Good Morning Everyone . I have a question as im a new diver

[Joneill]

I have been to Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba about 20 times myself and Aruba is last choice for me.

But, as you said, to each his own

I’ve never been to Curacao so can’t comment - but aside from the good diving, Bonaire is not a great tourist destination. It’s not even remotely on the same level as Aruba for the things most folks look for in a tropical island destination.

 

[BoltSnap]

Curacao has better everything for everyone, diving and "tourist". There are many touristy places in town to entertain the non-divers or the those with other interests in addition to diving where diving isn't on the top of their list with diving that will keep the hard core diver busy. I have run group trips to Curacao and Bonaire with as many as 30 people that included all types of people including non-divers and there was something to do for everyone and they were all happy. Aruba isn't anywhere near that. I have had couples and groups book trips to Aruba through my dive center and they wouldn't go there again after visiting Curacao.

Bonaire is for the hard core diver or for the non-diver who wants minimal distractions from their water based activities or sitting at the beach reading a book and sipping their cold drink.

 

[jonhall]

We are looking to go to Aruba for or honeymoon can anyone suggest good dive spots or guides there

Was there for a week in June 2009 - headed back again for 2 weeks in January after our 2021 trip was cancelled.

Dove with Dive Aruba (Dive with Clive) who is still operating. He was a 1 man show - DM, boat captain, crew, etc... He would take the group down, stay about 20-25 minutes, and then go back and get the boat to pick you up where he thought/knew you were coming up - most of the dives were drift dives - one day it was just my buddy and me!. These were dives 18-25 for me - pretty crazy, but good, experience considering I had so few prior dives. Think Clive has an assistant now, maybe his son, so may not operate the same way. My buddy won't dive with Dive Aruba again - I would be okay with them.

Several good dive shops. I would choose ones close to where you stay.

Like this advice. We are staying toward the north end of the island and will choose a dive op accordingly. Not sure how soon the OP is going, but I started putting together a spreadsheet of dive ops, with basic info, which I will share here once I update a few things - some prices have gone up! Several of the ops do offer free pickup and drop-off at the hotels. There are a lot of good dive sites and the wrecks are okay for new or experienced divers.

There is also enough to keep one busy on non-diving days (at least for a week.) I'm looking forward to going back.