Community Forum

acushing · 03-10-2011, 02:30 PM

Hi all. I saw some posts about SCUBA certification but they were all from 2009 or later. My finace and I are going to be in Aruba in 2 weeks to get married and for our honeymoon and we want to get SCUBA certified while we are there.

So, I was hoping for some good recommendation of reputable SCUBA companies that provide ceertification and that are PADI certified. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Also - any idea how soon we can get out into the open water for our first dive?

Thank you!
Amber

DANNYO · 03-10-2011, 02:34 PM

I would say to get your certification before going to Aruba,plus you will be on your honeymoon...Why would you want to spend time in a classroom in Aruba.Best wishes on your upcoming marriage.

acushing · 03-10-2011, 02:50 PM

Thank you. But we don't want to get it in advance, which is why I was looking into getting it there. We don't have time nor is there anywhere close to us to do it here. Plus, you can do the online portion online in advance.

So, if anyone has any experience or information about locations in Aruba... I would be very appreciative

*Andrea J.* · 03-10-2011, 03:37 PM

JADS dive is a good place to learn and get certified
Aqua Windies is good also.
http://www.aquawindies.com/

Unique Watersports (my son received his certifications thru them)

*Andrea J.* · 03-10-2011, 03:40 PM

[QUOTE=Andrea J.;197996]JADS dive is a good place to learn and get certified
Aqua Windies is good also.
Unique Watersports (my son received his certifications thru them)

] http://www.aruba.com/thingstodo/sear...x?bc=excursion
click this link above

*Arubalisa* · 03-10-2011, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acushing

Plus, you can do the online portion online in advance.

So, if anyone has any experience or information about locations in Aruba... I would be very appreciative

Speaking from experience, I would get your certification while on your honeymoon only if you have MORE than 7 full days on the island AND you DO take the online portion in advance.

I spent a week of vacation in Jamaican immersed in scuba certification. I did not do the online, brought my PADI book to bed every night. Eat, slept and breathed scuba for a week. It was worth getting the scuba certification, but it was NO VACATION.

JADS is highly recommended. You will have a limited number of operators to choose from since you will need a certified dive operator. Some are not PADI or NAUI affiliated but have instructors who are.

We used Aruba Watersports for a discover scuba course for our dd when she was 10 and when she gets certified we will use them again.

Schnauzerjoy · 03-10-2011, 10:11 PM

Can definitely recommend Aqua Windies http://www.aquawindies.com/.
They are the largest dive center in Aruba and are both PADI and SSI.
My wife, me and our 2 kids all got certified there and so have several of our guests.
All have taken the certification within a week and everyone is very happy with them.
The do both shore dives and boat dives and they have their own huge pool where you can have your first lesson.
The center also have the largest diveshop in Aruba and a good lunch cafe.

Good luck

Carsten

Chadd · 03-11-2011, 02:35 AM

I did both my open water and advanced open water with Red Sail Sports and had excellent instructors both times. I did the coursework online and was in the water for my first dive within an hour of arriving at the dive shack. It would be a solid day or so for each of you to complete the online coursework at padi.com, but I would budget two at a minimum to be safe. That may or may not be an option for you given your upcoming wedding, but it would certainly speed up the process of getting you into the water once you arrive in Aruba.

acushing · 03-11-2011, 10:05 AM

Thank you. I have reached out to all the SCUBA places you recommended. After reading your posts.. I think we decided to take the instruction portion online in advance so we can do the "fun" part when we are there and not worry about studying like Lisa said she had to do in Jamiaca.

We will be there for 11 days total (with 3 days taken up by wedding prep and the actual wedding) so I think we will have plenty of time. I figure, we have always wanted to get SCUBA certified and really wanted to dive in Aruba. So, now, we get the best of both worlds. We may even do a day trip to Bonair for a day of diving there. I hear diving is amazing there

Thank you again for everyone's help and recommendations!

*Arubalisa* · 03-11-2011, 12:31 PM

Bonaire is going to have to wait for a separate trip. It is amazing, but will be worth the wait. Curacao was fabulous as well.

You will learn during your certification the reason why, but short answer is you cannot dive and then just step on a plane to fly back to Aruba. General rule of thumb is at least 12 hours. For multiple dives over successive days, general rule is 24 hours. More Info There are other schools of thought on this, but these are generally accepted guidelines.

There will be plenty to see and do underwater in Aruba.

Enjoy and congratulations on your upcoming nuptials.

03-10-2011, 02:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
acushing Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Palm Beach Posts: 31	Scuba Certification Hi all. I saw some posts about SCUBA certification but they were all from 2009 or later. My finace and I are going to be in Aruba in 2 weeks to get married and for our honeymoon and we want to get SCUBA certified while we are there. So, I was hoping for some good recommendation of reputable SCUBA companies that provide ceertification and that are PADI certified. Does anyone have any recommendations? Also - any idea how soon we can get out into the open water for our first dive? Thank you! Amber Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook

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03-10-2011, 02:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
DANNYO Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Marriott Surf Club Posts: 1,580 Images: 1	I would say to get your certification before going to Aruba,plus you will be on your honeymoon...Why would you want to spend time in a classroom in Aruba.Best wishes on your upcoming marriage. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________

03-10-2011, 02:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
acushing Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Palm Beach Posts: 31	Thank you. But we don't want to get it in advance, which is why I was looking into getting it there. We don't have time nor is there anywhere close to us to do it here. Plus, you can do the online portion online in advance. So, if anyone has any experience or information about locations in Aruba... I would be very appreciative Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook

03-10-2011, 03:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
Andrea J. Aruba since 1979 Moderator Join Date: May 2007 Location: renaissance island, eagle beach, amsterdam manor/passions beach bar, Hung Paradis, alto vista chapel, madam janettes, big porch at B55 Posts: 13,253 Images: 80	JADS dive is a good place to learn and get certified Aqua Windies is good also. http://www.aquawindies.com/ Unique Watersports (my son received his certifications thru them) Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________ Please, I'll have a Grande' decaf Mocha Latte' with a shot of liquid tranquilizer. Last edited by Andrea J.; 03-10-2011 at 03:41 PM.

03-10-2011, 03:40 PM	#5 (permalink)
Andrea J. Aruba since 1979 Moderator Join Date: May 2007 Location: renaissance island, eagle beach, amsterdam manor/passions beach bar, Hung Paradis, alto vista chapel, madam janettes, big porch at B55 Posts: 13,253 Images: 80	[QUOTE=Andrea J.;197996]JADS dive is a good place to learn and get certified Aqua Windies is good also. Unique Watersports (my son received his certifications thru them) ] http://www.aruba.com/thingstodo/sear...x?bc=excursion click this link above Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________ Please, I'll have a Grande' decaf Mocha Latte' with a shot of liquid tranquilizer.

03-10-2011, 10:11 PM	#7 (permalink)
Schnauzerjoy Banned Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: My swimming pool with a 7/7 or in my boat with a fishing rod looking in at Malmok. Posts: 276	Can definitely recommend Aqua Windies http://www.aquawindies.com/. They are the largest dive center in Aruba and are both PADI and SSI. My wife, me and our 2 kids all got certified there and so have several of our guests. All have taken the certification within a week and everyone is very happy with them. The do both shore dives and boat dives and they have their own huge pool where you can have your first lesson. The center also have the largest diveshop in Aruba and a good lunch cafe. Good luck Carsten Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook

03-11-2011, 02:35 AM	#8 (permalink)
Chadd Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Arikok Antilla Natural pool Posts: 1,226	I did both my open water and advanced open water with Red Sail Sports and had excellent instructors both times. I did the coursework online and was in the water for my first dive within an hour of arriving at the dive shack. It would be a solid day or so for each of you to complete the online coursework at padi.com, but I would budget two at a minimum to be safe. That may or may not be an option for you given your upcoming wedding, but it would certainly speed up the process of getting you into the water once you arrive in Aruba. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________

03-11-2011, 10:05 AM	#9 (permalink)
acushing Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Palm Beach Posts: 31	Thank you. I have reached out to all the SCUBA places you recommended. After reading your posts.. I think we decided to take the instruction portion online in advance so we can do the "fun" part when we are there and not worry about studying like Lisa said she had to do in Jamiaca. We will be there for 11 days total (with 3 days taken up by wedding prep and the actual wedding) so I think we will have plenty of time. I figure, we have always wanted to get SCUBA certified and really wanted to dive in Aruba. So, now, we get the best of both worlds. We may even do a day trip to Bonair for a day of diving there. I hear diving is amazing there Thank you again for everyone's help and recommendations! Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook

03-11-2011, 12:31 PM	#10 (permalink)
Arubalisa Moderator Join Date: May 2007 Location: Boca Catalina Posts: 10,683 Images: 174	Bonaire is going to have to wait for a separate trip. It is amazing, but will be worth the wait. Curacao was fabulous as well. You will learn during your certification the reason why, but short answer is you cannot dive and then just step on a plane to fly back to Aruba. General rule of thumb is at least 12 hours. For multiple dives over successive days, general rule is 24 hours. More Info There are other schools of thought on this, but these are generally accepted guidelines. There will be plenty to see and do underwater in Aruba. Enjoy and congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________ Aruba Bound! ~ Blogging to Aruba ~ Hoosier Kitties ~ Our-Cruises ~ Pictures of Aruba