blawler1
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- I just don't log dives
Aruba is known for its beaches, but it does have some good diving. The are a handful of operators running boats to various locations starting at the sw reefs and going up to the Antilla wreck up past Palm Beach. The Antilla used to be an awesome site with lots of swim throughs, but I heard the hurricane closed much of this up and collapsed it so it is no longer visible from shore. There is good shore diving, although it's not marked with nice yellow stones like Bonaire. It's best to have a set of wheels because many of the best dive sites are on the south side of the island away from the beaches and hotels.
Although many on this board avoid them due to the borish behaviour of the owner Carlos, we pick up tanks and weights from Mermaid Divers because they are located right off the main highway between Eagle and Palm Beaches, are always close to where we're staying and because the dive shop is built on side of his house, dropping off tanks after hours is not a problem.
The best shore dive I've found is called Pos Chiquito or Puerto Chiquito (aka Rocky Beach). You can ask any of the operators on the island and they should be able to direct you there as I understand this is where most of the local operators conduct open water training on the island as well as conduct guided shore dives because of the set up. It is about 5 to 7 miles south of Oranjestad on the road to San Nicholaas just before the Pos Chiquito sign. This site is as close to a typical Bonaire dive site as I found on Aruba as it has abundant coral development and fish life. Coral formation starts about 50 to 100 yards off shore (you have to walk or surface swim much of this distance as the water is very shallow)
The reef starts in about 10' (an engine block is an underwater refence for the best decent spot) and slopes down to over 100'. Last December we experienced 84 degree water with about 70 vis which seems to be typical. It is big enough that you could do several tanks and not cover it all. There are some other sites such as Malto Hato just to the north, De Palma Island (which now cost $60) and Baby Beach on the southern tip, which are good shore dives as well.
Although many on this board avoid them due to the borish behaviour of the owner Carlos, we pick up tanks and weights from Mermaid Divers because they are located right off the main highway between Eagle and Palm Beaches, are always close to where we're staying and because the dive shop is built on side of his house, dropping off tanks after hours is not a problem.
The best shore dive I've found is called Pos Chiquito or Puerto Chiquito (aka Rocky Beach). You can ask any of the operators on the island and they should be able to direct you there as I understand this is where most of the local operators conduct open water training on the island as well as conduct guided shore dives because of the set up. It is about 5 to 7 miles south of Oranjestad on the road to San Nicholaas just before the Pos Chiquito sign. This site is as close to a typical Bonaire dive site as I found on Aruba as it has abundant coral development and fish life. Coral formation starts about 50 to 100 yards off shore (you have to walk or surface swim much of this distance as the water is very shallow)
The reef starts in about 10' (an engine block is an underwater refence for the best decent spot) and slopes down to over 100'. Last December we experienced 84 degree water with about 70 vis which seems to be typical. It is big enough that you could do several tanks and not cover it all. There are some other sites such as Malto Hato just to the north, De Palma Island (which now cost $60) and Baby Beach on the southern tip, which are good shore dives as well.
