I just got back from 5 days of diving in Aruba and I wanted to share a brief overview of my trip. My wife is a non diver and I wanted to find a location that she would enjoy as much as I would. My only tropical diving to date has been the Florida keys. Aruba wasn't the first choice that came up when searching these boards for a dive centric trip, but I wanted something that would be a good topside destination as well. In the end I was blown away by the quality of the diving.
Dive Op:
I went with JADS based on all of the reviews I found. Based on my experience, and everything I saw from other operations when I was on the island, JADS was a very good choice. The captain was great and all of the dive masters did a fantastic job. The boat is docked near the airport, and leaves at 9:00am for 2 tank dives. They offer transport to the dock, but I rented a car for the week. The sites take about 10 minutes to get to on average. The dives are done as basic drift dives. Everyone gets in the water and then the dive master leads the group down. Some dives can be deep, one wreck had the bottom around 140ft. However, anyone with only OW was led by a separate DM and stayed at 60ft or higher. As soon as someone gets to 800 psi, the DM takes them up, but lets others (as long as there are 2 or more) stay below. My average dive length was 60 minutes throughout my 10 dives. I always had more air, but the DM ended the dives once they got to an hour. Once everyone is back on the boat, they do a 60 minute SI in a fairly sheltered area. The second dive is normally shallower. JADS was very safety conscious, and didn't allow anyone to do a second dive who blew their safety stop. As a side note, I was a single diver, and they didn't force the awkward "fake buddy" assignment. A DM was always part of the dive. Even when I was the only diver who was able to go to a deeper wreck, the DM and I went together, and I didn't pay any extra.
Dive Sites:
Aruba is more known for wrecks than reefs, but I personally found the reefs to be far better than expected. Of the wrecks I did, the Jane Sea (especially the wheel house) was a complete standout. It was far more life covered than anything I have ever seen in the keys. JADS runs a weekly schedule, so anyone visiting Aruba should find a way to dive the day they go to the Jane Sea. That said, the rest of the wrecks were nothing special in my mind.
Sea Life:
The reefs were the real highlight of my trip. I am a coral fanatic, and I was very happy to see the reefs around Aruba for that reason. They are healthier and far more lush than I expected. While I saw very little staghorn and elkhorn coral, there was a lot more thriving hard coral than I thought would be there. Huge maze brains, lettuce corals, star corals, and others abounded. There were also the huge number of soft corals and sponges you would expect in the southern Caribbean. As for the stuff most people care about: I saw manta rays, sea turtles, 2 nurse sharks (they came out of a small cave less than 10 feet in front of me), barracudas, octopus, spiny lobster, moray and leopard eels, leafy lettuce slugs, rainbow parrotfish, trumpet fish, sea cucumbers, grouper, flounder, etc. There wasn't an abundance of "big stuff", but I found every dive exciting and expect most people would as well.
Aruba Topside:
Everyone has different expectations topside. Some don't care about the accommodations and aren't picky eaters. Others just want to party. For those, I am confident that Aruba has options available, most likely around the Eagle beach area or off the beach entirely. Myself, I like to live it up on vacation, though I don't drink. I want to stay at a nice place and enjoy fine dining. I stayed at Manchebo Beach. It is a smaller hotel with a huge beautiful beach, and some very nice restaurants (we didn't opt for all inclusive, but it was an option). While pricey, it was exactly what my wife and I were after. That said, I am happy to lay on the beach all afternoon while listening to music and reading books. If you are looking for more activities, I don't know that Aruba has much to offer.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, I think Aruba has a lot to offer anyone looking to dive the Caribbean. It isn't the hardcore dive destination that Bonaire is advertised as. But, for those content to dive 2 tanks a day (and the occasional afternoon shore dive or night dive) and want an island with good food and sandy beaches, Aruba could be a good choice.
Bonus Video:
Here is a video I took while there. Disclaimer, this is the very first time I have ever used a GoPro, let alone done underwater video. I rented the camera for $35 from the dive shop. I only used it on 2 of my 10 dives, so I didn't get a chance to capture a lot of the best dives. I apologize for the quality, but hopefully it gives you an idea of the diving.
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Dive Op:
I went with JADS based on all of the reviews I found. Based on my experience, and everything I saw from other operations when I was on the island, JADS was a very good choice. The captain was great and all of the dive masters did a fantastic job. The boat is docked near the airport, and leaves at 9:00am for 2 tank dives. They offer transport to the dock, but I rented a car for the week. The sites take about 10 minutes to get to on average. The dives are done as basic drift dives. Everyone gets in the water and then the dive master leads the group down. Some dives can be deep, one wreck had the bottom around 140ft. However, anyone with only OW was led by a separate DM and stayed at 60ft or higher. As soon as someone gets to 800 psi, the DM takes them up, but lets others (as long as there are 2 or more) stay below. My average dive length was 60 minutes throughout my 10 dives. I always had more air, but the DM ended the dives once they got to an hour. Once everyone is back on the boat, they do a 60 minute SI in a fairly sheltered area. The second dive is normally shallower. JADS was very safety conscious, and didn't allow anyone to do a second dive who blew their safety stop. As a side note, I was a single diver, and they didn't force the awkward "fake buddy" assignment. A DM was always part of the dive. Even when I was the only diver who was able to go to a deeper wreck, the DM and I went together, and I didn't pay any extra.
Dive Sites:
Aruba is more known for wrecks than reefs, but I personally found the reefs to be far better than expected. Of the wrecks I did, the Jane Sea (especially the wheel house) was a complete standout. It was far more life covered than anything I have ever seen in the keys. JADS runs a weekly schedule, so anyone visiting Aruba should find a way to dive the day they go to the Jane Sea. That said, the rest of the wrecks were nothing special in my mind.
Sea Life:
The reefs were the real highlight of my trip. I am a coral fanatic, and I was very happy to see the reefs around Aruba for that reason. They are healthier and far more lush than I expected. While I saw very little staghorn and elkhorn coral, there was a lot more thriving hard coral than I thought would be there. Huge maze brains, lettuce corals, star corals, and others abounded. There were also the huge number of soft corals and sponges you would expect in the southern Caribbean. As for the stuff most people care about: I saw manta rays, sea turtles, 2 nurse sharks (they came out of a small cave less than 10 feet in front of me), barracudas, octopus, spiny lobster, moray and leopard eels, leafy lettuce slugs, rainbow parrotfish, trumpet fish, sea cucumbers, grouper, flounder, etc. There wasn't an abundance of "big stuff", but I found every dive exciting and expect most people would as well.
Aruba Topside:
Everyone has different expectations topside. Some don't care about the accommodations and aren't picky eaters. Others just want to party. For those, I am confident that Aruba has options available, most likely around the Eagle beach area or off the beach entirely. Myself, I like to live it up on vacation, though I don't drink. I want to stay at a nice place and enjoy fine dining. I stayed at Manchebo Beach. It is a smaller hotel with a huge beautiful beach, and some very nice restaurants (we didn't opt for all inclusive, but it was an option). While pricey, it was exactly what my wife and I were after. That said, I am happy to lay on the beach all afternoon while listening to music and reading books. If you are looking for more activities, I don't know that Aruba has much to offer.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, I think Aruba has a lot to offer anyone looking to dive the Caribbean. It isn't the hardcore dive destination that Bonaire is advertised as. But, for those content to dive 2 tanks a day (and the occasional afternoon shore dive or night dive) and want an island with good food and sandy beaches, Aruba could be a good choice.
Bonus Video:
Here is a video I took while there. Disclaimer, this is the very first time I have ever used a GoPro, let alone done underwater video. I rented the camera for $35 from the dive shop. I only used it on 2 of my 10 dives, so I didn't get a chance to capture a lot of the best dives. I apologize for the quality, but hopefully it gives you an idea of the diving.
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