ARUBA- Jads or Unique Sports

[Loves_Dogs]

I have set up all our dives for the upcoming AOS cruise except for Aruba which I am having a difficult time with. I am a novice diver and therefore am not interested in Clive with Dive Aruba. After much research I have found good and bad with both Jads and Unique. Anything you can share with me regarding these 2 shops would be appreciated. And, any opinions or suggestions are welcome if you have any other dive shops to recommend. ....Thank you in advance for your help!

[jtonra]

I just returned from a cruise which included a stop in Aruba. I dove with Unique since I have gone with them in the past and liked them. I thought it was a good trip and would recommend them. Having said that, there were nine divers plus a divemaster and a captain on the boat which some people may feel is too many. I didn't find it to be a problem as most of the divers were experienced and we spread out pretty well. The DM was fine and let everyone dive their own profile (ie. air hogs surfaced by buddy team while the rest of us stayed down). I definately could have had more bottom time on both of my dives but never felt rushed.

 

We dove the south side of the island and did the Jane Sea wreck (max depth about 85 feet) and the Barcadera reef (max depth about 45 feet).

 

Hope that helps.

 

jim

[bruce-r]

9 divers with a DM isn't too many if they allow you to dive your own profile, IMO.

[crule]

I dove with JADS on the Zuiderdam a few weeks back. Nice shop - they'll pick you up. However, be careful with the shore dive at Baby Beach. Depending on conditions, the current can be really bad - and if you're a novice diver (like I am), you can be quite exhausted just getting out past the swells to descend. I didn't care for that dive at all.

 

If you book with JADS, get them to take you to some sights away from their dive shop. There's a cool area in this guy's backyard that they stop at.