The 5 best dive sites in Aruba according to divemasters

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from a ship that was sunk in the Second World War, to a strictly guarded secret place, we share the best dive sites in Aruba, which were selected by local divemasters

When choosing the diving sites, we still have to find a perfect solution. Official evaluation apps are often geared towards popular spots, which means that a mediocre diving site with many visitors trumps a less visited but better place based on the weighting system.

Therefore, when planning the land excursions on our 11-day cruise from Charleston, we tried to determine the best diving sites in Aruba and our following stops. We asked local divemaster about your recommendations and created a selection list with five.

We only had one day in Aruba, so we didn't get to all five locations, but in the sense of the parts we list them below for other divers.

Antilla wreck

Type: shipwreck depth: 18m

alt = “The Antilla is regularly chosen as one of the best dive sites in Aruba”> Fair use The Antilla is regularly selected as one of the best dive sites in Aruba

The SS Antilla was a German cargo ship that was left in 1939 and was sunk in 1940 when the Germans marched to the Netherlands in World War II. The Dutch government ordered the confiscation of all German ships to the Dutch Antilles and prompted the crew to intentionally sink it.

With 120 m in length, the Antilla is one of the largest wrecks in the Caribbean. It is located on its port side at 18 m water depth and is not only popular with divers, but also with snorkelers. Of course, divers have the advantage that they can swim due to the large compartments of the ship.

As you will see, the antla is full of life. Corals and tube sponges have populated the wreck and attract lobster, karett tortoises and countless fish species, including Muränen and Blaubang.

Jane See

Type: shipwreck depth: 24m

alt = “Jane Sea has a rather eventful story”> Fair use Jane Sea has an eventful story

According to legend, Jane Sea was confiscated by the authorities after it was used to transport cocaine between Venezuela and Aruba. The truth seems to be more prose. According to the Aruba Ports Authority archives, Jane Sea (also known as Jane C) was a cement freighter, which was placed under Embargo after he had a motor damage in the port of Barcadera and did not pay the port fees. In the failure of auctioning the ship, it was sunk south of the Barcadera port to form an artificial reef.

Today it offers one of the best dives in Aruba. The 75 m ship is upright with its bug at 20 m and its rear at 28 m. The large cargo space offers an excellent penetration, but can be instructed from your divemaster beforehand, since some walls have recently collapsed.

If you are lucky, you can discover a large barracuda near the rear. Other sea creatures are muränen, silver pages, coral crabs and trumpet fish as well as karettic tortoises and sometimes a cobia or a spotted eagle ray.

Sonesta aircraft

Type: aircraft wreck depth: 18m

The Sonesta Airplanes with SE Aruba Fly N Dive was one of the best dives we have ever done. The two aircraft, a Convair 240 (or a DC-3; it can be argued) and a YS-11 lie off the coast of Aruba and were deliberately sunk to create an artificial reef for divers.

The convair is divided into two parts, with several smaller wreckage being scattered on the sandy background of the Sonesta reef. This is an impressive side in itself, but it is the YS-11 that really stolen us. This old passenger aircraft still has an intact fuselage through which we were allowed to dive.

The swimming through the chamber with its sharp carpet made of lake packs and the eerie underwater light may have been the best moment of our entire Caribbean cruise.

pedernal wreck

Type: shipwreck depth: 10m

alt = "Grunzfisch duel for buddies on one of the best diving sites Aruba"> James Dvorak/Shutterstock Grunt Fish Duel Duel in the seas from Aruba

The SS Pedernales was a sea tanker who was badly damaged in a German torpedo attack in 1942 when he was in front of anchor in Aruba. The damaged ship was divided into three parts. Bug and Heck were put together and sailed into the USA, and the middle part was deliberately sunk as a dive site.

Today there are large pieces of the pedernal scattered between coral formations. It is less impressive than the Antilla, but it is teeming with life and its relatively low depth ensures a great view.

await you with great swarms of grunting fishing, silver sites and snaps together with trumpet fish, imperial fish, squirrel fishing and sagging. There were occasional squid here and maybe even you will even see a spotted eagle ray that glides over the rubble.

Serito Pinnacle

Type: Riff depth: 18m

alt = “a picture that was reported on the Serito Pinnacle, one of the best dive sites in Aruba”> Tourism Authority of Aruba A picture that was allegedly taken at Serito Pinnacle

If your divemaster appears evasive when mentioning Serito Pinnacle, this is because the diving community in Aruba is considered a secret. We could hardly find out anything about it (hence the picture above that looks like it was taken in the 1970s).

Serito Pinnacle is located on the south side of the island, southeast of Cabez Reef and can only be reached with a private charter. The reef here is largely untouched and the strong current brings with it a variety of sea creatures, including barracudas, mantarochets and mackerel.

The strong current means that it is only suitable for experienced divers and since it is not listed by most diving outfits, they will most likely be the only ones there if they manage to visit it. It is not a bad way to see the best of Aruba.

other candidates: The divemaster we surveyed also mentioned: Debbie II Wreck & Blue Reef, Arashi Reef, Garden Reef, Bali Reef, Fingers Reef, Palm Slope Reef, Barcadera Reef and Isla de Oro Reef.

The best dive sites in Aruba: The essentials

Was: Diving in Aruba as part of an 11-day carnival cruise from Charleston with stopover in St. Thomas on the American Virgin Islands, Aruba, Bonaire, Grand Turk on the Turks and Caicos Islands and Princess Cays on the Bahamas.

Where: We stayed in a balcony cabin on board the Carnival Sunshine. Our room was spacious and comfortable, and the balcony was worth a visit.

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Atlas & Boots

The ship itself is equipped with countless food and entertainment options. For daily food we liked Blueiguana Cantina and Pizzeria del Capitano. For dinner we recommend paying the small surcharge to dine at least once in each of the specialty restaurants (Steakhouse, Jiji Asian Kitchen and Cucina del Capitano).

When: The best diving sites in Aruba are accessible all year round. Visit the best weather between December and April: hot, sunny and dry with low humidity and mild nights.

like: We booked our dive at the local experts SE Aruba Fly N Dive, who talked about our options and helped us to select the best diving site based on our short time in Aruba. Our divemaster was knowledgeable and professional and helped to make the dive one of the best we have ever done.

We booked our Caribbean cruise at Carnival. The prices start at $ 1,579 per person for a balcony cabin and include accommodation, all meals, a selection of non -alcoholic drinks and entertainment.

We use our Keepgo International WiFi Hotspot to help us go online while traveling. The device generates a secure WLAN connection via local 4G mobile radio networks in over 120 countries. Via this recommendation link you can get a 10% discount on any Keepgo product.

We flew to Charleston via New York, but from January 2020 there will be direct flights from Great Britain. Book via Skyscanner for the best prices.

Finally,

If you plan to snorkel in Aruba (and you should really do that), you should pack a full face snorkel mask. We use and recommend Aria QR+ from Ocean Reef.

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main picture: James Dvorak/Shutterstock 
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