I knew of them being based at Baby Beach and it is 30-45 min drive down south - longer if cruise ship is in… I did not know that on Thursday they use the dock by Jolly Pirates! Thank you!
Does any one have any experiences with the shops up north?
I've dived with a several dive operators on Aruba to get a sense of how they differ, and to gauge which are what I would consider the best (professional, fun, and safe). There are some smaller companies I have yet to try, because I keep returning to support my few favorites.
Aqua Windie's (
Diving, Snorkeling & Swimming | Aqua Windie's | Aruba ) - great team of Instructors, DM's, and other crew and staff who all apparently love what they do; nice, roomy boat; they also have one of the only two remaining real dive shops* on the island; shop is easy to find, located close to both the low-rise and high-rise hotels
Pure Diving Aruba (
Pure Diving Aruba - Aruba's Eco Dive Center - SDI & PADI - Home Page ) - well-run operation and fun to dive with; comfortable boat with a head; I believe they're the island's only SDI-affiliated dive op (co-owned by two SDI Course Directors, should you wish to do your IDC on Aruba), although they're also PADI-affiliated; Pure's dock is tucked among the mangroves near the airport; they dive every day of the year but January 1st; Pure is the only op I've dived-with that does a UV night shore dive
JADS (
JADS Aruba - Diving Aruba - Where underwater dreams come true. ) - as previously stated in this thread, are a lot of fun to dive with and will typically run dives based on air consumption; the crew (especially Susan) readily share a wealth of interesting facts about the marine life; I've only dived with JADS from their berth at the Varadera Marina "behind" the airport, but they're easy enough to find; JADS has the other of the two remaining real dive shops* on the island (located at the southern end of Aruba between Rodger's and Baby beaches); JADS is the only shop I've dived-with that dives Aruba's deepest wrecks (Topaz, Morning Star, Mi Dushi at 100-130ft)
* by "real dive shop" I mean one that stocks dive gear (masks, fins, BCDs, wetsuits, accessories, et cetera)
I believe the only Aruban "
chain dive shop", to which Ontwreckdiver referred, ceased dive operations on Aruba in 2021. I dove with them once and enjoyed the crew and the boat, but they catered primarily to high-rise guests and were a bit of a hassle to get to unless you were staying at the Riu.
Palm Beach Divers (
Dive - Palm Beach Divers Aruba ) - very professionally-run but also a lot of fun; very comfortable boat; they have a small shop at the beach, among the high-rise hotels, a minute walk to the dock where their boat is located
Red Sail Sports (
http://www.redsailaruba.com/ ) - a larger company that hosts various water-related activities (diving, sailing, wind and kite surfing, et cetera); comfortable boat; being a larger operation, diving is somewhat regimented (dives are a maximum of 40-45 minutes); Red Sail has a number of shop locations, however, their shops primarily stock beachwear, sunglasses, souvenirs, et cetera (not dive gear)
I've also dived with a couple other companies, and while I had a lot of fun, I definitely noticed greater priority given to fun over safety. For a local this may not be an issue, but for someone on vacation it should be a consideration.
Finally, not all of these companies dive the same sites or even areas of the coast, so check-out the descriptions on their web sites of their regular dives sites. I'd also suggest not putting-off booking, as some of these dive ops take divers from cruise ships, thus their boats fill-up quickly.
Hope that's helpful.
