Dive in Aruba

Scuba Diving in Aruba

Aruba's fabulous array of wrecks means awesome adventure diving, second in the Atlantic only to Bermuda in the vast number of wrecks on offer, from aeroplanes to World War II freighters, you're in for some great dives.  Aruba also has colourful reefs and wall diving that will not disappoint.

There are around 42 dive sites, mostly on the western and southern sides which are more protected.  Depths range from 6m/20ft to 35m/115ft and water temperatures stay between 24C/75f to 27C/80f all year round.  The amazing sea life you might see on a dive includes turtles, mantas, rays, eels, octopi, barracuda, groupers, huge schools of fish and lots of corals.

The largest wreck in the Caribbean lies off the coast of Aruba, the Antilla is a 122m/400ft German Freighter that needs a few dives to really appreciate.  You can penetrate the wreck so this is a great time to do your wreck speciality, it's also a very cool night dive which is a special adventure.  

Another very cool wreck is the Pedernales, great for beginner divers.  Imagine doing your first dive on a sunken oil tanker!  The California is another interesting wreck dive, the Tugboat Wreck will excite photography enthusiasts and the Jane Sea Freighter is worth a look too, since it's almost positioned upright.

How amazing would it be to dive through an aircraft?  Well you can in Aruba.  The Arashi twin engine Beechcraft is lying in shallow water so it's also great for beginners with lots of fish hanging about, or the Sonesta which is a Convair 240 broken in the three parts and surrounded by corals and sponges.  

The reefs are protected, calm and range in depths from 5-40 metres.  The Natural Bridge is a challenging dive for advanced divers due to rough waters, but well worth seeing for the incredible boulders and coral formations.  Kantil Reef is a fabulous drop off with an abundance of marine life, Barcadera Reef is a sandy bottom dive site or you can hunt for the many moray eels hiding in the corals around Plonco Reef.

Aruba may be small but it's jam packed with exciting places to visit.  You'll find a week or two  is plenty of time to find the ultimate dive site on your vacation so be sure to drop us a line with your favourite recommendations.

(By Kelly Luckman)