Aruba

[SkipperJohn]

There are several dive shops in Aruba. I'll be going there in a month or so. Does anyone have any experiences with any of them that can offer any advice?
I am starting my certification classes next week and hope to be ready for my OW dives by the time I get there. So getting this done will be high on my priorities.

 

[diversteve]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

moved to ABC Islands forum

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[irie1029]

I have used Jads and met some students who did there OW cert dives.. They are very very personalized. All the instructors are great. you will have a blast and PS good luck.

Link JADS Dive Center Aruba - Home

 

[cmaha76]

I used Unique when i was there. They were pretty good. They were having some boat problems so one of our dives was extremely crowded which I didn't like. The rest were very uncrowded with about eight total divers and two DMs in the water. The DMs were pretty good. I'm not used to having my profile limited so much (they were very strict), but I guess it's understandable when you've got a different group of clients each day and you don't know them well. By our last of six dives, the DMs let my buddy and I do what we wanted and we were able to stay down for a little over an hour which I appreciated.

That said, if you're a brand new OW diver, they will keep a good eye on you, help where needed, and monitor your bottom time and depth very well. They did a very excellent job with the new divers that were on our boat.

I would probably use them if I went back to Aruba. My biggest condition would be making sure all of their boats were running and that they weren't overly restrictive with my dive times. I tried to contact Romeo from Native Divers before I went to Aruba, but I couldn't get him to reply. I had heard that he runs a good operation as well.

 

[bartzunga]

If you use Jads you won't regret it, great shop and safety is their number 1 concern.

 

[SkipperJohn]

Thanks all. I have no knowledge of this one. I'll look them up.

 

[SkipperJohn]

I guess I have to remind myself that this is Aruba. I sent out 3 e-mails to 3 dive shops and got no response. I have to remind myself that often HAPPY = I'll get to it whenever (which is why I am retiring there in 5 more years!)

 

[DiverBoyEd]

Ruba Rentals - the best car rental price on the island

The Paddock - will never go there again, the little downtown restaurant/bar treated us list dirt

Dive Aruba - A great way to dive, he only does 6 people maximum. We had 4, 2 for diving and 2 for snorkel and he was great getting us to both at the same time

 

[SkipperJohn]

I looked up all the dive shops in Aruba form PADI. The Way The World Learns to Dive. I e-mailed them all. After 1 week, I got 2 responses (& a third from an Aruba forum).
Based on the responses, the clear winner is Unique for the following reasons.
1- their response was so professional. Every base was fully covered. Word attachments with fees, credit card forms, etc.
2- they are located about 1 mile form where I stay (St Nicholas is at the other end of the island).
3- the info they sent me had a whole section on OW referrals

While my point #1 may not mean much, I read between the lines and said, if they pay this much attention to their e-mails, then perhaps this is an indication of how they care for their equipment and customers.

I've been boating for over 40 years. They break down. It happens so I cant hold that against them.
getting this decision behind me is so darn exciting! I cant wait!

Thanks all for your responses!

 

[cmaha76]

John, the exact same thing happened to me. I had read wonderful reviews about several dive ops. in Aruba and I ended up with Unique because they were the only ones who actually contacted me back.

Have fun in Aruba! Feel free to PM me if I can be of any further service.