Aruba

WHY?

Aruba is your spot if you’re looking for a spot where you can balance out a moderate amount of boat diving with lots of other activities or restaurants. It also might be your spot if you’re looking for a high concentration of wrecks in the caribbean. It also has some great setups for working remotely for extended periods. Nearly all dives are done on 2-tank boat dives. There are a few shore dive options but you’ll likely need a guide the first time you hit each one and they’re spaced far apart. It is not your spot if you’re budget conscious or if you’re looking to maximize dives in a week.

 

WHAT’S THE DIVING LIKE?

Aruba is a small island in the southern Carribean, just north of Venezuela. It has a complicated colonial history and is now affiliated with the Netherlands and is part of the Dutch Antilles. It is the “A” of the ABC Islands – Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Of the three it is the most heavily American. It is probably the least diving friendly of the three islands because nearly all diving has to be done by boat which makes it pricier and less flexible, and often also limits diving to 2 tanks per day. That being said, you can still have a great dive vacation here.

The diving is all on the west side of the island. The ends, to the north and south, have large sandy shelves extending far offshore. The middle two thirds is one long continuous reef with occasional sandy spots or wrecks. The reef starts anywhere from 5 yards to 100+ yards offshore. The top, to the east, is usually in just a couple feet of water and it will slope down to the west and become sand again somewhere between 60 and 150 feet. 

The dive sites are mostly right next to each other on the reef one after another without clear boundaries. Most dives start by swimming down the slope to ~60 feet and then the rest of the dive is spent slowly working your way back up. It’s pretty common for the dives to be “one way”, sometimes with a current that helps you along a bit and other times solely on your own slow kicking.

There’s not much big stuff or macro, but there’s an abundance of typical caribbean reef sealife. Lots of morays, damsel fish, wrasse, parrot fish, surgeon fish, grouper, squirrel fish. The occasional butterfly or angel fish. Nearly every anemone will have a pederson cleaner shrimp or a sexy shrimp. Some lobsters and other crabs, especially arrow crabs. The occasional ray or turtle. Not much in the way of nudibranchs but if you’re looking for little stuff there will be bearded fireworms and lettuce sea slugs around. After four or five dives you’ll probably have seen it all but the abundance can be great for photographers. 

One thing we were surprised to learn is how much wreck diving there is. There are a couple of good wrecks, notably the Antilla, Jane Sea, and Pedernales and lots of smaller wrecks sprinkled along the coast. The wrecks are in all sorts of depths and can be great for all levels of divers. Some have swim-throughs but we would generally recommend against that based on what we heard from local dive operators. 

Night dives are pretty rare and seem to be mostly off the limited shore dive points.

J F M A M J J A S O N D
Water C 26* 26* 26* 26* 27* 27* 27* 28* 28* 29* 28* 27*
Water F 81 79 79 80 82 82 82 83 84 85 84 81
Air C 27 27 28 28 29 29 29 29 29 29 28 27
Air F 80 80 82 82 83 83 83 83 83 83 82 81
Rainy days 8 5 2 2 2 3 5 4 4 7 11 11

 

WHAT LOCATION, DIVE OPERATOR AND HOTEL?

Most of your diving will be boat diving. However, given how rarely divers talk about shore diving off of Aruba we were surprised at how accessible it can be. Below we’ll share a bit on each.

Boat diving

There are 3 or 4 harbors along the west coast and each one has a couple of dive shops. The farther north you are the more hotels there are and therefore the more dive operators. All of the dive operators do hotel pickup/dropoff and usually take you to their shop to gear up and then to a boat. There tends to be a 5-10 minute drive from most shops to boats. Pricing is pretty standard across the island and is surprisingly similar for boat and shore dives.

The boats all go to the same spots regardless of what harbor they’re leaving from. Each harbor has some close spots ~5 minutes out and if you’re with an operator going to the far end of the island you might have a boat ride as long as 30-35 minutes. You can expect to get back to your hotel around 1-2pm.

There’s a range of boats but don’t expect tons of comfort. Some have spots out of the sun/wind but don’t expect a head (bathroom) on the boat or any refreshments beyond a water jug and some packaged chips or cookies. Some operators might store your gear overnight for you but others will have you hauling it back and forth each day.

As usual we’re going to list a couple of dive operators, hotels and restaurants to look into. There are many, many solid options and we are not trying to put together a comprehensive laundry list. Instead we are aiming to share some very different flavors of these things that might work for different styles. 

 

Dive operators

Dive Aruba 

Clive is well known on the island of Aruba and in the caribbean travel diving community. He’s the dive guide of choice for many experienced divers who sometimes end up sporting “Dive with Clive” shirts. His boat only fits 4-6 divers so you won’t end up in a pack of 15+ divers following a single guide. If there’s a site you really want to go to he’ll probably make it happen and he’ll shift schedules and timing a bit if his standard plan doesn’t work for you. He also doesn’t impose hard caps on bottom time. His briefing is always “60 minutes more or less” but he has no issue if you stay down an extra 10-15. He doesn’t babysit you during the dive. He’s there if you need him but otherwise gives everyone plenty of freedom. He has been diving the island for over 30 years and during surface intervals he’ll regale you with stories of how each dive site was named. 

We wouldn’t hesitate to dive with Clive again but anyone diving with him should be prepared that he runs a one-man show. When you’re doing a drift dive he’ll be with the group for the first half and then he kicks back to the boat and brings it to meet you at the end of the dive. On all other dives he’ll surface whenever the first person in the group needs to surface. This means you should be comfortable diving on your own and you should have your own safety sausage so it’s easier for him to find you. 

There’s also always risk when someone isn’t staying on the boat during a dive. You never know when you’ll have a gear issue that forces you to surface early far away from the boat or when the mooring line will break. We only feel comfortable when we’re within swimming distance of shore (which you are at 90% of the sites in Aruba) and because we each carry our own Nautilus GPS. 

Lastly, the boat is small so there’s no protection from the elements. If direct sun or a few sprinkles will ruin your day this might not be the right fit. Clive’s boat is in the central marina near the cruise ships and his prices are average. After diving you can find a couple of touristy lunch options (and ice cream!) in the little shopping strip twenty feet away from his boat. 

 

JADS Dive Center 

JADS is the only center down at the southern tip of the island. We met a couple of people at the center and they were all fantastic. If you’re staying anywhere south of Eagle Beach and want a bit more guidance and support than Clive provides then we strongly recommend JADS. This would also be our top choice for any certification classes. They don’t have a pool so certification dives are done off the beach right behind the center. It will be much better practice for real dives and you might get to see some turtles. 

They keep the boat about halfway up the island in a marina just south of the airport so if you’re coming from one of the hotels farther north the drive won’t be all that long.

The JADS boat that we went out on is a pretty typical Aruba dive boat. It has an area with a cover/sides that is well protected from sun, wind and rain. It’s also big and can fit ~20 divers on a full day. When it comes to safety, they’re in the top quartile of dive operators we’ve gone out with. They do solid dive briefings, keep a close eye on you underwater and leave an experienced dive master on the boat. 

JADS also offers guided shore dives which we’ll talk about a bit below.

 

Mermaid Dive Center

Mermaid made our list because they sometimes offer 3 dives a day. Nearly every other operator on the island only does 2 a day so if you’re looking to maximize dive count on Aruba then Mermaid might be your choice. They also have a head on the boat, which can be a major plus!

Beyond that they seem a bit more organized than other dive operators on the island, but the differences weren’t big enough to make or break a trip.

If you’re staying at one of the big hotels up north then they’re a solid bet.

Shore diving

For shore diving there are way more options than you’d expect given a lot of what is written online. The sites are a bit trickier than popular shore diving destinations. Many involve a long swim (10-15 minutes) through breaking waves or active boat channels. And some of the best have a different exit than entry point. But the dives themselves are wonderful and are just as good (or sometimes better) than what you’ll get going out on a boat. 

We’d highly recommend going out with a guide your first time at each spot so that you can quickly accumulate the local tips & tricks to make the dives wonderful despite these challenges. We did a few with JADS and thought they did a great job but you’ll probably have a similar experience with other shops as long as you get someone who has been diving the island a while.

One thing that makes the shore diving tricky is that there aren’t good dives right off of the main hotels. You will definitely need a rental car and you will end up lugging gear and tanks around. Since Aruba isn’t a popular shore dive destination the rental car agencies tend to give out high-end electronic keys. You should call ahead to arrange for a car with a low-tech metal key that you can dive with. And it’s a good idea to bring a nice waterproof key safe with you just in case. 

You will also need to tote along your own air. You can rent tanks from any of the shops we mentioned above. Clive is the most flexible since he’ll charge you a per-tank fee and let you keep them for a few days. JADS is the least flexible with a per-tank per-day charge and you have to drive all the way to the bottom of the island to pick them up. You probably only want their tanks if you’ll be diving off their beach.

 

Hotels

Aruba has a lot of hotels. If you’re doing a dive-centric vacation and are going to pick a hotel based on the diving then our suggestions below will be useful. Otherwise feel free to pick any spot along Eagle or Palm Beach – the dive ops will all pick you up on the days you want to dive.

 

Renaissance Ocean Suites

If diving with Clive at Dive Aruba sounds like your style then you should consider staying at the Renaissance in downtown Oranjestad. Clive’s boat is right in the Renaissance Marina and this way you won’t have to drive back and forth. You’ll also have access to the Renaissance Island where you can rent tanks and do some nice shore dives in the afternoons. The Renaissance Ocean Suites, on the ocean side of the main road, is a bit better than the Renaissance Resort & Casino across the road. And of course, you can easily walk to over a dozen great restaurants in Oranjestad as well as shopping. The downside is that if you’re there on cruise ship days the local area can get a little crowded.

 

Beachfront Bella Horizonte

Another great option is a boutique spot near Mangel Halto. This is a quiet area ~15minutes south of the airport. You’ll have to drive for everything (there’s only 1 real restaurant within walking distance) but it’s the best place if you want to do some shore diving or are looking for someplace affordable for an extended stay. Beachfront Bella is a block of 8 efficiency 1-bedroom apartments facing the ocean. The reality is just as beautiful as all the pictures online. This spot is a not-yet-discovered haven for scuba divers. This spot also has great wifi so if you’re looking for a place where you can work remote and still squeeze in 1-2 dives a day this is your spot. Tell Maria the owner/operator that we say hi! She’ll also give you the option to pay in cash if you’d like.

Once you’re checked in you can gear up in your room, walk 20 feet to the ocean, and explore four separate dive areas around Mangel Halto all from the same entry point. When you enter the water there is a yellow buoy straight ahead. Half way out you can go down and either go left and explore the little wreck or right along the inside of the reef. If you’re up for a bit of a swim, go all the way to the buoy which marks a channel through the top of the reef. Keep swimming another 4-5 minutes (you can do this underwater if you like) and you’ll get to the outer edge of the reef where you can go left or right. This is one of the best reefs on Aruba and you could do it every day for a month and not get tired of it (that’s what we did!). If you get bored of it you can drive to Rocky Beach which is 3 minutes down the road and explore one of the most popular shore dive sites on the island. After your dive there is an outside shower & hose along the side of the apartments that you can use to rinse gear. It’s completely safe to leave things out to dry in the yard behind the apartments.

 

WHAT ABOUT NON-DIVING STUFF?

Where to eat 

There are a lot of options on the island. Below are a few that we loved. There are also a bunch of typical pricey tourist spots, especially up north by the beaches & hotels. We tried a few and they were all just fine and provide some good options for the foodies out there. We didn’t list those here since Tripadvisor will have more up-to-date info for you.

  • Kimini’s kitchen: Curry-based dishes down at the south end of the island. Worth the drive at least once! You can combine it with shore diving at JADS or a day trip to Baby Beach which is beautiful.
  • Dutch waffle house: Exactly what it sounds like. Good for a really fast post-dive lunch in Oranjestad. 
  • West Deck: Solid stereotypical caribbean lunch/dinner/cocktail options just south of Oranjestad. Not the fastest or most unique food you’ll have but everything is solid and the sunset view is beautiful.
  • Zeerover: Fried fish, shrimp and french fries. You wait in line at a counter and when you get to the front they’ll show you the fresh catch from today and you pick the fish you want. Be careful about how much you order – the counter team is fantastic at upselling so even after we’d been twice and knew what to expect we still let them talk us into ordering double the amount of food we needed. After ordering you can walk over to the bar to get beers and then find a picnic table overlooking the ocean & fishing boats. They’ll bring your food to you when it’s ready. My mouth is watering just writing about this place! They’re south of the airport.
  • Bistro de Suikertuin: Delicious European-influenced food at a nice restaurant in Oranjestad. The menu is small but you’ll find something delicious. Ask for a table in the garden out back.
  • Barefoot: Go for sunset drinks – the tables are on the beach and it’s beautiful. Skip the food which is overpriced and not that exciting. We went for a special occasion and it still wasn’t worth it.

What else to do

There is a lot in Aruba! There are huge resorts with fabulous pool/beach setups. If you’re a watersport person you can walk along any of the big hotel beaches and find spots to rent sailboats, windsurfers, kayaks, etc. If you want more land-based activities they’ve got horseback riding, go-cart tours, a national park with old cave art, a donkey sanctuary and historical sites from the early colonial days. And of course restaurants and shopping galore by the cruise ship terminal.

 

WHEN?

High season is December -> March. This is probably linked more to when the US and Canada are having their coldest weather vs the actual best diving conditions in Aruba. The water is ~3*C warmer in the summer and the viz is often just as good. It’s also a safe bet during hurricane season.

 

HOW TO GET THERE AND BACK?

Aruba (AUA) is very easy to fly to from the US East Coast and the Netherlands. The airport is big and has a constant stream of flights. On arrival you end up in AC pretty quickly. After clearing customs & immigration you walk out front. If you have a pickup they’ll be easy to find there with a sign. If you have a rental car, keep walking straight . You should be able to see the rental agency booths 30 feet straight in front of you. 

On your way back home make sure you arrive early. One perk of Aruba is that you can do US border clearance in Aruba while waiting for your flight. It means you probably want to get to the airport just a little bit extra earlier but then on the US side you don’t have to wait in the typical lines. You can also do Global Interviews if you have one of those hanging over your head!

WHAT DOES IT COST?

Short answer – it really depends on you. It’s much easier to adjust your trip costs in Aruba vs other places. If you want to stay in a big resort and do daily boat dives then you won’t get many dives and the high base cost of hotel/food will make it an expensive week very quickly. If you’re willing to stay at an Air BnB and mix in some shore dives then you can cut the overall cost and get in a few extra dives. But the tradeoff is that you will spend a lot of time lugging gear around for not too many extra dives.  

 

Scenario 1: stay at a big resort and do daily 2-tank boat dives

  • Flights: $400/pp from a major east coast city
  • Hotel: $125/night = $1,250 (includes taxes, fees, tips) for 1 week, assumes double occupancy
  • Diving: $600 for 6 days of 2-tank dives (includes taxes, fees, tips)
  • Food: $800
  • TOTAL: $3,200 /pp for 8 nights ($260/dive for 12 dives)

 

Scenario 2: stay at Mangel Halto and mix boat/shore diving

  • Flights: $400/pp from a major east coast city
  • Hotel: $75/night = $700 (includes taxes, fees, tips) for 8 nights, assumes double occupancy
  • Diving: $345 for 15 dives
    • $300 for 3 days of 2-tank dives (includes taxes, fees, tips)
    • $45 for 3 days of 3 shore dives
  • Rental car: $125, assumes 2 people share
  • Food: $500 (assumes groceries for breakfast and some lunches)
  • TOTAL: $2,000 /pp for 8 nights ($140/dive for 15 dives)

 

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW?

  • Taxis are very expensive! A one-way trip to a restaurant fifteen minutes away will cost the same as a full-day rental fee. If you’re going to be driving to boats, shore dives or restaurants at all then the rental car is well worth it.
  • Cruise ships completely overwhelm this island. Check when there will be a cruise ship in port (most days) and book dive trips and hotels well in advance. And don’t plan to drive through Oranjestad when the ships are offloading/reloading passengers which is typically ~9-10:30am and 3-5pm local time.