Aruba Shop Suggestions

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Are you saying chain dive shops, or chain hotels/resorts with dive shops? I’ve never been to Aruba, but am thinking about it, so I’m sincerely curious.
Most resort companies that have multiple resorts use the same company for the dive shops at all of their resorts across the Caribbean and Mexico and they (the dive shops) usually have a high employee turn over and their staff aren't usually local people and they also run cattle boats. The first time I went to Aruba I used an on site dive shop and there were 24 divers and 2 guides on the boat, never again. I only use small local dive shops now.
 
UPDATE, I have just returned home today to the cold and snow. I did 22 boat dives and one night shore dive with Jads. The advice I received her was accurate. Great service and fun atmosphere all the while running a safe operation.

Dives were maxed at 60 minutes and people who blew through their tanks quicker were escorted through their safety stops and then the DM returned to the group to complete the dives.

Thanks for the help.
 
UPDATE, I have just returned home today to the cold and snow. I did 22 boat dives and one night shore dive with Jads. The advice I received her was accurate. Great service and fun atmosphere all the while running a safe operation.

Dives were maxed at 60 minutes and people who blew through their tanks quicker were escorted through their safety stops and then the DM returned to the group to complete the dives.

Thanks for the help.
Thanks for reporting back and glad to hear you had a great time (and tons of dives!) with Jads. I’ll be back down diving with them in June and really looking forward to it!
 
JADS seems to be uniformly well liked. However, other than JADS, are there any other reputable shops further north?
Has anyone used Happy Divers Aruba or Palm Beach Divers?
thank you
 
JADS seems to be uniformly well liked. However, other than JADS, are there any other reputable shops further north?
Has anyone used Happy Divers Aruba or Palm Beach Divers?
thank you
Just an FYI in case you weren't aware, Jads' shop is at Baby Beach but their boat picks up all but Thursdays at the marina behind the airport. Thursdays they leave from the dock by Jolly Pirates at Palm Beach.
 
Just an FYI in case you weren't aware, Jads' shop is at Baby Beach but their boat picks up all but Thursdays at the marina behind the airport. Thursdays they leave from the dock by Jolly Pirates at Palm
I knew of them being based at Baby Beach and it is 30-45 min drive down south - longer if cruise ship is in… I did not know that on Thursday they use the dock by Jolly Pirates! Thank you!
Does any one have any experiences with the shops up north?
 
I knew of them being based at Baby Beach and it is 30-45 min drive down south - longer if cruise ship is in… I did not know that on Thursday they use the dock by Jolly Pirates! Thank you!
Does any one have any experiences with the shops up north?

I've dived with a several dive operators on Aruba to get a sense of how they differ, and to gauge which are what I would consider the best (professional, fun, and safe). There are some smaller companies I have yet to try, because I keep returning to support my few favorites.

Aqua Windie's ( Diving, Snorkeling & Swimming | Aqua Windie's | Aruba ) - great team of Instructors, DM's, and other crew and staff who all apparently love what they do; nice, roomy boat; they also have one of the only two remaining real dive shops* on the island; shop is easy to find, located close to both the low-rise and high-rise hotels

Pure Diving Aruba ( Pure Diving Aruba - Aruba's Eco Dive Center - SDI & PADI - Home Page ) - well-run operation and fun to dive with; comfortable boat with a head; I believe they're the island's only SDI-affiliated dive op (co-owned by two SDI Course Directors, should you wish to do your IDC on Aruba), although they're also PADI-affiliated; Pure's dock is tucked among the mangroves near the airport; they dive every day of the year but January 1st; Pure is the only op I've dived-with that does a UV night shore dive

JADS ( JADS Aruba - Diving Aruba - Where underwater dreams come true. ) - as previously stated in this thread, are a lot of fun to dive with and will typically run dives based on air consumption; the crew (especially Susan) readily share a wealth of interesting facts about the marine life; I've only dived with JADS from their berth at the Varadera Marina "behind" the airport, but they're easy enough to find; JADS has the other of the two remaining real dive shops* on the island (located at the southern end of Aruba between Rodger's and Baby beaches); JADS is the only shop I've dived-with that dives Aruba's deepest wrecks (Topaz, Morning Star, Mi Dushi at 100-130ft)

* by "real dive shop" I mean one that stocks dive gear (masks, fins, BCDs, wetsuits, accessories, et cetera)​

I believe the only Aruban "chain dive shop", to which Ontwreckdiver referred, ceased dive operations on Aruba in 2021. I dove with them once and enjoyed the crew and the boat, but they catered primarily to high-rise guests and were a bit of a hassle to get to unless you were staying at the Riu.

Palm Beach Divers ( Dive - Palm Beach Divers Aruba ) - very professionally-run but also a lot of fun; very comfortable boat; they have a small shop at the beach, among the high-rise hotels, a minute walk to the dock where their boat is located

Red Sail Sports ( http://www.redsailaruba.com/ ) - a larger company that hosts various water-related activities (diving, sailing, wind and kite surfing, et cetera); comfortable boat; being a larger operation, diving is somewhat regimented (dives are a maximum of 40-45 minutes); Red Sail has a number of shop locations, however, their shops primarily stock beachwear, sunglasses, souvenirs, et cetera (not dive gear)

I've also dived with a couple other companies, and while I had a lot of fun, I definitely noticed greater priority given to fun over safety. For a local this may not be an issue, but for someone on vacation it should be a consideration.

Finally, not all of these companies dive the same sites or even areas of the coast, so check-out the descriptions on their web sites of their regular dives sites. I'd also suggest not putting-off booking, as some of these dive ops take divers from cruise ships, thus their boats fill-up quickly.

Hope that's helpful.
 
Their website, as well as a couple of other shop’s websites, doesn’t show tank rental prices. Is renting tanks and doing your own shore dives a thing in Aruba or is it strictly guided boat/shore dives?

Erik

While there is some decent shore diving on Aruba, it isn't like Bonaire—most shops do not rent cylinders, but do offer guided shore diving.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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