Aruba trip

[self]

My dive instuctor is going to Aruba with two of his students. He would like to do their OW cert. while they are down there. Is there any charter that would allow him to do that. I herd that Dive Aruba may be a good option.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[mike_s]

I've never heard anything bad about Dive Aruba or Clive (the owner/operator). Check with him. I'm sure Pelican would allow it also as they seemed pretty nice (I dove with them). Also heard good things about Unique Watersports.

For students, the Pedernalis dive is a good beginning dive for them. average depth is 10 to 20 feet and has part of a wreck torpedoed from WWII there. Lots of fish life as the snorkle boats feed the fish. Due to shallow depth, lots of sunlight and happily fead fish means great photo op site also. He can also dive them on the Antilla, a 400 foot freighter in about 55' of water but the wreck protudes the surface, so he could keep them shallow if needed at first.

Other shallow sites would be Arashi and Malmook reef areas, but I don't know of scheduled dive boat trips to there, but the snorkle boats go there. Clive might do it as he runs a smaller boat than Pelican, etc.

Redsail is the other big operator on the island. While I've never used them, most reviews of them include the words "cattle boat" so I've steered away from them. They tend to cater ot the Marriott, Hyatt, and Cruise boat crowds and add them all up on one boat and it gets crowded.

hope that helps. -mike

 

[crpntr133]

Might give Pelican a try.

 

[adamf]

Might give Pelican a try.

Did you use Pelican? How'd it go?

Thanks for any info,
Adam

 

[mike_s]

I used Pelican. And I'd use them again. They run a pretty good operation.


The boats where never crowded and they have a schedule they can email you.
2 tank dives werw $55 and 1 tank dives werw $35.

The offer free pick up and drop off if you ask for it (in advance). They also will let you store your gear in their shop on the pier.

PM if you have more questions.

-Mike

 

[Dragon2115]

Another option would be to shore dive if they have a vehicle. Check out shorediving.com Mangel Halto is a very easy dive for a first time in open water. S.E. Aruba uses it for the first training dive in their OW course. In the lagoon the max depth is about 20' with a crushed coral/sand bottom. If you look closely you can find blennies and goby's and maybe a french angel or two there. Other than that the lagoon is as boring as a swimming pool. It's a good site because there's nothing to get in trouble with so a beginner can get themselves sorted out.

There's another good site about 1/4 to 1/2 down the road from that, Puerto Chiquitos, that has a nice slope to it, good coral formations, and a variety of critters to see. If you read the current right you can enter at either Puerto Chiquitos or Magel Halto and follow the slope and exit at the other site. The down side is someone has to walk to get the car.

I liked both of these sites because they were quiet. When we were there we were the only divers around. It was nice because you could focus on what you were doing without any distractions. Also with the shore dive you get to make and execute the dive plan and then evaluate how you did. That kind of experience would be a valuable confidence builder while in training. I wish they made us do that instead of just giving us a dive briefing and then just having us calculate our pressure group afterward.

 

[crpntr133]

Did you use Pelican? How'd it go?

Thanks for any info,
Adam

Sorry I ddin't respond sooner, I unsubscribed from this thread.

I used Pelican and it was from a cruise ship, Holland America. I was very pleased with this company. They were good from the time they picked us up at the dock till the time they dropped us off. They even gave us a small tour of the island on the way back to the dock. They also had a AOW dive the same day that I was there and everyone that I talked to loved it.
If I had to complain about anything it would have been the fact that the "captain" of the boat sat on his duff while I doffed my fins and weight belt and climbed on the boat. Needless to say he didn't get a tip nor a thank you. It didn't make me mad but it was rather rude of him.

 

[Nicholas Harvey]

My dive instuctor is going to Aruba with two of his students. He would like to do their OW cert. while they are down there. Is there any charter that would allow him to do that. I herd that Dive Aruba may be a good option.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Clive at Dive Aruba is really good - he's alittle gruff at times and is definately no nonsense - but he knows his island, small groups on a small, fast boat and gives you a lot of freedom and all the bottom time you can stand - my wife and I stayed down an hour and a half on our last dive and he was totally cool with it! We dived a week with him and enjoyed it thouroughly. He's a great guide and can take you all around and inside the wrecks - I think we only did two dives that didn't at least start at a wreck! He's pretty flexible so I wouldn't be surprised if he can accomodate.
Have fun!