Diving in Aruba advice

Hi, my fiancé and I are looking for some site advice for scuba diving
in Aruba. We are headed down at the end of May. We have relatively
new divers having about 5 dives each under our belts and only have our
Open Water certifications at this point. We are getting married down
there and plan on doing 2 2-tank dives while there. There seems to be
about 20 sites to choose from and we want to do the best ones. I have
read the posts from back in 2003 and 2004 and they were helpful.
Maybe there is information that is more current.

Greg Mossman...

Ah heck, for a wedding gift I'll even throw in some general scuba advice,
especially since I know nothing about Aruba other than the fact that it's
next to the (allegedly) far more dive-worthy Bonaire.

Reef Fish...

Then you probably have already read some of posts about
SEA (South East Aruba Diving) which I recommended, based on
my own experience and the recommendation of others.

I haven't heard anything bad about that operation, so I assume it's
still good.

It's a bit off the hotel zone and dives some good sites in that part of
the island usually not dived by the other shops.

We are interested in three different things so I was hoping to get
some advice as to which sites others have really enjoyed.

Here are our three ideas:
- Wreck dive: I understand that 400' freighter is cool as are

Reef Fish...

That must be the Wreck of the Antilla everyone dives.

Better and more secluded wrecks include Jane Sea Wreck
(max 80 fsw) and Sonesta Airplanes (max 60 fsw).

the planes and the tug boat.
- - Wildlife dive: She would really like to see some sea turtles
and they, as well as some sharks, should be nesting at that time, I
think.

Greg Mossman...

Although some wildlife might be practically guaranteed in certain areas of
the world at certain times, please understand that in most places the larger
animals (pelagics) come and go as they please. Your 30-60 minute view into
their world might happen across something very cool and it might not.

I'd guess that you're more likely to see a turtle than a shark. Good luck.

That said, there are dive operations that run "shark dives" where the sharks
are attracted by baiting or chumming, but I have no idea if there's anything
of the sort in Aruba.

- - Coral dive: It also appears that there is lots of cool
coral to see of all sizes and shapes.

Greg Mossman...

That is far more likely since corals don't move as much as turtles and
sharks. Basically any Caribbean dive you do that's not a wreck dive will be
a coral dive. Unless it's a sand dive, but dive operators don't usually
take people on sand dives on purpose.

Please don't touch the coral. Also, please don't touch the turtles. And,
if you see someone trying to ride a turtle, kick him in the head with your
fin. You can always claim it was an accident if he turns out to be bigger
than you.

I'm just getting into underwater photography as well so opinions there
are helpful. I understand Pedernalis is good because of it's

Greg Mossman...

Good. My opinion is that you don't get into underwater photography yet.
You're still learning how to dive. Underwater photography requires good
buoyancy control and an awareness of one's surroundings that most new divers
don't have yet. Because a lot of the underwater realm is quite fragile and
delicate, a lot of underwater photographers are blamed for causing harm
based on the actions of a few. Please don't add to the problem by being yet
one more brand new diver with a camera kicking corals this way and that.
Besides, you'll miss all the turtles and sharks swimming by while you're
focused on taking pictures of fish.

shallowness (good light) but I'm think I can snorkel that with some
photo success. We are only OW rated so the 90' dives probably aren't
for us. Also, we plan on doing a few of snorkel trips so I'd

Reef Fish...

So the Jane Sea and Sonesta should work.

I wasn't particularly impressed by any of the dives in Aruba. Been
there, done that is about all I can say.

appreciate advice on those sites in lieu of diving the shallow ones.
We have never done a shore dive, only boat dives. I'm a little leery
of her stamina to shore dive to a site and then enjoy it fully. More
practice swimming with fins is probably needed.

Greg Mossman...

Most shore dives don't require much more swimming than you'd be doing in a
boat dive, since, except for wrecks, you're rarely going to be sitting in
one place during a dive. And I've dove plenty of wrecks that, due to
currents, required more stamina than plenty of shore diving I've done. Most
of the work during a typical shore dive is spent getting the gear to and
from the water since it's pretty rare that you can step right from the car
and into the sea like you would from a boat. Some Bonaire sites are pretty
close, though, and maybe some Aruba sites are similar.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
Darrell