jonhall
Contributor
Had the opportunity to make a 2nd trip to Aruba (first time was in 2009) and get some diving in. Will try to share a little info about different aspects of the trip.
Flights, arrival, and departure: Flew American Airlines with no problems. The Verifly app can be used, but there really is no purpose for it. An embarkation/disembarkation card (immigration form) needs to be completed ahead of time online to enter Aruba. When leaving Aruba, the process is 1) checking in with your airline and dropping of checked luggage 2) going through passport control. 3) security check (there is no TSA) 4) pick up checked luggage and then drop it back off 5) go through U.S. Customs (Global Entry is accepted - no line versus long line for everyone else 6) another security check and again, no TSA line. YOU DON"T HAVE TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS IN THE U.S. Everyone will tell you to get to the airport 3+ hours ahead of time to get through everything. We were there 3 hours early on a Saturday and were sitting at our gate in 45 minutes.
Car rental and taxis: Good luck! Small cars may be available. We were a group of 4 with checked and carryon luggage but we couldn't get a vehicle big enough for us - either none available or the cost was way to high. Two of us took taxis to where we stayed and back to the airport, while the other 2 picked up and dropped off the rental at a location not at the airport. Some car rentals had no cars available at all. Taxis are available and pretty reasonable.
Weather: Sunny and high of 82º F almost everyday. Sometimes rain in early morning, but done by 7:30 am. Only had 1 day where it rained most of the day.
Things to do: There is much to do in Aruba aside from diving. Beaches, sightseeing, atv/utv's, horseback riding, biking, some museums, hiking, and all types of water activities (parasailing, jet skis, day/night sailing, snorkeling, and more.)
Short blurb about where we stayed: Gold Coast Residences - a gated community on the north end of island in Noord. Townhouses, homes, and other types of units that have whatever decor the owner put in. The townhouse we had was clean and livable - enough for me. A couple of nice pools and a fitness facility and restaurant in the clubhouse. A few minutes drive to nice beaches and some good restaurants.
Restaurants: There's no shortage of good restaurants. A few have to be reserved a day or 2 in advance. Tierra Del Sol, a gated community with a golf course, and nice view was my favorite.
Diving: We dove with Palm Beach Divers. Good location on Palm Beach (the high-rise hotels.) The routine is to be at the shop 8:30 am to check in, get a brief description of the dive plan, and be assigned to a DM. We walked to the boat (2-3 minute walk) about 9:00. The maximum number of divers on the boat was 13. Nice boat - fast and big enough to accommodate divers with spaces to stow bags to keep dry. Farthest site we went to was about 15 minutes away. Back of boat is covered and front gets sun. When one group was getting ready to dive, the 2nd group went to the front of the boat. Giant stride entries got everyone in the group into the water pretty fast. The op does try to say on a schedule, so dive times will be limited to about 45-50 minutes. I lived with it, although I was saddened after several dives to see I had as much as ½ tank of air still left. Other than not diving air, PBD's was a good op.
Dive sites included wrecks and reefs. The Antilla wreck is the largest wreck in the Caribbean. The end nearer the surface is a popular snorkel spot also. Reefs are not very colorful, but occasionally came across a colorful area. Common reef critters, but did see a couple of different things I don't recall seeing before - a large mantis shrimp and a school of barracuda, Water temps were pretty constant at 79º F. Visibility was okay, better some days than others. A few of the dives became drift dives - not very fast but still an effort if you tried to go against the current - reminiscent of dives I did in 2009.
Will share a few pics in next post.
Flights, arrival, and departure: Flew American Airlines with no problems. The Verifly app can be used, but there really is no purpose for it. An embarkation/disembarkation card (immigration form) needs to be completed ahead of time online to enter Aruba. When leaving Aruba, the process is 1) checking in with your airline and dropping of checked luggage 2) going through passport control. 3) security check (there is no TSA) 4) pick up checked luggage and then drop it back off 5) go through U.S. Customs (Global Entry is accepted - no line versus long line for everyone else 6) another security check and again, no TSA line. YOU DON"T HAVE TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS IN THE U.S. Everyone will tell you to get to the airport 3+ hours ahead of time to get through everything. We were there 3 hours early on a Saturday and were sitting at our gate in 45 minutes.
Car rental and taxis: Good luck! Small cars may be available. We were a group of 4 with checked and carryon luggage but we couldn't get a vehicle big enough for us - either none available or the cost was way to high. Two of us took taxis to where we stayed and back to the airport, while the other 2 picked up and dropped off the rental at a location not at the airport. Some car rentals had no cars available at all. Taxis are available and pretty reasonable.
Weather: Sunny and high of 82º F almost everyday. Sometimes rain in early morning, but done by 7:30 am. Only had 1 day where it rained most of the day.
Things to do: There is much to do in Aruba aside from diving. Beaches, sightseeing, atv/utv's, horseback riding, biking, some museums, hiking, and all types of water activities (parasailing, jet skis, day/night sailing, snorkeling, and more.)
Short blurb about where we stayed: Gold Coast Residences - a gated community on the north end of island in Noord. Townhouses, homes, and other types of units that have whatever decor the owner put in. The townhouse we had was clean and livable - enough for me. A couple of nice pools and a fitness facility and restaurant in the clubhouse. A few minutes drive to nice beaches and some good restaurants.
Restaurants: There's no shortage of good restaurants. A few have to be reserved a day or 2 in advance. Tierra Del Sol, a gated community with a golf course, and nice view was my favorite.
Diving: We dove with Palm Beach Divers. Good location on Palm Beach (the high-rise hotels.) The routine is to be at the shop 8:30 am to check in, get a brief description of the dive plan, and be assigned to a DM. We walked to the boat (2-3 minute walk) about 9:00. The maximum number of divers on the boat was 13. Nice boat - fast and big enough to accommodate divers with spaces to stow bags to keep dry. Farthest site we went to was about 15 minutes away. Back of boat is covered and front gets sun. When one group was getting ready to dive, the 2nd group went to the front of the boat. Giant stride entries got everyone in the group into the water pretty fast. The op does try to say on a schedule, so dive times will be limited to about 45-50 minutes. I lived with it, although I was saddened after several dives to see I had as much as ½ tank of air still left. Other than not diving air, PBD's was a good op.
Dive sites included wrecks and reefs. The Antilla wreck is the largest wreck in the Caribbean. The end nearer the surface is a popular snorkel spot also. Reefs are not very colorful, but occasionally came across a colorful area. Common reef critters, but did see a couple of different things I don't recall seeing before - a large mantis shrimp and a school of barracuda, Water temps were pretty constant at 79º F. Visibility was okay, better some days than others. A few of the dives became drift dives - not very fast but still an effort if you tried to go against the current - reminiscent of dives I did in 2009.
Will share a few pics in next post.
