Aruba vs. Bonaire to dive

[Stichus III]

what about them makes them not for beginners? current, depth, or...?

The choppy conditions at the surface (due to the strong winds in Aruba), the –at times- challenging conditions at the entry and exit points (which apply to Cabes Reef and sometimes also to Baby Beach Reef) and the sometimes (very) strong currents, make the mentioned sites (with the exception of Indian Head) not suitable for beginners.

The dive sites in Aruba –generally speaking- are not as deep as the dive sites in Bonaire and Curacao, where the slopes just seem to go down for miles and miles. As a matter of fact, Cabes Reef has a maximum depth of 70 feet and Baby Beach a maximum depth of 55 feet.

 

[Stichus III]

Sounds good to me! Where do I sign up?

I will also add that I favor the convenience and flexibility shore diving offers so of course I will always vote for Bonaire just because of that reason.

Diving these out of the way sites is a specialty of Jads. So give them a call.

And of course nothing beats Bonaire in the vast amount of quality shore diving opportunities.

 

[scubadobadoo]

Just for the record here's a nice list of what looks to be some terrific shore dives in Aruba!

Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Aruba, ABC Islands

 

[DiveScoop]

I've done both locations and prefer Bonaire for the "ease" of diving. Couple of good wrecks on Aruba, but the diving was more "pleasant" on Bonaire. Easy entry, plenty of photo opportunities and I'm pretty sure the number of days you get "blown out" are minimal.

 

[bracdiver]

i've not been to Bonaire but hear it an ok dive site. Yesterday, I read in my local paper that Bonaire is Gene Hackman's favorite place to dive. Diving with the stars anyone?

 

[OH-JJ]

Ont...

If you ever want to do so interesting wreck diving on Bonaire it can be done. You need to contact Walt at Rek Tek on Bonaire. He knows all the good ones. I will say nothing else as to incriminate myself....there are challenging wrecks on Bonaire, you just need to know who to talk to and who knows the ropes....

Let me know if I can help.

Liz

Hey Liz,

Is the Wind Jammer in that list of the good ones? :scubadive

 

[Stichus III]

Just for the record here's a nice list of what looks to be some terrific shore dives in Aruba!

Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Aruba, ABC Islands

Mangel Halto Reef, Puerto Chikito, Baby Beach Reef, Santana Reef and Cabes Reef are all very good dive sites.

 

[AndrewJD]

Here's some HD video footage of Bonaire.

J

 

[vladimir]

I agree with the consensus that the attraction of Bonaire is the relaxed pace and ease of diving on your own schedule. As I said in this post after my most recent trip to Bonaire, it's not going to get the adrenaline going. Will Aruba? I don't know; I've never been there. If I wanted boat diving in choppy water and strong currents, and the opportunity for pelagic encounters, I'd be thinking Cocos, Guadelupe, or Soccorro, in this neighborhood, and PNG, Palau, Komodo, and the Coral Sea if I really wanted to travel.

Restricting ourselves to the Caribbean though, how does Aruba compare to Little Cayman or Belize?

 

[rakayaker]

Wow. Thanks to all who posted. Took me a little while to get to read the thread. There is a lot to consider and I will talk to my dive buddys. One wanted to go to Aruba for the wrecks! We are all intermediate and advanced divers with a fair amount of experience (together we have Hawaii (big island), Roatan, Cozumel, Catalina, Laguna, Palau, and some NE freshwater so this has been a good starting off point for discussion.

Thanks!