Aruba vs Bonaire?

would love some feedback on diving in Aruba (in December) We've been to Bonaire, but wondering if Aruba diving is the same, since the airfares are much better to Aruba from where I am. Is shore diving available as it is on Bonaire? Any comments appreciated.

Did 14 dives on Aruba. Where are you staying? Most of the sites are on the West and South side of the island. The West side is pretty calm and has most of the wrecks..Antillla, Star Gerrend, Debbie 2, Pedernales (more a reef at this point). The south side has more current (basically a drift dive), lots of reefs, and some sunken airplanes. The south side is definitely rockier so make sure you take some mescaline/antivert before going on the boat.

I am more of a wreck person so I enjoyed and was happy diving on the West Side. My perfect west side dive would be to do the Star Gerrand* and the Antilla, or the Debbie 2 and the Antilla.

I used 3 dive operators while down there because I wanted to really get a feel for the best one. They were all pretty good. If you are @ or near the Marriott I would recommend Diveversity (DiveVersity Aruba - Noord - Reviews of DiveVersity Aruba - TripAdvisor) There pricing for single dives is slightly higher, but if you do a package it balances out and is very cheap. The owner, Marcel, is also a very reasonable guy and gives nice discounts for paying in cash ("You save me money, I save you money") and if you have partial gear. They were also pretty good with letting the divers pick the dive sites and accommodating requests.

If you closer to the south side or want more south side dives than I recommend Dive with Clive who is also an excellent operation, but doesn't go to the West end as much as I would like because his marina is on the Southside.

You should look into Curacao as well. I haven't tried Aruba, but have dived Bonaire and Curacao many times. I find the diving in Curacao to be similar, but the island has more flights and many more top side options. You might also look into the regional airline insel air. They have flights between the ABC islands.

Aruba isn't much like Bonaire, underwater or topside. There's some shore diving available on Aruba but it's not a shore diving haven like Bonaire and doesn't have "Bonaire style" dive resorts. You hear more about boat diving there, and not as much of that either. It does have more wrecks to dive. Above water Aruba has lots more people, shopping, big hotels, restaurants, and lots of American tourists, hence the favorable flights.

I would second the comment about Curacao - the diving has more similarities to Bonaire, though the island and diving are different in their own way. Air service to Curacao isn't as cheap and easy as Aruba, but usually better than Bonaire. Or as mentioned, you can look into inter-island flights, though that can come with it's own headaches and eat up your savings from a cheaper flight.

(If you look at a bathymetric map of the South American coast, you'll see that Aruba lies in shallower water on the continental shelf, while Curacao and Bonaire are near the edge or off, which makes them very different UW than you would expect from just looking at a regular map.)

Aruba is OK. If you're going anyway, it's worth diving, but I would not plan it as a dive trip. Topside is generally more expensive and it's far more developed and touristy. The vis was not as good as Bonaire and the reefs weren't as nice. I don't care that much for wrecks (at least when there are reefs around), so I did not dive the wrecks. It definitely has more wrecks than Bonaire, so if you like that sort of thing it would be an advantage. Unless the airfare difference is a lot of money, which I would define as $500/person more, I would go to Bonaire. I like the atmosphere and diving a LOT better and I am sure I could save the airfare difference in food and lodging. Airfares are almost always better to Aruba because it's a more popular destination for the non-diving beach-and-casino crowd, who also seem to like to eat at the same over-priced chain restaurants you can find in the States.

In June I found diving in Bonaire to be superior to diving Aruba. It may have been due to better water conditions in Bonaire. The winds were blowing in Aruba and the vis was substantially less. However I did see a few critters in Aruba that I didn't see in Bonaire, so I wasn't disappointed and the operator I dove with (Dive Aruba... Dive with Clive) was a good one.

I have only dove in 2/3 (Aruba & Curacao but am currently planning a trip to Bonaire) and it was explained to me like this. Aruba has fine diving and the most non diving activities. Curacao is really giid diving with fine non diving activities. Bonaire has the best diving with the least non diving activities.

I second looking into Insul air.

Aruba is where you go to vacation and maybe do a little diving.
Bonaire and Curacao are where you go to dive.

Eat, Sleep, Dive?

WizardTrips:

I have only dove in 2/3 (Aruba & Curacao but am currently planning a trip to Bonaire) and it was explained to me like this. Aruba has fine diving and the most non diving activities. Curacao is really giid diving with fine non diving activities. Bonaire has the best diving with the least non diving activities.

Click to expand...

Who told you that?