JoeTPhilly
Contributor
I spent 2 weeks in Aruba last month and wanted to give a brief report. Aruba really isn't a scuba destination but some diving is better than no diving. I go with my girlfriend and family and am the only diver so I go diving in the mornings and get back to the room around 1 pm for lunch. We then enjoy the beach, pool or whatever.
The past two years I dove with S.E. Aruba Fly N Dive. I was thinking of diving with other operators so I looked into JADS and Agua Windies.
JADS was the most responsive with emails and information. I was planning on diving with them but a couple things turned me off. The main one being the boat didn't have a head. I don't want to be on a boat for 4 or 5 hours without a head. Another was the person seemed to want a deposit and I was still deciding. The emails just rubbed me the wrong way so they were eliminated.
Agua Windies took a bit of time to respond to my email but I got a good feeling about the operation. They have a nice boat with a head. They seem to have positive reviews so I was leaning to use them during the trip.
S.E. Aruba Fly N Dive is who I ended up diving with again. They have a great boat with a head. The DMs and crew are good and fun. They have free pickup and drop-off. They have a couple DIN tanks while the other two ops I was looking at only had yoke. Also, I dove with them the past couple of years so I ended up diving with them again. They were great but they frequent a lot of the same dive sites. I dove 8 days so in those 16 dives there were quite a few repeats. I think next year I will dive with Agua Windies at least for a day or two for a change of scenery.
We go to Aruba for topside stuff but decent diving can be done; just don't have high expectations.
The past two years I dove with S.E. Aruba Fly N Dive. I was thinking of diving with other operators so I looked into JADS and Agua Windies.
JADS was the most responsive with emails and information. I was planning on diving with them but a couple things turned me off. The main one being the boat didn't have a head. I don't want to be on a boat for 4 or 5 hours without a head. Another was the person seemed to want a deposit and I was still deciding. The emails just rubbed me the wrong way so they were eliminated.
Agua Windies took a bit of time to respond to my email but I got a good feeling about the operation. They have a nice boat with a head. They seem to have positive reviews so I was leaning to use them during the trip.
S.E. Aruba Fly N Dive is who I ended up diving with again. They have a great boat with a head. The DMs and crew are good and fun. They have free pickup and drop-off. They have a couple DIN tanks while the other two ops I was looking at only had yoke. Also, I dove with them the past couple of years so I ended up diving with them again. They were great but they frequent a lot of the same dive sites. I dove 8 days so in those 16 dives there were quite a few repeats. I think next year I will dive with Agua Windies at least for a day or two for a change of scenery.
We go to Aruba for topside stuff but decent diving can be done; just don't have high expectations.