Viva Aruba! We are so excited about our first trip to Aruba next month. Maybe we are going to join Depalm tour for snorkeling off shore.....but any sharks in the sea? We did "shallow water" snorkeling in Maui, not snorkeling in a "deep sea"
far out from a beach.
Also do De palm provide a life jacket?
Worry too much......eh?

Hopefully the famous Aruba wind blows my worry away!

miyuki,
your fears are not founded. there are very few sharks in the immediate area of aruba. i'm sure that someone will point out that as all the oceans of the world are connected, making sharks in the water anytime you take a plunge. those that are near aruba are not aggressive on the whole. it's always wise to avoid doing anything stupid that would attract sharks, such as going in with an open cut (blood), or in an area where fishermen have been chumming. almost all snorkel operators will issue you a boyancy vest or pfd (life jacket). you might want to purchase your own as they are cheap at local dive shops and through the internet. that way, it's always adjusted to your personal size and you can use it to snorkel from the beach.

No sharks, DePalm is fun, Good crew. There are life jackets and snorkel gear provided

The sharks are around the bar and feed after dark! Sorry, that is from a Buffett song!

You are NOT silly! This is a good question.

There are always sharks is the sea. I have not heard of any shark concerns on the lee side of the island (the resort side).

My wife and I snorkel 4-5 times a week when we are in Aruba. We have had no problems with sharks, wildlife, or people while in Aruba.

Enjoy!
Bob

I was snorkeling in January at Baby Beach - went out of the reef a bit into open water and a police helicopter came and hovered over me until I got back inside the reef. I guess they spotted shark activity. It is nice to know people are looking out for you.

We snorkeled on DePalm Island. What a treat! We did the half day tour... wish we had done the full day instead. No sign of sharks anywhere and to be honest, I never even gave it a thought... too busy admiring the gentle giants (parrot fish).

Susan, that police helicopter just wanted to make sure weren't an illegal alien trying to get to shore.

They do that a lot on that side of the island.

The first year I went to aruba I was told (and they probably lied) that there are not sharks on the resort side of the island. The restaurants feed the fish on the other side of the island. The person who told me that was a driver in one of the jeep tours. He said the other side of the island has sharks. I don't know how true that is, maybe someelse hear that also.

Someone also told me that they feed the sharks on the other side of the island to keep them away from the tourist side. I'd also like to know if this is true.

In the OLD DAYS, they dumped meat scraps on the other side of the island (from packing houses) and tales say sharks came to feed. No more meat dumped. I snorkel hours a day for 2 weeks a year and I'veNEVER seen even a baby shark on either side of the island. Hawaii is full of them, so if you weren't afraid in Maui, you should be brave in Aruba!