Diving in Aruba????

[Mark Hitter]

Hi all,

We are planning a diving trip to Aruba and then on to Bonaire in November.
Where planning on staying 2 weeks on Aruba and 1 week on Bonaire.
Do any of you have any diving experience in Aruba and if so can you recommend me some good and reliable dive operators over there.
On this board we have gather lots of information on diving in Bonaire but there isn’t much off Aruba.

Many thanks.

Mark Hitter

 

[MikeS]

Mark,

I completed my OW certification in Aruba last April.

The water was warm, 80 degrees, as was the visibility 60 to 100 feet. On the leeward side where most of the dives are there is little to no surf. If there are any beach dives they are not well advertised so most of the diving is boat. The boat rides are not long though, with most sites being within 15 minutes of the dock.

There are some good reefs with lots of wildlife and a few good wrecks, most notable is the Antilla which is big, 400 feet long

There are two big operators Red Sail Sports http://www.redsail.com/aruba-d.html and Pelican Adventures http://www.pelican-aruba.com/. I dove with both, they seem to be clones for the most part, dives are guided tours led by a DM. The boats were in excellent shape and well maintained. I had my own equipment but my wife rented. The rental equipment from Pelican was a little worn and crusty, we will take all of our own next time. I do not think that I will ever take any training there again as they seemed more interested in making money than providing quality training.

We have a timeshare there so will be going back in April. I think I will checkout some of the smaller operators next time and try to get away from the guided tour dives.

Mike

 

[herman]

Hello Mark and welcome to the board. I can't help with Aruba but if you need any info on Bonaire, just ask. I love the island. Here is a web site that you may find useful. There are a lot of people on the Bonaire board including several that live on the island. A lot of the resort operators also check the board as well..

http://www.BonaireTalk.com/newsgroup/messages/board-topics.html

 

[Kat]

I dove Aruba Aug 2002. I did lots of research before I went and ended up diving with Native Diver. Had considered Red Sail & Pelican but they are cattle boats, which I don't like. Also, have heard from many divers that Red Sail will bump you when the cruise ships are in. Native Diver was great, a one man op. & ends up we were the only divers f/ the whole week. That was really nice! Romeo was a blast. The weather was extra windy the week we were there so the seas were very rough. There were some dive sites we were unable to dive, due to the rough seas. But saw some wrecks(ship & plane) & some reefs.

 

[Mark Hitter]

Hi Kat,

First of all I want to thank you for the information.
The operation Native Diver sounds good.
Do you have an E-mail address or site that can provide more information?
Many thanks

Mark Hitter

 

[Kat]

Hi Mark,

Native Diver has a web site, it's: www.nativediver.com Also e-mail: nativedivers@setarnet.aw

We had a great time with Romeo. His prices were competitive w/ the other dive ops. He's honest & very knowledgeable. As well as being a fun guy to dive with. If you dive with him tell him Karen & Pat, from Chicago, say 'Hi'. (Pat sent him the tool catalog.)

Aruba is really not a great diving vacation, but there's still some interesting things to see. We did 1 shore dive, at night. Which I enjoyed very much, Romeo called it Rocky Beach aka The Hole In The Wall. We were almost eaten alive by mosquitos while gearing up. That was the worst part of the dive.

Look forward to reading about your dive adventures, when you get back.

Kat

 

[DavidE]

Hi Mark

I've been to Aruba several times and the diving is mostly what you make of it. I only used Red Sails since they were the most convenient and inexpensive. They were not a cattle boat but they are a business so reservations are usually necessary. My latest trip was in August 2002 which was a difficult time for diving the best sites - the south shore. Wind and chop in the south can get nasty and reboarding the boat can be hazardous to shins, knees and equipment. I had a strobe kicked off its camera mount at the last minute with the boat in a strong, wind driven drift. When the chop and the wind is not bad (as in 2000 and 2001) then the south shore can be a great place to dive.

The north shore is shallower, has lower vis, two awesome wrecks and a few nice reefs. There's lots of life so if you look, you'll find arrow crabs, lobsters, stonefish,etc. If you don't look, the diving is mediocre for the mediocre diver. I ended up with a number of awesome photos, so I can't complain.

Expect to have a great time no matter who you dive with 'cause the natives are friendly. Just don't expect sharks and Mantas and enjoy the plentiful life that's there.

:doctor: DavidE

 

[DocVikingo]

From a search of the board archives--->
http://www.scubaboard.com/search.ph...d=169158&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[lil sis]

hey I dove with Native Diver as a Discover Scuba diver and Romeo treated me like I was his own child. I highly reccomend him.

 

[KidK9]

I dove with Red Sail Sports for about 6 dives about 2 or 3 years ago (I'd have to check my log). DO NOT dive with them. I loved the diving, but the operation was terrible. Too many people on the boat, not eough personal attention, picked me up 45 minutes late everyday. The list just goes on and on. It's a cattle operation.