The diving in Aruba is good, but can been all done in a couple of days. Plenty of cattle car dive charters and a couple small operations that provide a personal service.
Go to the Dive shops and talk to them. They'll give you the specifics you need to decide who to dive with. Most of them have a Maximum bottom time of 45 min and stick to it.
Some will go as long as you want if you charter the boat. Fly'n dive says the bottom time is up to you and Native divers he'll do it if you charter his boat.
Jane C Wreck and Airplanes where worth while dives, both easy Penetration. recommend those. I never got to the Antilla, weather was not cooperation with that one. reefs are the same for the most part but The Harbor Reef had the most sea life to view. The Valleys or aka Fingers was a good reef to dive since it has depth and a drop off.
DO not use UNIQUE Water Sports for Scuba Diving.!!! terrible experience.
its a long story but I will give you the short version.
Arrived, checked in, filled out paperwork and loaded the boat. Instructed to set up gear and then we waited. The DIVE Master asked to borrow MY knife twice to fix an equipment issue, twice. hmm I think that should have been a sign right there.
Sitting at the pier, we waited almost an hour for them to repair the throttle controls to the boat. It was a smaller craft and we had only 8 divers. Two larger crafts where not in use tied off shore. but we waited..
So, we get going.. then i noticed no Oxygen or emergency kits located on the boat AS advertised on there web site.
Hit the dive site and get to a Wreck and spend less then 10 minutes on the wreck. (Jane C) and then continue on with a Drift Dive.
So we surface, and guess where the boat was... still tied on the wreck and you can see the CPT climbing up and down trying to get the boat running... Mean while we are drifting further way from him and the only other dive charter near by. AFTER 45 minutes of waiting, another diver charter that was next to them came and got us...
will crowded on that boat and then transfered back to ours. so after the surface interval, the boat was still dead. Batterys spent and the Diver master borrowed my Knife again to help attempt repairs...
With a dead boat we went in for our second dive and swam against the current and drifted back to the boat.. surface on the boat, that was now running after someone came and did a jump start. Climbed aboard, with exhaust port in my face and just all around disappointed with the dive.
the Smart decision would have been to not Dive a second tank. What if there was a Diver emergency.... The boat still had dead batteries when we went in. I learned a lesson there... should have refused.
SO we get back to the peir and it's occupied by construction barge and crews. one working space to load an unload was ocuppied. SO we waited again for almost half hour to get of the boat.
get to the shop and they offered no apologies or consideration for the lost time, and terrible dive. They didn't care at all.. all the customers voiced there disappointment and no compensation in return.
Thats the short Version... more to it and I will never try them again... they are a cattle car operation and failed miserable.
