minutes.
Swim back to shore underwater: 95 meters
Final swim back on surface: 60 meters
Same exit as Baby Beach Reef.


End result: probably most exciting shore dive of your life.

The distances seem not real, but thanks to the currents when you are on the reef you spend no energy. But you do spend a whole lot getting to the reef. I've done these dives around 50 times combined and would choose the Pet Cemetery Reef dive over any boat/wreck dive on Aruba due to it's remote accessibility. And because of that the reef is in pristine condition.